November Update on Tent City 3 at UUC

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Each of you has reached out in the last month, either in email or in person, to share with us your thoughts, questions, concerns, or support for UUC hosting Tent City 3 in the Spring of 2023. We thank you for that and we are listening. We have shared your thoughts, questions and concerns with both the Board and our ministers, and are aware that this decision will have an impact not only on our church, but on the surrounding community. We have tried to answer specific questions individually to the best of our ability. This has been satisfying to some and not to others. Since many of the concerns being expressed now are similar, we are taking this opportunity to provide this group update of where we are in the process.

We, the Tent City 3 Team, have spent countless hours informing ourselves about homelessness in our city and about Tent City 3 in particular as one alternative for some people who find themselves without a home in Seattle. We are most grateful to the participants of Tent City 3 and the MANY host congregations that have helped us in this discernment process. We have done our best to share these learnings, first with our own congregation and then with the broader community. The more we learned, the more we felt confident in recommending this path. 

On Sunday, November 13 there was a congregational meeting at UUC open to the public via livestream and via Zoom for church members.  The question of our hosting Tent City 3 was brought to the congregation. Ninety-seven percent of the members who attended the meeting voted to recommend hosting Tent City 3. Many people had questions and concerns when we first began this process in the late summer. We attribute the positive result to a growing understanding of what it would mean to host Tent City 3 and the potential impacts both on the lives of the people who will be calling Tent City 3 home for those three months, as well on the church and our neighbors (which includes many of us). 

Please understand that while we will not be able to answer every question to your satisfaction, we will be sending out emails as the process unfolds and keep you informed. Feel free to share the information that you receive from us with others who are interested. Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to answer each email individually. All emails sent to Rev. Luopa, Dave Mentz or Sallie Dacey regarding Tent City 3 will automatically be forwarded to the email for the Tent City 3 Team, UUCHomelessness@gmail.com, for response.

We are thankful to live in a community where we can listen and empathize with one another’s points of view and also understand that we may come to different conclusions. Please take the time to seek out information, learn more, familiarize yourselves with information about ShareWheel and Tent City 3.