Dear Beloved Community,

We are writing with updates about hosting Tent City 3 (TC3), which soon will arrive at UUC:

Family Ministry Welcoming Work (Saturday, March 15)

UUC folks of any age will gather from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday in the Channing Room to assemble personal care kits for TC3 residents. The kits are meant to welcome our new neighbors. More information here.

Learning Stations (Sunday, March 16)

Members of the planning team will be in Nathan Johnson Hall after each service on Sunday, ready to answer your questions and (we hope) sign you up for different activities.

Moving Day (Saturday, March 22)

You can help at either or both ends of the process next Saturday: the site being vacated at the UW, or the new site in the UUC parking lot. Come whenever you can and stay for as long you wish. Choose the tasks that suit you. (Some, like loading and unloading pallets, are more physically demanding than others.) If you have work gloves, bring them. Also useful: crowbars and hammers. Here is the general timetable or the day:

• Loading will happen from 8:30 a.m. until about noon at the W41 lot on the UW campus (4029 11^th Ave NE);
• Unloading will follow from about 12:30 p.m. throughout the afternoon on the south side of our parking lot.

Contact Pam Smith Mentz.

Lunch on Moving Day (Saturday, March 22)

We will be preparing 65 sack lunches for resettling TC3 residents as they arrive at UUC. One set of volunteers will donate and deliver food to the church between 9:30 and 10 a.m. that morning. Another will help make and pack lunches. If you are willing and able to volunteer for either or both of these tasks, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C44ABA72AA4FD0-55602388-sack#.

Weekly Dinners (Wednesday evenings)

These will happen on Wednesday evenings, beginning April 2. We soon will be posting menus and recruiting folks to prepare and deliver menu items. In addition, UUC members should feel free to bake cookies or muffins and deliver them on their own to TC3 throughout their stay. More info? Contact Allie Harris.

Parking

You can sign up to be a parking ambassador and/or learn about off-site parking options at our Sunday learning stations. Maps should be available. Contact Cynthia Salzman.

More questions?

Feel free to email us at uuchomelessness@gmail.com.

As background: Tent City 3 is the nation’s longest running self-governed and city-sanctioned camp for unhoused people. Just as we did two years ago, UUC will provide pavement, electricity, water, and love/solidarity over their 4-month stay.

TC3 is quite different from random homeless camps. To begin, it has strict rules of conduct, including no drugs or violence. Members are required to participate in leadership, security, cleanup, donation collection or other aspects of community life. Rule-breakers are asked to leave.

We hope you will feel free to become more involved.

~UUC Tent City 3 Team