Quakers in Seattle Evict Homeless From Premises

After years of providing shelter, showers, and laundry facilities for the homeless on an informal basis, the Seattle chapter of the Quakers has shut down a homeless camp because of concerns over dangerous incidents, reports The Seattle Times.

For years, Quakers had allowed the homeless to sleep underneath eaves outside a building they rented as a headquarters and church—provided that the people left during business hours, refrained from sex while there, and obeyed the Quakers’ prohibitions on violence, drugs, and alcohol.

There was never a formal agreement to shelter people outside the building, which also houses a preschool, but an understanding evolved over time. However, recent fights among residents of the shelter, as well as the presence of weapons and drug paraphernalia, forced the Quakers to ask the dozen or so regulars to leave and not come back, said a spokesman.