Sunnydale Village, a sanctioned homeless encampment operating in Burien since early November, has issued an urgent plea for assistance from the community as it faces the imminent end of its lease agreement on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024.
As we previously reported, this homeless encampment was first opened at Oasis Home Church on Nov. 1, 2023, and is operated by the Burien Community Support Coalition (a registered 501c3) that is run by former councilmember Cydney Moore.
For the past three months, Sunnydale Village has provided essential services and support to approximately 60 residents, offering a safe and stable environment along with basic necessities such as food, clothing, hygiene supplies, tents, and blankets.
The camp has also facilitated access to social workers, case management, medical aid, job assistance, and other resources through partnerships with local churches, nonprofits, social service organizations, and individuals.
However, with their current lease expiring this coming Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, Sunnydale Village is urgently seeking a new location. The camp requires around 7,000 square feet of flat land, preferably within half a mile of Burien and easily accessible by transit to accommodate residents with limited mobility.
“We are reaching out to our community in hopes of finding another church or property that will host us, and allow us to continue offering a safe space and services to the roughly 60 people we have in our care who otherwise have nowhere else to go,” organizers said in a statement.
Sunnydale Village operates under strict guidelines, including 24/7 staffing, screening of new residents by local police, and enforcement of a code of conduct that prohibits violence, firearms, or theft. The camp also provides sanitation services and maintains privacy measures to ensure the safety and well-being of its residents.
Organizers said that the positive impact of Sunnydale Village on its residents’ lives is evident, with many individuals experiencing improvements in health, stability, and community connections. However, without a new location, the camp faces the risk of disruption to its vital services, hindering the progress made by its residents towards stability and well-being.
“Without a new location for Sunnydale Village, we will not be able to provide this level of support to our residents, and so much of the progress they are making towards stability will be disrupted,” organizers said. “Shelters in King County are overflowing, and many present significant barriers for entry that are difficult to overcome.”
Here’s the full call for help from organizers, along with photos of the encampment:
“Sunnydale Village has been operating successfully for the last 3 months, offering basic essentials of a safe and stable place to stay, food, clothing, hygiene supplies, tents, blankets, and more. Residents have been connected with resources including social workers and case management, shelter, housing wait lists, ID cards, phones, doctor appointments and medical aid, and assistance searching for and holding down jobs.
“All of this has been made possible through partnerships with our host, Oasis Home Church, other church congregations, nonprofits, social service and outreach organizations, emergency services, and individuals throughout our community.
“We have maintained a strong relationship with the church we are currently operating at, but our lease agreement is coming to an end on February 5th. We are reaching out to our community in hopes of finding another church or property that will host us, and allow us to continue offering a safe space and services to the roughly 60 people we have in our care who otherwise have nowhere else to go.
“Our need is for space around 7,000 square feet or more of relatively flat land, in or near Burien, that is easily accessible by transit – preferably within a half a mile, as many of our residents have limited ability to walk lengthy distances (we have elderly residents, people with various disabilities, etc.).
“The Burien Community Support Coalition (a registered 501c3), manages and oversees all aspects of running Sunnydale Village, which includes:
• “24/7 staffing
• “Monitoring all people entering and leaving the camp
• “Screening all new residents through local police
• “Upholding a Code of Conduct for residents, which includes a zero tolerance policy for violence, firearms, or theft, and expectations that residents respect the host property and neighborhood.
• “Providing fencing and privacy screens, so the camp is not visible or accessible from the outside except through our main entry point (monitored by staff and security cameras)
• “Providing sanitation services, including regularly serviced porta-potties and hand washing stations
“We have several letters of recommendation from neighbors, representatives from organizations that have partnered closely with us, and those volunteering onsite, praising us for maintaining a clean space, a strong operating model, and the benefit our camp offers our residents.
“There have been remarkable improvements in the overall health and well-being of our residents in their time with us. Providing a sense of stability and security has given them the opportunity to improve their circumstances, and build community. We have had individuals who have been able to overcome their addiction and get off drugs, people reconnecting with family they were separated from, and many getting treatment for medical conditions that posed serious risks, had they gone unaddressed.
“Without a new location for Sunnydale Village, we will not be able to provide this level of support to our residents, and so much of the progress they are making towards stability will be disrupted. Shelters in King County are overflowing, and many present significant barriers for entry that are difficult to overcome.
“We ask that our community pulls together to provide aid in this time of such great need, to support our most vulnerable population.
“In addition to the need for a new location, we will also need help facilitating the move – volunteers, transportation, and financial donations are all strongly encouraged.
Donations can be made online via Paypal.
Those interested in providing other assistance can reach us at buriencsc@gmail.com.
Photos
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How to Help
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Beware- this organization was not transparent nor communicative to the sounding neighbors. Lots of lies and promises not kept.
This was a Good Idea but, a 3 month lease??!??!!
May God bless this unique and extraordinary community with a new location by this Monday. Praise God for this Church and Community project 💝🙏
That seems to be okay in Burien though. The More We Love, Kristine Moreland, and the Burien City Manager didn’t have to explain how they spent $49,000 of our tax dollars. At least the BCSC/Sunnydale didn’t ask for public funding.
Most of homeless don’t want help or job they like getting thing free an stealing, robbery, baking for money, why dot but work clean there mess area any town , they got drug problems an they like what they do .
Well i think the first thing to do is find out the truth of how things are going and how people who live near by feel about the issues . How much of things said on this blog by commenters and what has been said in Facebook groups are true or just people that don’t like homeless being in burien and feel the need to lie and blame the homeless for any and all crime. When we can read the news and find a lot of the crime lately been teenagers and young adult’s with stolen firearms trying to play real life grand theft auto or that talk trash to each other then pull firearms and shoot each other then family’s and the big media companies try to act as it’s the firearms fault not the person with the finger on the trigger not realizing what they are doing. May have the wrong idea of firearms that they have learn from TV and movies and gangster rap videos . We can just sit here and blame the city council and church groups for not doing anything because it takes time to come up with a plan and the funds to pay for it. For all party’s involved to agree on things that can’t agree on things at times do to different political views or social justice views among the groups involved.
this blog states that these organizations will uphold a code of conduct that will hold zero tolerance for things like theft but i have personally, with my own eyes, seen two of the residents steal from ross and run all the way back to the camp.
Well bob nice name did you explain this to the staff their at the church or did you give this info to the police or the security staff at Ross so they could track down these two people out of the 60 that live their I would guess the alarms did not go off at ross when they went out door and you decided to follow them all the way back to the camp
Well since eviction is nearly impossible in Washington…
I am a resident of Sunnydale. I am extremely grateful for the support facilitated by Sunnydale which allowed me the opportunity to improve my own situation. Having a safe, secure location to consistently return to every day, access to electricity, and access to a place to relieve and clean myself are perhaps the three most important issues to start with. I need to be able to rest, charge my phone, and maintain basic hygiene. If I could not do these basic things, who among you would even consider hiring me? Losing these basics will be a great step backwards for me.
I’ll admit the camp was not perfect. We were brand new and we were attempting overcome massive obstacles at light speed (not to mention with nearly an entire city that seemed intent on our failure…)
Bob Marley, if you saw two individuals steal from Ross and then stalked them as they “run all the way to the camp”, did you at least report that to our admins? I had someone kicked out for simply stealing inside the camp. I absolutely don’t want anyone living with me who would do something like that which would jeopardize my living space.
Before Sunnydale opened, I was stuck with the Ambaum camp. We were accused off every atrocious action one could imagine. Yet, in my time there, we were shot at, we had individuals throw Molotov cocktails into the camp, another group threw large firework mortars in the camp. I don’t mean just one of each. I mean multiple of each and on multiple occasions. At the very least, they could have severely injured numerous people. At the most, they could have killed someone. In addition to that, drivers would often speed up as they drove by and swerve towards us. I presume to scare us. I became so jaded that I stopped moving out of the way… Others would lay on their horns as they drove by. They did this at all hours of the night and day.
Drug use was and is indeed an issue which should be addressed, but is that enough for a death warrant?
In short, I don’t blame people for trying to protect themselves and their families from a perceived enemy, but please, I beg you, do more than a quick internet search before resorting to such violence. I was a combat medic in the military for 10 years. Such violence is almost NEVER needed.
I was out there once. Like homeless, and peace seemed a trifle away at first (Except for those times where I at least felt free there.)… In the streets. I too know the inclement weather, the dampness – When my body craved heat… roof, and all other human essentials. I looked at sunnier days as God’s smiling on me – – In that He kept me warm. I got to know and encourage a lot of people when on my journey, and it was humbling, that part of my life. I craved for the time of the past – – When you could get a round trip bus ride on a bus transfer to keep warm during Winter. I also gratefully remember the free-ride zone when bussing it downtown. It brought much comfort, and hope.
Those are the things I miss.
Encouragingly – God always sent a cherished soul my way to help keep me feeling cheer… And knowing there is a God. I also know that just as He facilitated for me – – He will do the same for others… Always~
Amen
I meant to mention this in my comment yesterday. Earlier that morning, I had been talking with a friend. During our conversation, I had specifically mentioned how I had noticed a significant reduction in the amount of retail theft committed by those in ‘our group’. I personally believe this was due almost entirely to the fact that their needs were being met by the camp. We had food. We had hygiene supplies. The majority of the individuals I’ve known who participated in the ‘boosting’ trend; expressed a dislike for it and did so only out of desperation.
Having said that, I would suggest that the majority of people who are regular ‘boosters’ and are doing so for financial gain, are people who HAVE cars and homes.
Not all, but most….