The RV Dwellers
SeattlePI.com, 2016
Seattle has struggled with income inequality and rising homelessness for decades. In 2016, the city’s frustration with homelessness and the city’s lack of progress on the issue felt at a boiling point, though unhoused numbers would continue to rise in the years ahead. Reporter Dan Demay and I set out to speak to some of the city’s hundreds of residents who call their RVs home. Scroll over each thumbnail to learn more about the RV Dwellers. Read More
"I've gotta get the f*** out of the Seattle area," says Adam, 32, who lives in an RV with his girlfriend Sarah. Until a year ago, Adam was living in an apartment with affordable rent in the Roosevelt neighborhood. A development company bought the place from his landlord and Adam had to find a new home. "When I started living in one of these [RV] I was working 12-hours a day 6 days a week. I could afford an apartment but why? It's a rip-off, man."Micah Wolftail, 19, has lived in an RV on 3rd Avenue S for several months. "It's like a reality TV show, there's so much drama," she says about the small community of people living in RVs and cars in the shadow of Safeco Field. Wolftail has been using heroin since she was 15 and homeless since 17. Heroin has cost her everything she loved, she said.John Wittnik, 52, has lived in his RV for two years, which is currently parked on 3rd Avenue S, after a bad motorcycle accident and series of other unfortunate life events. "I really need freaking help.""Some of us love this lifestyle. We don't need to be told this isn't an acceptable way to live," says Hesper Castro, 38, who lives in her black RV with the word "Truth" painted on the side that she bought for $25 from a friend. Though she is now sober and moving past a criminal history, she carries a bottle of Narcan, the narcotic overdose treatment nasal spray, everywhere she goes. She says she has been able to save many lives with it. After spending time in prison in Texas, Castro moved to Seattle and finished her college degree at Seattle Central College. Robert Chamberlin, 62, likes to keep an eye on the neighborhood through the window of his RV to make sure people aren't stealing from the business nearby. He has lived on Colorado Avenue S for the past 11 years after an injury ended his career as a soup and sauce chef. He now has a cyst and cancer and it's hard for him to walk. He spends most of his time inside his RV playing Halo 2.Zoe Vella, 32, lives in a large yellow school bus with her boyfriend Marshall on 3rd Avenue S. Marshall, who is schizophrenic, was recently arrested for stealing cars during a paranoid episode. Vella, who grew up in Virginia, was attending Seattle Culinary Academy when Marshall first develop symptoms of schizophrenia. She took a break from school to take care of him, but was unable to return after her 2-year deferment. "I say 'we have schizophrenia' like people say 'we're pregnant', it has almost affected my life more than his."
Clothes hang from a tree along 3rd Avenue S in area where RVs line the block.Zane Spencer, 27, lives in an RV with his dad off of Colorado Avenue S. He works as a stage hand but has been homeless for four months after an altercation with his roommate.Frank, 66, has been homeless for 19 years. He spent 9 of those years in the Jungle. A year ago he was able to get a donated RV from the MORElove project where he lives on 3rd Avenue S with his dog Jojo--it's the first place that has felt like home for him. After spending 19 months as a POW during the Vietnam War, he can't live in a house. Walls and upper floor dwellings give him the feeling of being caged.Patrick, 32, who grew up in Darrington, was living in Ballard and working full time moving furniture, when his boss died and he ended up in an RV on 3rd Avenue S. He works side jobs, but doesn't make enough money to afford an apartment. "It would be nice to be able to shower whenever I want," he said. He hopes the city can provide a spot to park RVs with some stability.Mobile homes line the left side of Colorado Avenue S. A few blocks south of Seattle’s Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park.Lars Fredriksson has lived in his van with his fiancee for the past few months. They previously lived in Tent City 6, but say there was too much politics and drug use there. They also tried the DCSC shelter, but only men are allowed to sleep there and the bugs drove them away. They often stay at campsites in state parks for now, but are trying to get into an apartment or RV. "This doesn't feel like home." Fredriksson thinks the city should open up more safe lots and charge $5-10 per day to park there, to help pay for portable toilets and security.John Wittnik, 52Megan, 41, Robert, 46, and Janelle, 39, live in an RV on 3rd Avenue S. They all spoke about being harassed by people walking to and from the stadiums past their RV on game days. "The comments people make on game days are horrible and rude," says Robert."If any one of us had the option of housing, we would be all over it," said Carl Davis, who is disabled and hasn't had a steady job since 1998. Davis lived in a tent for three months before moving into an RV. "I don't like to be here but I'd rather be in a motorhome than a tent."Everyone calls Anete Rowell, 64, "Auntie". Born and raised in Seattle, she has been homeless for a few months and lives in an RV on Colorado Avenue S.Micah Wolftail, 19Mobile homes line the left side of Colorado Avenue S while cars belonging to employees of Starbucks headquarters and other business in the neighborhood line the right