Nickelsville is the name given to a network of homeless villages across the city of Seattle. Its name is taken from that of Greg Nickels, who was Seattle mayor from 2002 to 2009. Nickels initiated sweeps of homeless encampments in Seattle, and in 2008, the first of the so-called tiny home villages “commemorated” the activity by bestowing the community with his name. Lower Wallingford has hosted the Northlake Nickelsville community for a long time, and it has existed mostly quietly north of the Ivar’s parking lot. There have been internal feuds and conflicts, mostly related to the testy relationship between the Nickelsville organization and the Low Income Housing Institute, which was originally chartered by the city to manage the villages and connect residents to transitional services. But through it all, through the isolation of the pandemic, the Wallingford Nickelsville has persisted. Currently, there are three Nickelsville villages, in Northlake, Brighton, and the Central District. Over the years, Wallyhood has tried to reach out to our local Northlake village to better connect and potentially provide community support. But these efforts have been mostly fruitless.
Recently, however, Wallyhood received a request from Nickelsville for help during the holiday season. Specifically, they are seeking Secret Santas to support village residents (known as “Nickelodeons”) during the dark days of winter and during the season typically associated with kindness and generosity. Here is the text of their letter:
This holiday season please consider sponsoring a Nickelodeon. Send an email to [email protected] and we’ll reply with a wish list written by a Nickelsville villager. You’ll be able to contact us if you have follow up questions about the gift suggestions. Gifts will be collected at our office on Phinney Ridge and distributed to the villages a few days before Christmas. If you’re unable to deliver the gifts a pickup can be arranged. After the holidays your recipient will send a thank you letter.
For those of you for which it might be important, Nickelsville is a registered 501c3 organization.
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