“We’re an empowerment camp, not a homeless camp,” says Steve Wiggins, Operations Director of Camp Unity Eastside, a nonprofit started in November of last year after breaking with Tent City 4.

In June Camp Unity and First United Methodist Church (FUMC) of Bellevue applied for a permit to temporarily stay in the city, starting in September. If approved, the 85-person encampment would move from its current location in Kirkland to First United Methodist Church (FUMC) of Bellevue. The encampment which transports its own showers, wash basins and porta potties, would stay through December.

“Our goal is for our [members] to leave homelessness and rejoin society,” explains Wiggins.

It’s not the first time First United Methodist Church has extended a hand. In 2009 FUMC hosted Tent City 4 and the city of Bellevue again welcomed the encampment in 2011 at Temple B’nai Torah. Camp Unity broke with Tent City 4 in November of last year, in part because parent group Seattle Housing and Resources Effort (SHARE) objected to randomly running members through a sex offender registry. Earlier that month a suspect wanted for first-degree child rape had been arrested at its Kirkland location. Tent City officials argued that while they prioritized safety, they felt such routine background checks were an invasion of privacy.

“We provide food for the most part, a meal in the evening and we have our own showers—almost all the amenities you need in every home,” says Wiggins. “When you’re job hunting you need those services to spruce up and be presentable.”

Camp Unity has ongoing background checks, a strict no drug or alcohol policy and a regular security force with a supervisor on duty 24/7. The burgeoning nonprofit also distinguishes itself from other encampments with its focus on giving back to its host neighborhoods, and on rehabilitating members. Residents participate in community service and Wiggins says that while still being developed, the camp offers skill building programs. A website details residents’ artistic talents, including an album of a row of stone birdhouses and a short poem by another member.

“To tilt the odds in favor of getting someone out of homelessness,” reads the website, “you have to give them access to simple services.”

Camp Unity organizers observe that a growing number of members are from out of state, many having moved from Texas or Arizona expecting to find jobs, and then becoming stranded when work isn’t immediately available. But Wiggins says success stories aren’t uncommon.

“One fellow got a job in the computer field on the Eastside…We’ve had two other couples in the last two weeks find housing and move out,” says Wiggins. “That’s a high success rate.”

He adds that as with any addition to a neighborhood there are hiccups along the way. The first couple of weeks can lead to noise complaints as the encampment settles into its’ new environment, but the Eastside has thus far been welcoming, says Wiggins.

To address community concerns, a meeting will be held in partnership with the city of Bellevue at First United Methodist Church on August 1 at 6 p.m.

To learn more about Camp Unity and its code of conduct visit the nonprofit’s website. at campunityeastside.org. FUMC can be reached here.