Regarding the matter of tent city encampments, I strongly urge the Sammamish City Council to enact an ordinance granting religious institutions broad latitude with respect to how and when they choose to use their real properties for said purpose. Among the more compelling reasons are:

Homelessness is a societal problem, which will not cease to exist simply because we choose to shield it from our sight. We, as a society, must and will deal with homelessness both on a long term and short term basis. Religious and charitable institutions are particularly well positioned to deal with the current, or short term needs of homeless individuals.

The costs associated with homelessness when not underwritten by charitable entities fall squarely on the public sector.

Tent city encampments can be in our midst without incident as evidenced by the recent experience at Faith United Methodist Church.

Specious arguments proffered in opposition to tent city encampments generally revolve around threats to child safety and weakened property values, both without foundation in fact.

The separation of church and state is one of the guarantees of the Constitution of the United States of America.

This is America. We don’t intentionally let people starve and we don’t intentionally let them die in the streets. I implore the Sammamish City Council to act on this matter in a manner that allows the religious institutions in Sammamish to exercise their constitutional rights, minister to the less-fortunate, and incidentally reduce the costs of homelessness to the taxpayers.

William A. Bennett, Sammamish