Update On The Possible Closing Of Tent City

After a flurry of activity over the past few days between a couple of long time Tent City residents and the primary source of the rumor that Inner Cities had requested help in closing the area, here is the latest:

Residents made contact with the source to determine exactly what was occurring and what was said. This information was then relayed directly to the "top man" at Inner Cities, who stated that he had no knowledge of the report arising from his agency. He stated to the resident that "he had no plans to move people out, had no problems with who was down there now", although he didn't want to see any more folks come in, and offered a theory as to what may have happened. He believed that perhaps someone used the telephone that Inner Cities allows some Tent City members access to, but which does come up on caller ID as "Inner Cities Ministries." He posited that maybe someone with an axe to grind or a score to settle placed a call to the primary source and fraudulently made the report. When I spoke with the Tent City resident about this, he felt it could be a definite possibility, so he recontacted the primary source in order to add some clarity and finality to the outcome. So here's where we stand right now, and this is from the mouth of the head of Inner Cities: the area will remain open with the current group there, and although he would like to see a reduction in the overall number of folks, he is not forcing anyone out. However, he does not want any new people coming in, so Tent City is effectively closed to newcomers.

Many thanks to the fine folks at Tent City who made contact with me and then were able to contact the source directly to get this taken care of. Sometimes a little rumor goes a long way in getting things done and stupidity squashed. Much love to my brothers and sisters down at the camp.