On a recent Wednesday night, a half-dozen Quakers sat in silence in a small library and felt the Inward Light guiding them to what they had to do — close down a homeless camp that for years had operated outside their University District building.

As luck — or providence — would have it, their fears that the encampment had grown too dangerous were confirmed that night when Seattle police responded to a fight outside the building and arrested a homeless man with a switchblade and crack pipes.

The next night, some of the dozen or so homeless regulars returned as usual to sleep under the eaves of the building. All seemed calm.

But that Friday morning, Quakers bearing coffee, doughnuts and bagels told those still around the building on Ninth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 40th Street to leave — for good. They posted notices that Seattle police would be patrolling the area and that trespassers would be prosecuted.Read Article