Update on “The Boy in the Tent”: he is now safe — community stepped in when the city did not

I wanted to share an important update following the KIRO story and the context I gave here.

Late last night, The More We Love was contacted by SPD to help the family.

Here’s what I know:

• The father has been hospitalized with pneumonia and now is in liver failure.

• The mother was heavily intoxicated, and the hospital contacted CPS.

• When CPS attempted to take custody of the child, the child became aggressive toward the caseworker.

• I have personally observed the child being instructed by his parents on how to respond to police and CPS, including during a welfare call when he was discovered to be alone in the tent and I coaxed him out.

• An SPD detective who heard the KIRO story contacted The More We Love at 1 a.m., asking if they could help.

Some more context:

• I originally notified Kristine with The More We Love about this situation weeks ago. They told me then that if it ever came to this, she would be willing to help as a favor to me, not because they were funded or contracted by the city.

• When SPD reached out overnight, The More We Love honored that commitment and agreed to take the family in.

• This happened despite the City of Seattle having canceled its contract with them, and with no city resources backing the intake.

• After the tent was abandoned, Andrea Suarez and the We ❤️ Seattle crew cleaned up the site, stepping in after repeated Find It, Fix It requests were ignored by the city.

As of now:

• The child is safe

• The mother’s intake process has begun

• The road ahead isn’t easy obviously. The mother is dealing with fentanyl addiction, and recovery is hard under any circumstances — especially with a child involved. At least this is a starting point that didn’t exist before.

I’ll be doing a supply run to Renton today or tomorrow with clothes, basic supplies, and toys to help stabilize things in the short term.

How you can help right now

Because this intervention happened without city funding or support, The More We Love is covering the cost directly.

If you want to help, the most useful support right now is cash donations through their website, which gives them flexibility to respond to immediate needs as this situation evolves.

The kid is safe not because the system worked, but because people made commitments and followed through.

Overall I want this to be a first step towards a better life for the kid and not another bandaid with him back in a tent again.