BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) Tucked behind the Bellingham Walmart is a site many Whatcom County locals know all too well. Dubbed by some as the infamous “Walmart encampment,” this 20-acre stretch of private property is home to a host of people ranging from their mid-teens to their early 80’s. 

While its entrance is easily identified by the assortment of tattered tents, tarps and folding chairs scattered around it, one unusual sight stands out on this snowy mid-January day: a vast collection of shopping carts all sorted into a jumbled array, filled to their brims with obscure items that would overwhelm even the biggest Hoarders fan.

They’re there as part of a rare opportunity at paid work for the occupants of this encampment. The objective is simple: fill a cart with trash, take it out of the forest and earn $2. It’s not much, but in a space where cash is at a premium and opportunities are scarce, the invitation is more than welcome.

Carts full of trash from all over the area pile up outside the encampment behind the Walmart in Bellingham. People who live in the encampment were paid $2 a cart to aid in cleaning up the land. Photographer: Sam Kristofferson

It’s just one of the services offered by a small group of locals working to support Bellingham’s homeless population during the coldest days of winter. 

Jeff Holmes and Carrie Berg were among the volunteers who made the rounds between a circuit of encampments during the winter storm that all but shut down the city’s roads at one point in January. The couple owns and operates a tattoo shop but chose to abandon their duties to join the cause. 

“A group of us got together worried that the people would be suffering and possibly dying out here, so we wanted to do what we could to put a stopgap in that,” Holmes said. 

The roughly 10-person group passed out propane tanks, food, warm clothes and other supplies to members of the encampment during the snowy week in which temperatures dipped near zero degrees. They estimate serving anywhere between 10 and 50 people each time.

Beyond the material supplies, the group gives cheerful support to the camp-dwellers through casual conversation. Chatting about how their day has gone or joking about some small annoyance keeps the mood light, even in the presence of such frigid conditions.

“Sitting and talking with people, that’s really important. It’s not just dropping off supplies and ‘Ok they’re ok, now I need to go.’ Sometimes people just need someone to talk to and listen,” Holmes said.

“People are incredibly grateful that somebody cares,” added Berg.

The two are highly familiar with the layout of the encampment, which Holmes estimates goes about a mile into the woods with anywhere from 60 to 80 regular occupants (though other estimates are upwards of 300). He says the front of the camp is what gives it a bad rap, as most of the drug users prefer to stay closer towards civilization to get their next fix. But travel farther into the woods, Holmes says, and the mischief settles down.

“Something that’s really important to understand is that not all these people are high on fentanyl,” Holmes said. “As a matter of fact, a large percentage are actually sober. They’re just struggling in life and they don’t know where to turn.”

Many people living inside of the encampment see it as its own community, complete with bridges, railings, cabins and other infrastructure built by inhabitants. Tents are frequently found in clumps, where a family or group of friends reside in each other’s company. It’s common to even see signs in the woods with messages to the rest of the occupants – sometimes pleasant and other times not. 

One of the occupants named Molly led us through the woods as the camp’s unofficial tour guide. 

Wading through the snowy trail and inching carefully down an ice-covered hill, she noted that “in the summer it’s actually fun.”

Molly, a resident of the encampment, with her dog “Little Bear” who lives with her in the shelter pictured here. These shelters, called “cabins” by residents, are comprised of a mix of materials ranging from old pallets to plywood to tarps. Photographer: Sam Kristofferson

Trash removed via shopping carts had made only a minuscule dent in the waste-filled forest, and Molly was still visibly bothered by it. She made a point of describing how clean she tries to keep her living space and explained how she has the seemingly futile role of trying to improve the site’s image to the outside world.

“I don’t want them to look at us like we’re just bums,” said Molly. 

Still, despite the apparent sense of community within its occupants, the encampment has a negative reputation attached to it for many reasons. It’s common to see the spot make the headlines of news articles and online discussion boards for the illegal activity that emerges from it.

The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office conducted a large-scale drug bust last September, where they recovered enough fentanyl to kill every resident in Bellingham. The man that headed the operation had a tent in the encampment, where police found four guns and more drugs.

A sign, created by someone in the encampment, posts their feelings on what it is like to live in that area. This is the only sign, other than “private property” signs that dwell in these woods. Photographer: Sam Kristofferson

Residents of the neighboring Tullwood Apartments have complained about constant disturbances to their daily lives coming from the encampment. One resident told King5 in October that she hears screaming, fights and gunfire at all hours of the day. 

It would be inaccurate to portray the area as an entirely peaceful safe haven with a history of violence like this assault reported last year by MyBellinghamNow.  It is impossible to know for sure what fraction of the camp’s occupants are dangerous, but those living in it feel public perception seems to unfavorably skew that number. 

Holmes and Berg are less concerned with the background of the campers and more interested in how they can help them. The group recently contacted the city to do a major garbage pickup of trash filled in 147 shopping carts to clean up the encampment. They continue to do daily outreach to their circuit of camps around north Bellingham and distribute food a few times a week now that the severe weather has passed, but Holmes says they can only do so much to help. 

“We’re hitting a lot of roadblocks because there aren’t a lot of programs, and the programs that are available tend to get overwhelmed really quickly, like cold-weather shelters,” Holmes said.

Holmes says the biggest challenge for the group has been trying to get members of the encampment into treatment for their addiction. It’s proved to be a major barrier in getting them back on their feet, as a detox itself hasn’t been enough. Opening those barriers to opioid treatment programs is a step that U.S. Representative Rick Larsen prioritized when giving policy recommendations in his recently-released opioid crisis report.

The Walmart encampment is one of three that Holmes, Berg and the rest of their group offer support to, with the other two being located at Sunset Pond and behind the Jack in the Box on Bakerview Road. The trio of camps make up just part of the 15 that Holmes estimates exist within the city.

As difficult as it may be to reshape one’s opinion on an issue such as the camp behind Walmart given its greatly flawed history, Holmes urges the public to see its inhabitants for who they truly are.

“These are people. And there’s more love back there than you would ever understand.”