A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Israel Bayer
Thousands of people die homeless every year in the U.S. In this piece, Israel Bayer, who leads INSP’s North American project, and has worked with street papers and people experiencing homelessness for more than two decades, recounts instances where his work brought him face to face with this terrible reality.
The winter of 2017 Portland, Oregon was hit with an unusually long ice storm.
A federal district court has issued a ruling that blocks the City of Fresno from enforcing an ordinance that puts unconstitutional restrictions on reporters, advocates, and other members of the public documenting how city workers treat unhoused people during encampment sweeps.
“The court recognized that this law was unconstitutional from the start because it is vague, over broad, and threatens to sweep in significant free expression protected by the Constitution,” said Hannah Kieschnick,
In the winter of 2013, I started working at a small Italian restaurant. It was close to where I lived in the Upstate NY town that I had moved to in 2012. My husband and I had left NYC after Hurricane Sandy destroyed our home and everything in it. I was lucky to escape with just the clothes on my back and my little blind cat, Grumbles. Grumbles was a ginger cat that I had rescued when I found him on a Brooklyn street,
by Keith McHenry
“This cause is a great cause and we’re tired of being treated like dirt. We’re not, we’re human beings. We bleed just like you and we’re good people. We need a safe place and this is a safe place right here.” – Deseire Quintero
Volunteers with Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs wait outside what had been a large homeless camp that welcomed visitors for over one half year.
Homeless People Demand Bathrooms — Berkeley, CA
A community meeting called by Council member Ben Bartlett was attended by nearly 100 members of the immediate area including the Lorin Business Association, Friends of Adeline and Le Conte Neighborhood Association. In visible attendance were about 15 members of First They Came For The Homeless (FTCFTH) including Co-Founder Mike Zint and former Berkeley Mayoral Candidate Mike Lee. This meeting was motivated by a few concerns articulated on Nextdoor.com about the intentional community created in South Berkeley by FTCFTH as part of a mobile protest tour,
New York City has seen a lot of action around the intersection of immigrant status and quality of life crimes. San Francisco should look at following their lead.
Mayor Bill DeBlasio, like our Mayor Lee, has made strong statements shield and stand with immigrants. Like San Francisco, New York is a sanctuary city . However, as many have noted, the real way to create a sanctuary is to halt to crackdowns on minor offenses—like lodging in public spaces—that make immigrants the subject of unnecessary arrests and can lead to deportations.
