Hey People!

San Francisco, CA

Join us for a gathering of homeless, formerly homeless and their supporters for self-determination to create REAL solutions for homelessness on Tuesday, January 17th, at Noon in the Civic Center Plaza for the MLK Homeless People Popular Assembly! See the event page>>>

This is part of a coordinated action with the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP), a multi-state alliance fighting for the civil and human rights of those experiencing poverty and homelessness.

CITY CLEARS BOX CITY, OFFERS ONLY 30 DAY SHELTER

San Francisco – In pouring down rain, city officials started clearing “box city” at 7 am this morning. The encampment made up of men and women, including a tight knit group of Tagalog speaking Filipinos rushed this morning to move their belongings through deep puddles and across the street.

Meanwhile, city workers threw belongings into dumpsters, and crushed previously occupied boxes.

The US Interagency Council on Homelessness released best practice guidelines for municipalities recommending that individuals in encampments should have access to housing before they are removed from said areas, and if no such housing exists, to provide temporary shelter that leads to housing. San Francisco is violating those guidelines, as they are only offering temporary housing to camp residents. San Francisco also has the highest number of anti-homeless laws in the state.

“As we are approaching our day to honor Martin Luther King, the poor treatment of box city residents is an example of the fight Dr. King was leading for housing and economic justice for the poor. Here we are 50 years later and we still have unfinished business.” According to Bilal Ali, Human Rights Organizer. “The city must invest deeply in creating true solutions, such as housing for destitute San Franciscans”

Camp residents can relocate to the Navigation Center and then likely return to the streets after 30 days, or they can move their man made shelters a block or two away. Some of the boxes were relocated to Pier 50.

According to one camp resident who preferred to stay anonymous “30 days in the navigation center just isnʼt enough time for me to get help. I canʼt even get my belongings over there”.

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Oakland , CA

Come out on January 19th, rsvp click here to saint Mary's Center's MLK Jr. gathering. Elders will be sharing their perspective on mlk's legcacy and the current movement work to fight the criminalization of poor and homeless people's existence.

City-sanctioned encampment was swept

Oakland's new "Compassionate Communities" city-sanctioned encampment was swept today at 11 AM. The purpose of setting up these city-sanctioned encampments is in direct response to sweeps, raids, displacement and seizure of property of homeless people all across the country. However, today the city of Oakland brought orders to "clean" the encampment and decrease the size by about a 1/2. This looked like the department of public works employees stealing homeless people's belongings such as tarps, tents, clothes and blankets. People were asked to cross the street while the sweep was happening and take their belongings with them, although many residents of the encampment were not present when the sweep began and had their property stolen or destroyed.

The Oakland Police Department were present as well. About 10-15 advocates and organizers were present to document and interrupt the sweeps. The city employees who work for the "Compassionate Communities" project did not see any issues with their coordinated robbery of the encampment but would not say who the call for the sweep came from. In times of intense weather patterns, like the storm currently brewing in the Bay Area, we know that seizure of property like tents, blankets and tarps can be deadly. Organizers are gearing up to respond to this sweep and plan for the next time the sweep comes before the termination of the project in March.

Sacramento, CA

Things are really heating up in Sacramento next week. On Monday, January 16th there is a large Reclaim MLK march where organizers will take to the streets in honor of MLK's legacy of fighting the violence of white supremacy and capitalism and the current manifestation of these oppressive systems. Then on January 20th, there will be a day of action in opposition to the Trump presidency. We know that Sacramento is situated differently then other cities in California as the capitol of the state. Join us in rising up and demanding a future where we can all thrive.

Portland, OR

On Saturday, January 21 join us in a family-friendly march for human rights and a celebration of our community power. For more info >>>

The Oregon #Right2Rest Act was introduced this week! We have a bill number and organizers are gearing up to fight the criminalization of our communities and win some real relief for our loved ones on the streets.

Stay tuned for ways to support the legislative work this season. We know that everyone deserves the right to rest - it's about time the Oregon legislature knows it too. Under the new rise of fascism and the Trump regime, we know that time is even more pressing to abolish laws criminalizing our existence and grow our strength to fight back against the new violent laws that are soon to come down the line. You can read the full language here:
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/ORLEG/subscriber/new and sign up to receive updates for HB 2215 here:
https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB2215/

Colorado Right to Rest Kick off

Colorado's #Right2Rest Kick off was a huge success!! Organizers planned for around 25 participants and were blown away by over 75 people coming to learn about the #Right2Rest Act, to hear about the Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign that the bill is grounded in and sign up for ways to support the legislation this year.

You can see more in the video below: