Berkeley Cares Day ~ Saturday 11/20
On Tuesday November 9th, the city council passed two proposals that are meant to streamline the creation of affordable housing. One of the proposals was called “Resolution Recognizing Housing as a Human Right.” The council also recommended spending $200k on a homeless outreach coordinator for the south Shattuck corridor. These words and proposals may sound lovely, until you know what’s actually happening on our streets.
On that same day in the south Shattuck corridor, city staff confiscated the tents and belongings of at least three unhoused people and essentially rendered them completely homeless. And it’s not just that one day. For months the city has methodically focused on different groups of homeless people around Berkeley to sweep/evict, breaking up communities.
There is a web of codes that prevent people from existing on the street — even though they have nowhere else to go — since housing is not yet a human right in Berkeley. One of these onerous codes prohibits non-commercial items from being left unattended on the sidewalk for more than two hours. This makes it impossible for someone to go to school, be gainfully employed, get across town to a doctor’s appointment or tend to a friend or family member in need.
Before the evictions of the past few weeks in the south Shattuck corridor, there was an established community there, with one couple having lived there for almost 10 years. On October 15, multiple residents were given printed Public Notices warning them of removal on October 22. On October 19, they were woken before 6am by dump trucks, police officers, and city personnel — who tried to convince them to give up belongings and go into the Horizon shelter. One resident, who was promised shelter, gave up everything he owned. He then waited all day on that corner for the city outreach worker to take him to the shelter. The outreach worker never came.
Fortunately however, several community based organizations have been serving the people in the south Shattuck corridor for a long time, ensuring their basic needs are met. This is what the city needs. For the city to spend $200k on another homeless outreach coordinator, instead, seems senseless.
Many of the established unhoused residents in the south Shattuck corridor have now been evicted, and yet new people are showing up who have been pushed out of other parts of Berkeley. This whack-a-mole eviction approach causes further harm and still provides no long-term housing.
Since August, we’ve witnessed the homeless response team and other city staff continuously treat the unhoused in an undignified, traumatizing and callous manner. No matter what the council purports to stand for, the actions condoned by the city manager speaks volumes.
As an antidote to all of this hypocrisy, join us for BERKELEY CARES DAY: Care Village & Festival ~ an afternoon of music and fun combined with needed acts of care provided for and by the entire community! Saturday November 20 ~ MLK Civic Center Park ~ noon to 3pm
This article first appeared in the Berkeley Times on Thursday November 18, 2021.
