User:Kavnaulakh/Homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area

Legend

Main Prose -- Plain Text

CopyEdited Prose -- Bold Text

My Prose -- Italicized Text

Jordan crackdown (1992-1996) [UNDER HISTORICAL BACKGROUND SECTION)
Former police chief Frank Jordan won the 1992 mayoral race on a platform of bringing public order back to the city and promised to return public space back to its residents from homeless people and youth activists. Jordan sought to crack down on the disorderly and troublesome activists who he thought were dealt with too leniently by the former administration. Jordan's four years saw 700 arrests and citations given to the Food Not Bombs activists, prompting Amnesty International to respond:"'Amnesty International is concerned that the Food Not Bombs activists may have been targeted on account of their beliefs and effectively prohibited from exercising their right to freedom of expression, assembly, and the right to impart information. If this were found to be the case, the City of San Francisco would be in breach of international law and Amnesty International would adopt those imprisoned as 'Prisoners of Conscience' and work for their unconditional release.'"This approach of criminalizing homelessness, in the eyes of homeless advocates, was popularly viewed as a step in the wrong direction and did little to actually aid the community, and rather only manage it.

London Breed [SUBHEADING I AM INSERTING AFTER GAVIN NEWSOM SUBHEADING]
''Current Mayor London Breed, elected in 2018 and reelected in 2019, has expressed extremely progressive development plans for the unhoused community. Her policy has been centered around growing the availability of affordable units as well as protecting those that currently exist. She has also worked on local policy to support safe drug use. This includes fentanyl testing, clean needles, and the expansion of the San Francisco Street Overdose Team to include a dedicated team to support and follow up with people after overdose incidents. Her policies have also provided safe parking spaces for those residing in their vehicles.''

Outreach organizations [UNDER ALAMEDA COUNTY SUBHEADING]
These outreach organizations and their efforts to alleviate the adverse effects that result from the condition of homelessness are partially funded by the Alameda County 2018-2021 Homelessness Action Plan budget that is specifically allocated towards outreach services. The Alameda County Office of Homeless Care and Coordination has a comprehensive list of organizations and services that are available to the unhoused community. Organizations such as the Berkeley Outreach Coalition, a collective group of nonprofits established to streamline services and support food and housing insecure residents, allow coordinated service provision and advocacy efforts.

''Nonprofits established under the jurisdiction of the University of California, Berkeley have also played a role in the provision of services to the Alameda County homeless community, specifically that of the Berkeley Community. Examples of this are the Suitcase Clinic. Centered around the ideologies of active participation, mutual aid, and community development, the Suitcase Clinic provides a more holistic view on aid compared to the traditional service organization.''

Displacement efforts [NEW SUBHEADING I AM ADDING UNDER ANTIHOMELESS ORDINANCE]
''Encampments, or known as some to "tent cities," continue to pop up throughout the Bay Area as hotspots for those who are unhoused. These encampments have served as a place of refuge and gathering. The need for areas that are both open and accessible are key to meeting the needs of those who are unhoused. Many people experiencing homelessness opt out of taking aid from shelters due to the rigorous rules and requirements that limit accessibility and personal safety in the spaces. Due to a lack of physical and psychological safety, clients often report high levels of victimization and trauma as a result of staying in these shelters. Given that many of these encampments are established in public areas, it is often up to the discretion of the city and state governments to allow the encampments to remain where they are.''

Seabreeze
''The Seabreeze encampment, located under and level to the I-80 underpass in West Berkeley served as one of the largest and most populated encampments in the area. The encampment existed for well over two years before it was swept by Caltrans and Governor Gavin Newsom on August 9th, 2021. The eviction came at a time in which many residents were looking for housing. Residents were given 10 minutes to gather their belonging and clear the area. This came months after an established relationship between Caltrans and the encampment, in which Caltrans has regularly hauled away debris collecting at the encampment. Alongside the sweep, Alameda County, in conjunction with Project Roomkey, aimed to offer hotel room vouchers to dozen of those who had been evicted. For months after the Caltrans sweep, the area remained fenced off to prevent further gathering.''

People's Park
''People's Park, established in 1969 by found Michael Delacour, began as a space for radical political activism. The park quickly grew as an encampment space for the homeless population of Berkeley. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, People's Park served as the largest encampment in Berkeley, housing over 50 people. The Park serves as a space of mutual aid, in which community organizations visit the Park regularly, bringing in many of the high-need basic needs requested by the residents of the Park. The Park hosts many service oriented organizations, including the Suitcase Clinic, Berkeley Outreach Coalition, Food Not Bombs, Defend People's Park, and the Sikh Student Association. In February of 2021, the University of California, Berkeley announced its intention to build student housing over People's Park, in a situation they described as a "win-win-win-win." The building of student housing over People's Park guarantees the displacement of the 50+ residents that currently take space in the Park. While the university has alluded to allocate a section of the student housing complex to serve as a space for supportive housing, it has not yet been decided how this selection process will be carried out. Current speculation suggests the supportive housing will be geared towards housing those who identify as veterans, an identity that many residents of the Park do not hold. Organizations like Defend People's Park and the People's Park Committee, who continue to push for no displacement, question the university's ability to house all the current residents of the Park.''