- Kelcie Lee
- Oct 3, 2024 (DailyCal.org)
Community members continue to occupy an encampment in front of Berkeley City Hall, calling on the city to provide affordable housing for vulnerable populations.
The encampment, established Sunday, consists of about 20 tents occupied by both housed and unhoused people.According to Yesica Prado, a Berkeley Homeless Union officer, there are currently more unhoused people staying in the tents.
Prado said they are now operating “like a sanctioned camp,” in hopes to demonstrate “solidarity” and show support among both the housed and unhoused communities.
Due to the current heatwave in Berkeley, nonprofit organization Where Do We Go put out a call on Instagram to bring a variety of supplies and cooling resources to endure the heat. Prado said community members — who are not staying at the encampment — have also been picking up supplies they need, while others have been “so generous” to drop off food.
Andrea Henson, Where Do We Go board chair, noted that canopies and tents under shade have been set up to avoid the heat, while they’ve received ice and water, too.
Gordon Gilmore, Berkeley Homeless Union co-founder, mentioned the encampment’s demands, including to “stop the sweeps,” “provide affordable housing assistance and resources for individuals who cannot afford to pay for their rent,” “provide ADA accessible housing and temporary shelter for those who have disabilities” and an “end of discrimination and segregation of individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty.”
“We’re occupying the space as a form of protest until those conditions and asks are met,” Gilmore said. “In doing so, we’re trying to create a safe space for people to go to if they’re swept from their locations, and simultaneously giving them the ability to come in and give voice to their interests, have that political agency and also create a safe space for them.”
Henson alleged that, in response to the encampment, city employees from the Homeless Services Division were “kicking tents to see if people were inside” and opening tents to “take pictures inside” on Tuesday.
“That kind of behavior (against) an already vulnerable population that’s feeling empowered to protest chills freedom of speech,” Henson said. “It’s coercive, and it’s wrong.”
She said the city told her they wanted to provide services, but she believes that if this was the case, they would be more welcoming by setting up a table with supplies and water.
In response to these allegations, city staff spokesperson Matthai Chakko said the staff was “checking on different tents” and “offering services,” while being “polite” and “gracious.” He said they were granted permission to film at the encampment and hope to “get people housed.”
“We have staff that go out to encampments throughout the city to offer services and help people get into housing. We really work very hard at it, and we coordinate with a number of other agencies to make that possible,” Chakko said. “I know that these are issues that our staff work on every day. It takes a lot of personal work, and I personally have seen them do it great.”
Looking forward, people residing in the encampment are holding meetings to discuss the ongoing action and future events, such as yoga in the park.
Last night, Henson said dinner was provided by houselessness advocacy group Village in Oakland at 6 p.m. She said evenings allow for community music, “housed and unhoused doing duets of Tracy Chapman” and bonding conversation.
“We’re allowing people to come here. We’ve been having rallies. We’re planning events to be able to give voice to their protest, especially when Berkeley is supposed to be the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement. And everything that they’ve done is killing what Berkeley stood for,” Henson said. “The allure of Berkeley is the legacy.”
(Courtesy of JP Massar)
