NCH Demands an End to the Cruel Policies of Making it Illegal to be Without Housing in the US.

Homes Not Sweeps Actions Continue September 6 – 11, 2022

The National Coalition for the Homeless is declaring the first week of September a Homes Not Sweeps Week of Action. We will host demonstrators, protests, and marches across the nation to call attention to the unjust “sweeping” of homeless encampments.

“This is exactly the wrong approach and will only make the problems associated with homelessness dramatically worse,” said Donald Whitehead, the Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. “Attacking people who are homeless for personal gain is the most despicable thuggery I can imagine, and we shouldn’t let it happen without a fight.”

Actions are being held to ask federal and city officials to stop criminalizing homelessness. We are urging our communities to respond to the needs of our unhoused neighbors with trauma-informed service and care. The social service needs of the community need immediate attention, and the local leaders need to start addressing the affordable housing crisis in our cities. Ordinances that criminalize people for sleeping outdoors only exacerbate the issues that cause homelessness.

The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), an advocacy organization committed to ending homelessness, will host the Washington, DC, premiere of the documentary “No Address: Atlanta” by filmmaker Caletta Harris. Following the free film screening at American University will be a panel discussion featuring civil rights activists and homeless policy experts discussing the negative effects of sweeps on a community and the setbacks it causes in the life of those living on the streets.

NCH is partnering with local coalitions in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Austin, and Miami to warn the community that local governments are bullying, harassing and in some cases arresting taxpayers for the crime of being without housing. DC law enforcement are also harassing and regularly moving people around the city.

Our DC event will be on September 8 at 7 p.m. at the American University Woods Amphitheater at 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW. in DC. We have the Battelle Atrium if there is rain on September 8.

The participants in the panel discussion include:

  • Filmmaker Caletta Harris, who also does a number of podcasts around poverty and homelessness.
  • NCH executive director Donald Whitehead, who has 25 years working in homeless organizations and got off the streets of Cincinnati in the late 1990s
  • Antonia Fasanelli, the executive director of the National Homelessness Law Center and a former activist in the Baltimore region will talk about their work stopping criminalization
  • Professor Dan Kerr of American University and author of Derelict Paradise which details the history of homelessness in Cleveland will join the discussion
  • Attorney and Georgetown Professor Joe Mead will talk about his history of work protecting the civil rights of those without housing in his career.

The event is free and will focus on the devastating impact criminalization has on the 66 cities currently endeavoring to “sweep” unhoused people out of sight.

Click for the Facebook event

Join the movement: Follow Home Not Sweeps on NCH’s official Facebook page, or visit the NCH website for more about Civil Rights issues.

*Publishing Note*
The below testimony was originally published on Facebook. We have added emphasis, and other readability edits. The Austin area activist who posted the testimony said about the writer,

“This young woman is exceptional, and has lived thru a darker hell than most could even imagine. I admire her strength and poise and intelligence and she is what I fight for everyday. These silenced voices, the woman who disappear, the men who become criminals with wounded hearts, the mentally ill and physically disabled, the youngest and oldest and most vulnerable are why I get up every day.  The second and now third generation unhoused community members here in one of the wealthiest most beautiful cities in America are the people I meet every day. Her voice should be heard. This was written by a young woman named Whitley from a small town Mississippi, who is experiencing homelessness here in Austin. 

By Whitley

After a season of suffering, I really wouldn’t ever wish [this] on anybody, I lived under this bridge between those pillars. I was blessed enough to be the only one who was able to secure transitional housing by sheer luck of the stars and God allowing the right people in my circle that cared.

Stop the Sweeps, Austin

A few weeks later the Prop B/HB1925 sweeps (Austin’s voter initiative to force enforcement of the anti-camping ban) took place from encampments from Great Hills all the way up to Lake Creek.

The folks in these encampments, my own people, [faced] panic, shock, defeat and total and complete loss as they were told [the news of a sweep] after being previously promised by officials [that] they would also be given rehousing in the HEAL Initiative hotels.  City of Austin Government [developed alternatives] for the sweeps (to which many were excited)… only to learn these sweeps were initiated by Office of the Governor Greg Abbott who were offering no less traumatic alternatives. 

There were no counselors or social workers [offered by the Governor]. There were no trauma informed police officers. There were no non profit organizations [sent to offer help]. There was only myself and two ride or die’s J Chain, and S R Love (Austin Mutual Aid) there to assist or offer any support at all whatsoever. I just happened to catch word of the sweeps around an hour after they began and ran into the [two outreach workers] myself on a bike. 

Photo published in the Texas Tribune

I watched my people weep, scream, protest, deflate into defeated hopelessness. [They] carried what they could carry of the only belongings they had left in this world to adjacent medians and [the] gas station parking lots. [Everything they owned were] in tents under overpasses to begin with because they had nowhere to go and no resources to resolve [their housing situation]. 

Some were elderly, some disabled, some were veterans of war, some were teens, some were developmentally disabled, some physically handicapped, and most experienced some sort if not many instances of severe trauma in their life [while living under the overpass]. ALL suffered from some form of mental ILLNESS. 

Photo published by Spectrum News

All of them watched as a trash compactor destroyed their very homes and most of [their worldly] belongings.

All of them were human beings, just like you reading this right now.

I called the Mayor’s Pro Tem Alison Alter/City Council (This is the District 10 City Council member in Austin and this is what she lists as her priorities: managing growth responsibly, protecting open and green spaces, addressing transportation challenges, promoting transparent and effective government, investing in our children, and fostering civic engagement) myself and spoke to a secretary demanding answers and accountability [while I was] in tears. She was kind, but essentially the [City Council] and HEAL initiative were clueless to the sweeps even taking place at all. There apparently is no form of communication or plans in place between the state and city regarding camping bans and their subsequent sweeps. 

[The outreach teams and I] picked up the City’s and the State’s slack where [we could by finding] storage space for belongings that could be packed up. We bought as many tents and camp gear and food and hygiene as we could.  We made sandwiches on the tailgate as 6pm and scoured the earth trying to track folks down [everyone displaced] to make sure they had another form of shelter. I went [back to] home to my hotel room, and I cried until my eyes were swollen shut.

Photo published by the Austin American-Statesman

Half a billion dollars in one city alone was allocated for none of these people to suffer and become re-traumatized by the city as well as the fellow constituents that failed them [by voting for this initiative.] They were already the most marginalized [in our community] and are at risk [every day by living outside]. This could have been avoided. There was ample space and resources allocated so that these people could have been GIVEN hope instead of robbed of it that day. 

Since that day when my friends were pushed into woods, tunnels and gutters away from the eye of the public, [I wonder if there are] organizations that still care enough to help? I’ve witnessed [the trauma] personally including helping to rescue over 6 overdoses. Not 1, not 2, but 3 people I shared life with and loved and cared about have died. And [none of them even] had no funeral. [These were] people who fed me and gave to me when I had NOTHING and nobody. All three are dead. 

Photo published by the Austonian

The next morning [after this sweep] on my bike ride I stopped by the pillar where my makeshift home once stood. [The place] where I was publicly heckled every day by passersby for my living in poverty and [facing insurmountable] loss.  [All this caused tremendous] trauma coupled with the nine months of sexual assault left me with utter rage over the inequality and injustice of it all. It caused me to write across the city’s sign “STOP WAR ON PO’ FOLKS”

I still pass this pillar and this sign every single day months later. 

Today someone added to it, and I wept. Thank you to whoever reminded me today that God who isn’t just of love but IS love, calls the poor heirs to the kingdom of heaven. And that our suffering here for a short while made us blessed for the kingdom to come. 

Praying that my God will bring leaders to this city that won’t overlook this and will do the actual kingdom work to be a TRUE “heal initiative”… or create that in me with the strength that comes with it. 

*RIP to Koi and Guerro, the best Mother’s Day with the most love to mama Sherry Anne who deserved better than she was given – we will make up all the celebrations with you plus tax when you come back home. You were not forgotten today and are so loved.


NCH is calling for a Sweepless Summer.

We all want the same thing: a safe place to sleep. Stop the displacement, and invest in Housing!!

By Eva Lyons, NCH Intern Spring 2022

Similar to many other cities during the pandemic, Pittsburgh saw a large increase in the number who fled the shelters and could not find other housing so began living outside. Much of this trend is out of the cities hand, except for how they choose to react to this crisis or minimize it. Pittsburgh is the largest city within Allegheny County. Allegheny County prioritized those without housing to keep them safe during the pandemic. Other cities such as Cleveland, OH, and Santa Fe, NM, went down the same path, but most other cities adopted a law enforcement strategy to homelessness. Because unhoused individuals have many chronic health conditions they are at higher risks of getting COVID-19. There are far fewer places to isolate, which has caused an increasing number of people living on the streets in freezing temperatures.

Allegheny County took a more hands on approach and worked to keep everyone safe. They utilized every federal resource they could find, assembled unprecedented amounts of funding to get people inside. They adopted a prevention strategy, and tried connecting people to available services. In looking at models from the pandemic, we believe that Pittsburgh can serve as a template for other government entities to model in response to a health crisis as well as a better strategy for dealing with the emergency of homelessness.

Abigail Horn, Deputy Director of the Office of Community Services for Allegheny County, and Andy Halfhill, Administrator for Homeless Services for Allegheny County shared that the Health Department played an important and positive role in protecting their homeless population. The Health Department met regularly with homeless providers to determine best practices. They also sent staff to check out the shelters and determine next best steps following any health checks. Ms. Horn shared that they were very hands-on and active within the community.

Allegheny County tried to take advantage of every single resource they had available to help their homeless population during these troubling times of the pandemic. They worked to be very nimble and to meet any needs that came along. One of Allegheny County’s main successes was their focus on getting the Safe Haven Hotel running and available for isolation and quarantine spaces. Families and youth could utilize these spaces which also included single adults. This effort helped to deconcentrate people from congregate single shelters. Part of these spaces were designated to move people who were deemed “higher risk individuals” into a safer space. They also were able to utilize rooms in the winter for winter shelter overflow. These efforts started within the first year of the pandemic, showing where the county’s priorities rightfully laid.

Another great success from the county involves how they used the funding and resources they had hosted community discussions to figure out the priorities and then used the dollars coming in from the federal government to prioritize the needs. They decided to focus on their most vulnerable community members with chronic health conditions who had no where else to stay. They used their funding to provide hygiene centers and toilets to larger encampments. Furthermore, the county pushed to help get everyone vaccinated and tested. They sent medical professional out to the streets, and they offered a space to isolate and quarantine at the Safe Haven Hotel.

Outreach in Pittsburgh

Rather than clearing encampments and displacing individuals, they brought resources to those sleeping rough in Pittsburgh. County officials passed along essential resources and compassion that they hoped would build trust to bring people inside. Historically, Pittsburgh has been really respectful, working with outreach teams and educating their police on the best ways to interact with the diverse homeless population. Police are paired with street outreach who get to take the lead with issues or concerns facing homeless individuals. Furthermore, police defer to street outreach teams to help with clean up when residents request and to help pick up trash. This helps ensure that people’s belongings are not being thrown out.

The county’s funding was also used to help families with the technology barriers for online schooling. They provided additional resources, such as cellphones, laptops, and hotspot access to those in need. These resources also helped families and individuals access the internet and online services to contact doctors and other essential providers. Additionally, IPads were provided to the Safe Haven Hotel to help the people living there temporarily. Allegheny County has long- term efforts in place to serve their homeless sector, as this crisis was here before the pandemic and will be here afterwards until something major is done.

They keep their street outreach teams active throughout the year doing health checks and connecting people to housing and hygiene services. These outreach teams play a huge role in the county. They helped connect unhoused individuals to the Safe Haven Hotel as needed. Allegheny County has worked to get the emergency resources they were given on the streets as quickly as possible. During the pandemic, they worked to show that they were using the federal recovery dollars in a strategic and meaningful purpose.

Both state and national entities came through strongly to support the county’s efforts, enabling them to focus on supportive services that saved people’ lives. This includes an extremely robust eviction prevention program. This program kept the surge in homelessness that was seen across the nation to a minimum in Allegheny County. This program was essential because it provided more ways to keep people in their affordable housing and prevent them from joining the homeless population.

Ms. Horn shared that it was not the amount of funding that needs to increase if local communities are prioritizing their funding in a similar way to Allegheny County; instead, she shared what would help the most would be for government at all levels to provide more affordable housing. Ms. Horn shared, “It is hard for people to successfully leave the system because they cannot find safe, stable, and affordable housing when they leave, and I know that is the same across the nation.”

There are currently a lot of programs for veterans, youth, and families. This covers many of the subpopulations of homeless people, however, there are huge groups that fall through the cracks. Ms. Horn and Mr. Halfhill shared that the sub-population increasing the greatest are those with long term stays without housing and those with behavioral health issues. They would like to focus next on creating better connections between homeless individuals and behavioral health services. Allegheny County used the resources at their disposal to help keep their homeless population safe before, during, and after the pandemic. The models in Pittsburgh/Allegheny County can work in other cities to keep our homeless neighbors safe and while the appropriate housing is developed to lower the numbers.

by Rachel Rothenberg, American University student

If the public knew the stories behind the headlines and the negative images they see on the nightly news, would that motivate them to respond?  If voters saw the real histories instead of the myths about those without housing would that change the way society dealt with homelessness in America?  Maurice Smith of Spokane Washington is working to answer that question.  Three years ago, Smith began making documentaries about homelessness in this mid-sized northwestern city that featured a growing homeless population. The documentaries revealed that homelessness was a much larger issue than the city had claimed and the population experiencing homelessness are much different compared to what is portrayed in the media.

Smith has worked alongside those without housing and disadvantaged people of Spokane city for over 15 years. Some of his experience includes operating four different homeless shelters, serving on various organizing teams for Spokane homelessness projects, and co-founding a food rescue organization. Smith’s documentary series “My Road Leads Home” spotlights the housing crisis in Spokane and addresses the way that the city is handling it. He began working on these documentaries to let the Spokane community hear from homeless people and set the tone for discussing homelessness with the practice of Shalom which is a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility.

According to Smith, the Spokane community rests on the value of Shalom to create a healthy community in which each of the members are able to fulfill the daily needs and successfully pursue their talents for the good of the entire community.  “You and I look at the community and see things that are not the way they should be,” Smith said and gave examples of people sleeping on the sidewalk or young people ‘couch surfing’. Marchanuna Rodgers, an international development specialist, asks the Spokane community an important question: What would it look like if a community is defined by shalom? She shares a difficult story of her community showing up for her during a hard night. She poses the potential of a genuinely supportive community showing up for each other when the situation presents itself. Sadly, that is not always the case. 

 In The Night of the Unsheltered Homeless and The Hidden Homeless: Families Experiencing Homelessness, Smith specifically demonstrates the way that Spokane downplayed homelessness and was not equipped to shelter more than 52% of the homeless population. Rob Bryceson explains that Spokane’s policy on homelessness is the following: the city provides private funds to organizations that apply to provide resources for homeless people. The main three operating Catholic Charities, Salvation Army, and Union Gospel Mission. Unfortunately, Bryceson said “the need has grown” and the big three agencies need other groups to “come in and add strength” because of a “change in the homeless population.” The change in the homeless population in Spokane to “angrier and younger” has made it more difficult for the city of Spokane to manage sheltering homeless people. 

Another dysfunctional “solution” to homelessness is the practice of sweeps. Law enforcement and government officials of Spokane see sweeps as a quick fix to ending homelessness, although they do not actually “go to the root of the problem,” as civil rights lawyer Andrew Biviano claimed in the video published by Smith. By shifting the issue to be the responsibility of the police, policymakers can easily adopt an “out of sight, out of mind mentality.” Along with sweeps, the Boise court decisions allows law enforcement to “arrest people for conduct crimes such as obstructing the sidewalk” which criminalizes a homeless person’s existence. 

Smith’s work, along with many other advances by the homeless community also catalyzed great progress. The city has a “greater community focus on and discussion about private initiatives to address homelessness,” says Smith. Several projects are starting such as a drop-in day center and resource hub and a homeless village. All the videos about the problem in Spokane can be found at https://myroadleadshome.org/documentary/.  There are still many issues to overcome for example in February 2022, the city installed chain-link fences along the viaduct to prevent tents from going up.  There are still not nearly enough shelter beds, and people are still dying because of their experiences living without housing.  Smith’s documentaries have changed the narrative and spread community awareness about homelessness in Spokane. They have moved leaders to open warming centers and the Mayor has had to admit that there are not enough beds and their needs to be a new strategy.  We hope that these interviews and snapshots into life on the streets of Spokane will lead to meaningful change in addressing the crisis of the unaffordability of rent locally.  

 

NCH joined the National Homelessness Law Center, Legal Services of Greater Miami, and Southern Legal Counsel to send the following letter to the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice. 

We applaud the actions of DOJ to open an investigation into the Phoenix Police Department and we believe it is historic for the Attorney General to emphasize the  treatment of those without housing in announcing the investigation. As we told your staff, we  believe that the San Diego police are engaged in a much larger campaign to endanger the lives of  those without housing by throwing away personal possessions and displacing thousands of  unhoused individuals. Since our meeting, it has come to our attention that the City of Miami  Police are engaged in a systematic and coordinated effort to make homelessness disappear by  regular harassment of those without housing.  As you know the City of Miami was sued by homeless individuals in the 1980s in Pottinger vs.  City of Miami. There were settlement negotiations in the 1990s and an agreement was struck.  The activists and homeless individuals claimed that there were regular violation of the agreement  and eventually the court ended the oversight of the Pottinger settlement despite a great deal of  evidence that there was regular police harassment of homeless people in Miami. While we recognize that DOJ’s oversight of the City of Miami Police related to police shootings recently ended, we believe the pattern and practice of systemic engagement of those living outside and forcing them to relocate and to regularly have their personal possessions confiscated and discarded demands further scrutiny.  

The National Homelessness Law Center, the Southern Legal Counsel and Legal Services of  Greater Miami join the National Coalition for the Homeless with this letter. The local Legal  Services of Greater Miami have several clients who are unsheltered individuals and have  reported incidents in which City of Miami employees under the supervision of City of Miami  Police have thrown away almost all if not all their property. They have documented the  discarding of medical devices, prescription medications, clothing, shoes, tents, identification  documents, dentures, glasses, family photos, and even a family member’s ashes. Most of these  individuals are African American and LatinX residing on the streets of Miami. In addition to  Legal Services’ clients, we have the contact information for another dozen individuals who have  had these negative experiences with the City of Miami police, and we could solicit additional  voices if necessary.  

Further, on October 28, 2021, the City of Miami passed an ordinance which prohibits  encampments on public property which further criminalizes those experiencing homelessness. Typically, DOJ investigations are opened after a tragedy like George Floyd in Minneapolis,  Brionna Taylor in Louisville or Timothy Russell/Malissa Williams in Cleveland, but we are  hoping to avoid a similarly tragic situation in Miami. The individuals swept by the police are  continually starting over. They are having their health jeopardized by discarding their life  sustaining medicine that a doctor has prescribed to address their mental illness or other chronic  conditions. They feel frustrated, angry and treated as a second class citizens by the City of  Miami. We are asking for DOJ involvement to stop a potentially deadly encounter between  those living outside and the police supervising these clean ups. Any of the organizations signed  on to this letter would be willing to assist in any way we can with a DOJ investigation of the  pattern or practice of the City of Miami police.  

Sincerely,  

Donald Whitehead
Executive Director
National Coalition for the Homeless

Jeffrey M. Hearne Esq
Director of Litigation
Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc.

Eric Tars
Legal Director
National Homelessness Law Center

Jodi Siegel
Executive Director
Southern Legal Counsel, Inc.

The state capital for the most populous state in the union, Sacramento, has struggled with how to serve the large number of people living below the poverty level and able to afford basic housing for years; then the pandemic hit. Sacramento used federal dollars to purchase hotel/motel space during the pandemic, but these spaces were used mainly to deconcentrate the overflowing shelters as opposed to housing people without any shelter. Other cities were able to house those living outside a space in a motel room and successfully reduced the number of people living rough. Due to overwhelming demand and a lack of coordination/planning by the city, Sacramento has actually seen a rise in the outdoor population over the last year. In late January 2021, government inaction saw real consequences with as many as 6 people living outside losing their lives after a horrible wind storm hit the city. 

Sacramento, CA, has a relatively high poverty rate of 13.9% and a higher-than-average unemployment rate of 7.1%. The waiting list for a Housing Choice Voucher in Sacramento is typically 4 to 5 YEARS. According to the local ABC affiliate from April to December 2020, there were 4,600 calls to the social services helpline (3-1-1) about homeless people – up from 500 in 2015. Sacramento also has an extremely high cost for basic housing, pricing families and those working in the service sector out of the market. Further, the transportation system is not designed to bring workers into the area where jobs are located from lower rent areas of the community. 

The problem is that the situation in Sacramento, and many other cities across the country, was so out of control that when a deadly virus hit the emergency safety net crumbled. Because Sacramento had not sufficiently dealt with the housing emergency for decades, an already taxed system had no ability to stretch to serve new people seeking help.  The county was able to keep COVID deaths relatively low, compared to other similarly sized counties, but in order to do so, city services left a large number of people outside.  

Beginning in September 2020, the city began “public health” cleanups of the camp sites to avoid calling them law enforcement sweeps. I talked to Crystal Sanchez of the Sacramento Union of the Homeless, a local advocate who works tirelessly to keep in contact with those living outside. She has worked to get supplies, food, trash collection, port-a-potties, and mobile showers to those who are not able to stay indoors. Sanchez leads the local chapter of the National Union of the Homeless, a national movement that first started in 1985. Homeless advocates in Sacramento have formed a community for protection and to amplify their voices. They have appointed leaders in the encampments who then report to Sanchez any issues or problems they are facing.

Crystal Sanchez delivering supplies to those living outdoors.

The biggest frustration among those advocating for those outside is the “all talk and no action” among elected leaders. The addiction services and mental health system has been nearly unavailable to those without housing since the pandemic. Sanchez estimates around 11,000 people are on the streets at any one time with tents everywhere. Sanchez says that community opposition to bringing homeless people into hotels (based on fear and misinformation) has contributed to the rise in street homelessness – even when most hotels were sitting empty early on in the pandemic shutdown. Social workers are overwhelmed and still working remotely.  

Despite court fights and protests, and the CDC guidelines urging a pause in any sweeps during the pandemic, city officials have continued to displace those living outdoors. As in many cities, agencies from law enforcement to park rangers have been trashing what few possessions those who stay outside still have, and further displacing vulnerable and already displaced people. There is no one listening to the voices of those who are without housing. No one is addressing the high cost of housing or the pandemic related job losses. The problems faced by those without housing are only complicated by the pandemic. For example, when a homeless individual encounters law enforcement, it is highly likely that the police will “lose” the person’s identification when they are arrested. It is extremely difficult to replace identification when most government offices are shut down to visitors seeking services. While the city has done a good job in vaccinating the overall population against COVID, they really did not have special plans for the unique challenges of those without a residence living outside. There are still issues of shelter oversight, and things like overly restrictive shelter policies. There is a great deal of distrust of the social service system among advocates and those staying outside because of the lack of accountability built into the continuum of care. 

There are so many needs in Sacramento, but no one ever asks the people experiencing homelessness what those needs are and then goes about filling those gaps in services. Please read the below poem written by Crystal Sanchez expressing what she and her neighbors are experiencing:

Die In

by Crystal Sanchez
President of Sacramento Homeless Union/ SAC SOUP

Today I came out to my very conservative parents…… I became homeless
Today I was a victim of domestic violence…. I became homeless
Today my family member was murdered by law enforcement…….. I became homeless
Today I was assaulted…… I became homeless
Today my slumlord evicted me…….I became homeless

Today I lost my job……. I became homeless
Today I at 80 years old fell and broke my hip and won’t be home for 3 months ……..I will be homeless
Today I was involved in a fire I lost everything…… I became homeless
Today is the 11th month of a pandemic…… in which I became homeless
Today I locked the door for the last time in my small business which didn’t survive the pandemic …….I will become homeless

Today is the last day for the moratorium to pass for rent……. I may become homeless.
Today I was released from jail for a past mistake ………I became homeless.
Today I buried my spouse my children and …….I became homeless
Today a new policy came out to remove me…. Where do I go?…… I am homeless

Maybe today will be the day I connect to the right resources. It’s been 20 years I have done my due diligence the best I can …..and I can’t stay connected. 
Am I invisible? Can YOU see me? Can YOU hear me? Hello??? Can you help me PLEASE….. Why are you calling me names ?? Why are you throwing things at me?…. Don’t you understand, I’m just like you? NO wait please…. Don’t call the police….. What did I do? I’m sorry, I needed a place dry to rest… There is no where to go!…. Officer where can I go? Why are you taking all my things??….. It’s cold …..It is wet …..Please…. not my tent….He says move along….. The emptiness, the trauma and re enforced trauma….the fear… the wind and rain….. Darkness……it’s cold…God, please help me….

Today, like everyday, I  wasn’t accepted. I was rejected…. I am homeless
As we warned everyday….Today the weather dropped into dangerous numbers and today the streets took a life…it took my life …..The life of someone who once became homeless
Today I became a statistic….because I was homeless.

Today, I ask you comrades to raise your fists and continue this fight with us in solidarity with the 11,000 adults and 700+ kids unhoused neighbors who call the streets of Sacramento home.

Today, I asked you brothers and sisters to chant with me we will do the chants two times
Let us start with the first one.
I will say, 
“Too much cold too much heat”
You will say
“No more death on the street”

Second one
I will say: 
“What do we want?”

You will say,
“Housing”
I will say, 
“When do want it?”

You will say, 
“NOW MAY OUR UNHOUSED REST IN POWER AND MAY WE REMEMBER MOVEMENT MEANS MOVE. FORWARD TOGETHER NOT ONE STEP BACK!”

THANK YOU.
-Crystal Sanchez
President of Sacramento Homeless Union/ SAC SOUP