Berkeley Homeless Union holds community gathering before eviction at Ohlone Park

On the heels of a sweep, community members discuss the possibility of sanctioned encampments in Berkeley

On Saturday afternoon, May 17, the Berkeley Homeless Union organized a gathering at Ohlone Park for housed and unhoused people alike to come together and be in community ahead of the upcoming encampment sweep at the park, which was scheduled to begin on May 28. 

A diverse crowd of Berkeleyites joined in—from teenagers to folks in their early 80s—to bask in the sunny afternoon. The group flew kites and devoured Domino’s pizza to a soundtrack of oldies hits DJ’d by Ian Hunt, a formerly unhoused man who recently moved into permanent supportive housing.

Hunt used to live in People’s Park, and pointed out that his birthday is April 20—the same day the park was established in 1969, as well as the date of an annual celebration honoring the Southside green space. Hunt says he has DJ’d at the park over the years, and his contribution to the gathering in Ohlone Park was to make people “move their ass off.”

Hunt’s song selections aptly included “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones, and his curatorial skills had the crowd two-stepping to songs like “Sunny” by Bobby Hebb.

“This is my job,” Hunt said, stating that his housing status hasn’t affected his drive to show up for Berkeley’s unhoused community.

The event boasted attendance by a who’s-who of local housing rights activists, such as civil rights attorney Osha Neumann and Paul Kealoha-Blake of Consider the Homeless. For Neumann, the gathering was a “wonderful example of what could be if the community got together to use space, to use it in common, and if we actually learned to love each other instead of pointing fingers at the most vulnerable.” 

The encampment at Ohlone Park started out as a protest encampment in response to the City of Berkeley’s decision to vigorously sweep encampments in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which legalized criminal penalties for unhoused people, even when no adequate shelter is available. In September, Berkeley city councilmembers Rashi Kesarwani and Susan Wengraf proposed a policy that allows for encampment closures without alternative housing offers if city officials determine an encampment to be a public hazard or nuisance. The resolution passed in an 8–1 vote.

The city soon got to work. Encampments at Old City Hall and Civic Center Park were cleared in the coming months, which resulted in a swell of unhoused residents into Ohlone Park. Facing growing complaints from neighbors regarding loud noises, excessive trash, and harassment coming from the park’s residents, the city made the decision to sweep Ohlone Park at the end of May.

Gordon Gilmore, co-founder of the Berkeley Homeless Union, said the event was intended to “show the humanity of the unhoused folks in the park to their neighbors.”

Gilmore, bedecked in a camo bandana and marijuana-print Hawaiian shirt, sat criss-cross in the grass with a group of attendees to discuss the upcoming sweep. He criticized the city for their decision to uproot the folks in the park who feel safe there without providing essential services. Berkeley resident George Lippman echoed this sentiment.

“Driving people out of places they’re living without providing permanent housing creates pain, financial loss, and psychological harm,” Lippman said.

Yesica Prado, the other half of the Berkeley Homeless Union’s leadership, said the city should be seeking out “solutions that work for everyone.” 

Jacob, a young Berkeley resident, commented that the city’s sweep of Ohlone Park “threatens to be a model for other cities in California for how to treat their unhoused residents.”

Mo, a current resident of Ohlone Park, said she started living on the streets a few years ago after losing her construction job at UC Berkeley. When Mo was discharged from the Harrison House three months ago, the city did not offer her additional shelter or caseworker support for shelter re-entry when a bed became available. She has lived in Ohlone Park ever since. 

Mo said she plans to stay and wait to see if the city will follow through with the scheduled closure, and she hopes it will force the city to “take things more seriously,” in regards to addressing the needs of the park’s current residents.

The group also discussed an alternative solution to encampment sweeps: safe-stay sanctioned encampments. 

Safe-stay sanctioned encampments are temporary outdoor shelters where unhoused residents can stay in safer, more sanitary environments without risk of eviction, arrest, or citation. Sanctioned encampments would be bound by codes of conduct and good neighbor policies. Food and on-site sanitation services would be provided. 

Elena Auerbach, a 20-year resident of Berkeley, championed this solution on Saturday, arguing that safe-stay sanctioned encampments would save the city’s limited financial resources from an endless cycle of sweeps that repeatedly target the same people in different locations.

“It’s the most compassionate thing we can do,” Auerbach said.

Catherine Lewis, a 13-year resident of Berkeley, agreed with Auerbach. “As a community,” she said, “it’s our responsibility to take care of each other.” 

As the gathering came to a close, residents of Ohlone Park attended to their tents and shared spaces. One resident swept the inside of their tent with a straw broom, while others chatted in the lazy, late-afternoon sun. Throughout the event, people with dogs walked through the park. A black-and-white husky named Milkshake sniffed happily at the knees of the last remaining attendees sitting in the grass—a welcomed display of acceptance and co-existence.

Not all neighbors of Ohlone Park feel this way. On May 22, City Councilmembers Rashi Keserwani and Igor Tregub, as well as City Manager Peter Radu, held a town hall at the North Berkeley Senior Center to discuss Ohlone Park. 

Adam Levy, a neighbor of the park, recalled taking his five-month-old son to the park, where he witnessed an alleged park resident using methamphetamine.

“I’m pro-high density housing,” Levy said, “I’m pro-lots of solutions. But I’m also pro-sweep and trying to bring back the park and make it clean and safe for families again.” 

Most comments made in favor of the upcoming sweep came from parents and dog owners who want to feel safe using the park. However, a majority of comments made at the town hall showed an outpouring of support for the encampment residents. 

Larry, a new grandfather and neighbor of Ohlone Park, said he would like to bring his grandchildren to “play in the park without stepping through people’s bedrooms, but,” he added, “do I want to teach them that their playing in the park is more important than the lives of other people?”

Ohlone Park faces an uncertain future: Berkeley Homeless Union filed for a temporary restraining order to stop the planned sweep. The request was denied, but a judge has scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing for early June.