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Street Spirit is an independent newspaper in the East Bay dedicated to covering homelessness and poverty from the perspective of those most impacted. Est 1995. A publication of Youth Spirit Artworks.

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Street Spirit is an independent newspaper in the East Bay dedicated to covering homelessness and poverty from the perspective of those most impacted. Est 1995. A publication of Youth Spirit Artworks.

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Timothy Busby

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Timothy Busby is a homeless writer who lives in Berkeley. He writes from his past five years of experiences while living on the streets from New Orleans to Berkeley, and many cities in between.

Why would anyone want to live on the street?

July 7, 2022
Features   First-person   Opinion
Accepting one’s homelessness can yield a kind of psychological peace, Busby writes.

The oracle in the tent next door

October 5, 2021
Features
Tim Busby hears a whole crowd of people talking to each other in his neighbor's tent. But when he looks inside, she is the only person there.

The five steps to becoming homeless: this could be you

November 3, 2020
Commentary   Features   Opinion   YSA youth contributions
With evictions notices becoming legal once again, tens of thousands of Americans who once believed that they would never become unsheltered are going to experience homelessness firsthand.

Why would anyone want to live on the street?

August 1, 2020
Commentary   First-person   Opinion
Only after I accepted the fact that the person I was before was never coming back…could I begin to accept another life.

A taste of homelessness

April 1, 2020
Commentary   Opinion   YSA youth contributions
I can’t help but think to myself, “now the general population is getting a taste of what we, the homeless, face everyday.”

Berkeley’s Downtown Streets Team helps people learn how to care again

March 1, 2020
Commentary   Opinion
Through the long hard process of becoming homeless, you break, lose sight of the basic values of life and become depressed to a level only the home- less few experiences.

Hating the holidays

December 1, 2019
First-person   Opinion
After a series of horrific events I found myself living on the streets at the age of 49, and Christmas suddenly took on a whole new meaning

Is Berkeley’s ‘shared sidewalk ordinance’ working?

November 1, 2019
Commentary   Opinion
In April, the City of Berkeley voted to enforce a new law that limits the amount of space your personal be- longings can take up on the sidewalk. The new regulations state that if your personal property takes up more than 9 square feet, the city can take it away, and you could be subject to a citation.

The homeless shuffle: enough is enough

November 1, 2019
Commentary   Community Events   Opinion
Berkeley’s homeless residents staged a protest march on Wednesday, October 23rd, starting at the Seabreeze encampment on University Ave and West Frontage road and ending at Berkeley City Hall. The purpose of the march was to bring attention to the cruelty of what I will call the “homeless shuffle,” the process by which agencies such as CalTrans, the Berkeley Police Department, and Amtrak take turns forcing people to move from corner to corner, and disposing of all their personal property in the process.

The oracle in the tent next door

October 1, 2019
First-person   Opinion
I would like to share my experiences with one of the most fascinating people I have ever met. For the purposes of this story, I will call her Emerald. And if you believe in the powers that gemstones and crystals contain, her name is very appropriate.

Where are Berkeley’s mobile showers?

August 1, 2019
Commentary   Opinion
Summertime is here in sunny Northern California, but what does that mean for the homeless living on the streets? It’s not that hard to figure out, it means limited access to showers, sweating all day, wearing stinking clothes and a real need for access to the basic human necessities.

Correcting misconceptions about homelessness

June 1, 2019
Commentary   Opinion
I have a group page where I post stories and also answer questions about homelessness. Recently, someone posted the following

In Dialogue with Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín

April 1, 2019
Features   In Dialogue
Jesse Arreguín has been the Mayor of Berkeley since 2016. He ran on a platform of building more affordable housing, raising the minimum wage, and changing the city’s approach to addressing the homeless crisis. In the years since, he has been met with both praise and criticism: while some have embraced his leadership, others have argued that he is not as progressive on the issue of homelessness as he led his constituency to believe—such as with his yes vote on the council’s recent overnight RV parking ban.

The downside of success

March 1, 2019
First-person   Opinion   YSA youth contributions
People measure success in many different ways. For some people it’s marriage and children. For others it is making money. For many it’s just paying the bills due each month. And then you have people, such as myself, who believe that success is in the friendships you make, and in fulfilling the basic necessities needed in order to survive.

Homeless veterans deserve respect

March 1, 2019
Commentary   Opinion
Homeless veterans make up a large percenage of the homeless population in the United States. According to a 2018 report

True love on the street: treating thy neighbor as thyself

December 1, 2018
First-person   Opinion
It was January 2016 when I found myself in Berkeley, California, by way of New Orleans. Little did I know

Homeless for the holidays

December 1, 2018
First-person   Opinion
It was December 2015 and I had been homeless for approximately two years. I had been living in New Orleans

Death on the street: remembering Michelle Marie Larson

November 1, 2018
Commentary   Opinion
I would like to tell you about a friend I met while living on the streets of Berkeley, approximately three

Dehumanizing the homeless to get elected

October 1, 2018
Commentary   Opinion
Time and time again, Berkeley’s elected officials—and wannabe politicians running for office—promise that they will solve the “homeless problem” as

Finding serenity on the street

September 1, 2018
First-person   Opinion
I have spent the last six and a half years of my life homeless, and the last three and a half years living solely on the street. I have put a great deal of effort into gaining first-hand knowledge of the mentalities of individuals I have met.

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Street Spirit Newspaper
1740 Alcatraz Ave, Berkeley, CA 94703