Street Spirit

Hobos to Street People: Artists Uncover Hidden History of Poverty

Features
The art exhibit, “Hobos to Street People," unites the viewer with workers of past generations who overcame unjust economic conditions. It reunites us with our dispossessed counterparts by reminding us of our own historic political vulnerabilities and losses — but also, what justly belongs to all citizens of civilized societies.

No Human Being is Illegal—Y Cada uno Tiene un Sueno

News
This towering new mural is a passionate statement from the youth that politicians cannot ignore. It depicts indigenous symbols, the crosses of those who died tragically while trying to cross the border, and a vibrant central image of immigrant youth leading a renewed movement for justice.

Fighting the Firings and the Workplace Raids

News
Unions have said little, even as their own members were fired in “silent raids” instigated by the Department of Homeland Security, and immigrant workers have been afraid to speak out. Over the last few months, however, a wave of protest is starting to break that silence.

Reforming Solitary Confinement at Pelican Bay Prison

News
Nearly 4,000 inmates in the Security Housing Units in California’s prisons endure harrowing conditions of extreme isolation for years and even decades in concrete, soundproof cells measuring only six feet by eight feet, leaving only to exercise for about an hour a day in windowless “dog runs.”

Arrested for ‘Sleepcrimes’ at Peace Camp in Santa Cruz

Features
Laying down for the right to sleep is dangerous in Santa Cruz. The jurors found all but one of these “sleep criminals” guilty. Actually, it was a homeless man’s dog who was found not guilty. When the courts have criminalized sleeping by the poor, how can anyone sleep well tonight?

The Care Congress: Caring Across Generations

News
Several hundred people attended the first Bay Area Care Congress in San Francisco. In the face of massive federal and state budget cuts, the Care Congress was held to launch a bold new campaign for quality care and support and a dignified quality of life for all Americans, across generations.

An Alternative to Psychiatry and the Drug Industry

Features
The concept of the wellness model – the kind of peer help and advocacy practiced at the Berkeley Drop-In Center – is a welcome alternative to the powerful drug industry’s proliferation of psychotropic drugs for their newly invented mental illnesses.

UN Expert Condemns Cruel Treatment of Homeless in U.S.

News
The UN Rapporteur’s report is the latest in a series of condemnations by international experts of the criminalization and mistreatment of homeless persons in the United States. A growing record of both domestic and international law states that homeless persons cannot be criminalized for basic life-sustaining acts.

Homelessness in Art from the New Deal to the Present

Arts and Culture
A new book by San Francisco artist Art Hazelwood, Hobos to Street People: Artists’ Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present, examines the legacy of political artists from the Great Depression to the Great Recession. It also serves as a catalogue to a traveling art exhibition.

Time to Build a New World

Features   Uncategorized
The United States spends enough money in two weeks on war that would feed, house and clothe every person on earth. Why? When 10.6 million children in this country don’t have health insurance, why does the world applaud Donald Trump’s new multimillion-dollar contract with a television station?

Are People Really Homeless by Choice?

Features   Uncategorized
The belief that people are homeless because they brought their predicament on themselves, is one way to justify doing nothing to help. This rationalization allows society to consider the homeless person as a nuisance, one from whom we all need to be protected by law enforcement.