Zahra's Paradise: The Fate of the Disappeared
“Love is ultimately the force that conquers death. Love is where the resistance comes from. If we love one another, we will help one another.” — Amir Soltani
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Next Step in Santa Cruz: Task Force on Homelessness
Several wondered why service providers and members of the homeless community were not included in the preparation of the report. The Task Force must include the faith community, neighborhood groups, local businesses, advocates for the homeless and, most importantly, members of our local homeless community.
Remembering Dave Linn: An Attorney for the People
It is hard to defend high-profile People’s Park defendants in a contemporary legal world. It is hard to be the one man in Birkenstocks surrounded by Italian suits. But Dave Linn took the cases most people would assess as unwinnable, and gave them his full attention.
The Debate Over Tiny Homes: Ask Those Who Have No Home
Living on the streets is dangerous and debilitating. People’s meager belongings can be stolen; they can be assaulted. If we listen to people who are currently housed but have experienced periods of homelessness, it is clear that the effects, physical and psychological, have never left them.
The Street Spirit Interview with Amir Soltani
People wanted the recycling center gone because they just didn’t want the poor around them. It’s a game of Monopoly in which everybody’s interests are linked to the price of real estate, without the slightest concern about what speculation in land prices does to communities.
A Journalist in Defense of Human Rights
“At night when you’d be sleeping, you’d hear the spectral sound of the shopping carts outside in the streets. I’d think to myself, ‘Who is out there at 3 in the morning by themselves with a shopping cart?’ Just the loneliness of it was hard to ignore.”
Living Under a Tarp Next to the Facebook Campus
A homeless campsite across the road from the Facebook headquarters in Silicon Valley is one of about 10 camps that dot the boggy terrain. They are a striking sight near the brightly painted buildings housing the multi-billion-dollar corporation. The contrast epitomizes the Bay Area wealth gap.
Trump Administration’s Ruinous Cuts to HUD
Before he became HUD Secretary, Ben Carson did not have any experience in housing policies or in running a housing agency. His bizarre appointment to HUD has resulted in nothing short of bewilderment and frustration for housing advocates. Carson supports Trump’s proposed $6.2 billion in budget cuts for HUD.
Youth Design a Tiny House Village in Berkeley
“I’m so thrilled about the opportunity our church will have to build a tiny house. It’s such a do-able project for a local church; a deeply satisfying way to put some sweat equity behind our longing for economic justice; a poignant means of demonstrating our care for the most vulnerable neighbors.”
Houseless Activists in Santa Cruz Issue Call to Conscience
“While the federal government continues to eradicate the social safety net, the cost of housing in Santa Cruz continues to rise, creating an unstable situation locally, and leaving many of our poorest residents without homes. Local action to reduce the cost of housing and provide homes for all is long overdue.”
Unhoused People Silenced by Oregon Legislature
The ACLU of Oregon documented 224 laws in the state that criminalize or punish homeless people for life-sustaining activities.
Hate Man Chose Life on the Streets Until the Very End
The Hate Man, Mark Hawthorne, had been a New York Times reporter before dropping out. Hawthorne’s sister visited him two or three times a year and admired his every move. “We like to say he lived the way he wanted to live,” she said, “and that’s a rare thing.”