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Gimme Some Truth

Opinion
“I’ve always resented the smug statements of politicians, media commentators, corporate executives who talked of how, in America, if you worked hard you would become rich. The meaning of that was if you were poor it was because you hadn’t worked hard enough. I knew this was a lie…”

You’re Stronger Than You Know

Opinion
If you’re homeless, blind with fear and sick down to your soles, broken down and so alone you want to crawl out of your skin and be someone else, somewhere else, look my way and know: I’m that voice that flows from your heart that says you’re stronger and more than you know.

Reflections on Homelessness in Oakland

Opinion
Martin Luther King said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” If people know their history, King’s Poor People’s March, completed after his death, has not resulted in a society where all citizens matter, especially black men, the majority of men seen on Oakland streets.

Day of Reckoning for Right to Sleep in Santa Cruz

Opinion
This is a call to conscience for the entire community to support the progressive decriminalization of homelessness in Santa Cruz. Our proposed amendment in support of the Right to Sleep removes references to the act of sleeping and the use of blankets in the camping section of the Municipal Code.

Homeless Youth: A Bright and Shining Light

Opinion
All you have to do is walk down Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley to discover we have a serious challenge called homelessness. It is unacceptable that simple cost-effective solutions which are in place to confront this conundrum have to struggle for funding. It is especially disturbing that the obvious is overlooked.

Hidden in the Shadows, Corporations Control Our Economy

Opinion
Corporations are treated legally as though they were individuals. They receive many of the rights of individuals but don’t have the same responsibilities. Officials in high positions use their corporate status as a firewall behind which they can hide from the repercussions of their actions.

Gimme Some Truth

Opinion
"I don't want to live in the kind of world where we don't look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I can’t change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit."

San Francisco Supervisor Tries to Ban Tents in Winter

Opinion
Activists condemned Supervisor Wiener’s proposal to ban tents during the winter, saying: “Mr. Wiener’s letter is in direct contrast to the very spirit of the City of St. Francis. His timing was telling, as was his lack of solutions. Homeless people are suffering enough, and his letter was surprisingly cruel.”

Greyhound Therapy: Symptom of a Failed Mental Health System

Commentary
Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas handed out bus tickets to about 1500 gravely disabled patients, “transferring” them to states all over the country. Patients were sent to states where they had never been a resident and areas that had no mental institution prepared to receive them.

Penciled Out of Existence by Some Grand Authority

Commentary
Our society doesn't want to be inconvenienced by someone who is suffering or is impoverished. As a disabled person, it feels as if I have been penciled out of existence by some grand authority, one which expects me to disappear into nothingness, or end up jailed, homeless or just dead.

The New Housing for the Homeless: Prison Cells

Opinion
No politician wants to be accused of working to eliminate jobs! So, the pressure to keep the prisons full is great. Criminalizing homelessness could be seen as a double win — keeping the prisons full while also “solving” the homelessness issue by giving homeless people beds in prison.

Laura’s Law Turns a Psychiatric Diagnosis into a Crime

Commentary
Laura’s Law criminalizes mental illness and is spreading like cancer across California, county by county. Those labeled “noncompliant” can be subjected to forced medication and court-ordered involuntary treatment. In essence, they become captives of the criminal justice system even though they have committed no offense.