A New Way of Seeing
Homelessness is about discovering that your lifelong friends and family, the very people you thought were truly supportive, are suddenly very leery of you.
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Food Is a Right, Not a Privilege
San Jose officials are trying to ban free meals and outlaw compassion. Food Not Bombs is fighting back and defending the right to feed the hungry.
Elisa Cooper: On Fire for Justice
When I learned that Elisa Cooper had passed away, I cried. I felt that I had lost a comrade, a colleague, a fellow advocate on the front lines.
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
How to Save a Life
By Janny Castillo on On the street, I see someone who looks like my brother, dresses like him, moves like him. For a moment, I suspend the truth and say, “There’s my brother.” The moment passes too soon. But there are many who suffer still, and I try to treat them like brothers, for my brother.
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.”
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.”
Homeless Spike in Rural California Linked to Silicon Valley Sprawl
Housing costs are soaring and homelessness is rising in Central Valley communities due to Silicon Valley sprawl and the influx of Bay Area commuters
The Visions of Young Artists Flourish in Berkeley
The beautiful mural splashes the brilliant colors of wild nature on the drab gray streets. Hummingbirds, zebras, giraffes and black panthers show the ecological connections of life on Earth.
Beautiful Murals Express the Soul of Humanity
The murals that young artists have created in Berkeley are a deep expression of their humanity and spirit. Prophetic art expresses their deepest feelings about gentrification and displacement, public health and social justice.
The Desperate Housing Crisis in Berkeley
Every day I hear the desperation of people on the street. I worked as a community organizer for 14 years for BOSS, helping homeless people, but now I am jobless and homeless myself. I see how ineffective our housing policies are. We need a revival of street action and protest in Berkeley.
Youth Spirit Artworks Tries to Save Street Spirit
“We can’t afford to lose this essential platform for human rights and social justice, and we can’t let down the 100-plus vendors for whom this is a literal lifeline.” — Sally Hindman