40 years of homelessness—a look back through history
By The Western Regional Advocacy Project on Overthrow of neoliberal governance – freaking soon.
Western Regional Advocacy Project
BLOCK BY BLOCK: A BID by Merchants to Seize the Public Commons and Erode the Rights of the Poor
Business organizations in Berkeley have adopted the Block by Block approach to erode the human rights of the poor. The Measure S initiative was the most expensive campaign in Berkeley’s history. It was funded almost entirely by large property-holding companies which play an influential role in the Downtown Berkeley Association.
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
“What an honor it was to accompany J. Fernandez to the United Nations and listen to him read his poem on a really big screen, and to see in front of the General Assembly the pictures of St. Mary’s Center and all of you. It was really inspiring and tear-provoking,” Carol Johnson said.
Rhode Island’s Homeless Bill of Rights Offers New Hope
Rhode Island has become the first state in the country to pass a Homeless Bill of Rights. The law passed with the overwhelming support of both houses of the Rhode Island state legislature. It may offer new hope to homeless people who suffer unequal treatment from police and government officials.
The Long History of Brutal Laws That Banish the Poor
We have gone from the days when people could be told “you can’t sit at this lunch counter” to “you can’t sit on this sidewalk.” We’ve gone from from “you’re on the wrong side of the tracks” to “it is illegal to hang out” on this street or corner.
Hobos to Street People: Artists' Response to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present
This timely exhibit features the work of 30 artists working over the last 75 years to document homelessness and the government's role in the crisis. Depression-era and contemporary artists offer glimpses of life on the street and show the human face of poverty, injustice and economic hardships in both eras.
Federal Government Is Responsible for 25 Years of Failed Programs and Rising Homelessness
The U.S. government’s McKinney-Vento Act was enacted 25 years ago to address the emergency needs of homeless people. Yet homelessness has escalated to historic levels because federal officials have defunded, dismantled, and sold off hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units, thus ensuring that more and more people become homeless.
Federal Government Shreds Housing for the Poor
For hundreds of thousands of U.S. households, public housing, Section 8, and other HUD rental assistance programs are lifelines. These programs make the difference between having a home and being homeless. And yet, both Congress and the White House are now proposing significantly rent increases in these programs.
WRAP Occupies Abandoned Building in San Francisco
Housing activists entered the vacant, two-story building owned by the San Francisco Archdiocese. They planned to occupy it so it could serve as housing for homeless people. Occupy SF member Emma Gerould said, “There is no reason why any building should be vacant when people have no housing.”
National Day of Action for the Right to Exist
Join the struggle on our day of action to uphold the human rights of homeless people on April 1, 2012. Tens of thousands of people are being persecuted simply for being poor and destitute. Cities all across the United States and Canada are trampling on the rights of the poorest citizens.
National Day of Action for the Right to Exist
The sit/lie law that Seattle passed in 1993 is nearly verbatim the same sit/lie law that San Francisco passed in 2010. The sit/lie law that San Francisco passed to use against homeless people is the same law that San Francisco police now use to harass Occupy protesters.
Political Art Keeps the Flame of Justice Burning
From the Great Depression to the present day, many artists have expressed solidarity with the 99% against the monopolized wealth of the ruling elites. Art has been a powerful catalyst for building solidarity with workers and poor people because the artists saw themselves as workers and poor people.