Camp Resolution Sweep Cancelled
Officer removes posted sign that reads “We have a right to exist in peace […]”. Pink Knight Press.
UPDATE: The 11.16 planned sweep of Camp Resolution was officially canceled shortly after this article was published, a monumental victory for its residents and advocates.
11.15.2022 | Today, activists convinced City Council into voting unanimously to oppose the destruction of Camp Resolution- unfortunately, this only means that the city council is officially recommending against it, and that power to actually stop tomorrow morning’s planned sweep lies with city manager Howard Chan, who refused a clear answer.
199 unhoused people died in Sacramento county in 2021, almost four people dead per week - a 68% increase from 2020. It is no stretch to say that the city has made critical failures in addressing homelessness, failures that local activists believe border on outright sabotage, including keeping warming and cooling centers closed during extreme weather, destroying camps set up by the unhoused, and faltering on or outright abandoning projects that claim to address the problem. At the center of this is the self-governed community project Camp Resolution, located at Colfax Yard, which the city plans to sweep tomorrow, November 16th.
Colfax Yard was planned to be a safe parking space for the unhoused, but after sweeping the existing encampment there and spending hundreds of thousands paving and fencing the area in a plan to make it a safe place for the unhoused, the city decided the site was too toxic to inhabit. Unhoused people returned to the cleared site, founding the self-governed Camp Resolution officially on September 30th, 2022. The city issued an eviction notice warning they planned to clear Camp Resolution on November 11th; Veterans Day. This added a particular sting, with 11% of unhoused people nationally being veterans, making veterans almost 50% more likely to suffer homelessness than non-veterans. The city has now postponed the eviction to November 16th, 2022; with the seemingly impending destruction of their home, unhoused activists hope to protect the community they’ve built.
Tonight at city council there were sixty-five public commenters, including a realtor, neighboring property owners, and advocates and residents of Camp Resolution. Not a single commenter, online or in person, spoke of anything except for resounding support for Camp Resolution and staunch opposition to tomorrow’s planned sweep.
While the comments went on, I did my best to scribble down quotes:
“Go to Camp Resolution now- you will see a camp that is ready for winter. Destroying it means destroying these people’s chance at not freezing to death”. “You currently list sweeps under ‘homeless services’; it is not a service to destroy someone’s life”. “If I had to restart my life constantly each time the police took all of my belongings, I would never get a leg up”. “If you can’t help them, at least support their survival strategies, and if you can’t to that then at least don’t terrorize them”.
“How are we supposed to take care of people when you keep displacing them?” asked a community organizer. Local organizations like Sunrise, Mental Health First, Sacramento Homeless Union, the Anti-Police Terror Project, Loaves & Fishes, multiple harm reduction groups, and more were here and they spoke to the difficulties sweeps cause for anyone trying to help. Medical professionals can’t find their patients, legal representatives can’t find their clients, and perhaps most importantly people can’t find their friends and family, breaking whatever connections they have.
Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela (of District 4) introduced a motion to stop the sweep, seconded by councilwoman Mai Vang (of District 8). A roll call vote resulted in unanimous voting in support of the motion, meaning the city council voted with 100% support in stopping the sweep. However, they claimed all they could do was officially recommend against it- the power to stop the sweep actually lies with controversial city manager Howard Chan, who received his fifth raise in six years just thirteen days ago, who repeatedly refused a clear answer.
Tonight’s advocacy earned the unanimous support from city council, but if Howard Chan decides to continue with the eviction then the city will attempt to destroy Camp Resolution tomorrow morning. Community members are asking that supporters show up to defend against eviction and assist the evicted tomorrow at Colfax Yard, starting 7:45 AM and continuing for the rest of the day.
For more information and updates, consider following the Sacramento Homeless Union (@sacramento.homeless.union on Instagram and @shomelessunion on Twitter) and Camp Resolution (@campresolution on Instagram).
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https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/unhoused-sacramento-county-deaths/103-2eb3be31-4e2f-4908-a3e2-9ebbd227fb0c
http://sacramento.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=8&clip_id=2350&meta_id=202880
https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/11/02/sacramento-approves-another-raise-for-city-manager-howard-chan/
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article268155222.html
https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/02/12/we-really-want-to-figure-this-out-sacramento-city-county-government-divided-in-struggle-to-confront-homelessness-crisis/
https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/01/27/unhoused-residents-died-as-a-storm-ravaged-sacramento-and-officials-debated-homelessness-solutions/
https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/homeless-veterans-statistics/#:~:text=The%20leading%20causes%20of%20homelessness,homeless%20adults%20in%20the%20US.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rKt-5slWs_9eqcd8JVoSx9tekuPLX24z4b-uqYxJayM/edit
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article268155222.html
