Sit-in for the Unhoused
The city council has enacted a zero tolerance policy for “camping", which is, of course, the legal mechanism used to criminalize homelessness. We are sympathetic to the need to keep the park clear, but when the city is also doing all it can to eliminate programs for the unhoused and at risk while simultaneously setting their sights on affordable housing programs, the policy speaks to a lack of strategic leadership. The city council is trying to beat a screw in with a hammer.
Economic hardship, drug addiction, and mental health crises are not solved with more arrests. These policies literally create the cracks in society that people fall through. We must invest in working, lasting solutions to our economic woes and offer compassionate relief for those affected by them.