On Tuesday, September 10, the Berkeley City Council will be considering item 37, which would allow the city to cite and arrest unhoused people and sweep encampments without first offering shelter!

As a result of the conservative Supreme Court's majority decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, opposed by every liberal justice, cities are now legally permitted to criminalize unhoused people for existing in public without first making them an offer of shelter. However, the City of Berkeley has the ability to continue to offer a housing-first approach — we are not forced to and should not pass dangerous policies such as item 37. Homelessness is a policy choice, sleep is a biological necessity, and it is deeply inhumane, unjust, and illogical to arrest someone for sleeping in public without offering them another place to sleep.

We need real solutions to homelessness, not policies of criminalization that just move homelessness around. Aggressive sweeps do nothing to prevent homelessness. Citing and arresting people leads to increased fines and fees, which only further trap people in cycles of poverty. Moreover, throwing away people's personal belongings, including their legal documents, makes it harder for them to apply for housing, jobs, government aid, and other resources and opportunities.

We've already seen how similar policies have impacted other cities. Since San Francisco began aggressively sweeping unhoused people in the immediate aftermath of the Grants Pass v. Johnson decision five weeks ago, people have had their personal belongings, including clothes, legal documents, medications, wheelchairs, walkers, and food stolen and destroyed by city employees. According to Jennifer Friedenbach, the executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, the sweeps aren't preventing homelessness. "It's really just moving people across the street and back, across the street and back, and not being successful in putting large numbers of people into shelter and housing."

All residents of Berkeley, including unhoused people living in encampments, should be safe from fire risk, extreme weather, unsanitary conditions, and violence. However, sweeping encampments without offering shelter would not prevent these things, it would simply move unhoused people around our city while making it harder for them to become housed. If we want to end homelessness in Berkeley, we need to offer shelter to everyone who needs it, invest in affordable housing, create transitional solutions like sanctioned encampments, and more.

It's helpful to identify yourself in some way (ex. student, tenant, community member, District 7 resident, unhoused resident, housing lawyer, pro-tenant landlord/homeowner, etc).

Feel free to personalize your emails and comments- tell the City Council how criminalizing homelessness would impact you and your friends, family, neighbors, and community.

Be direct and principled in your demands, but be respectful. Please keep your emails and comments focused on this item only. We need FIVE Councilmembers to vote NO!

Please also come to the City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 10 to show your opposition to Item 37 and support for our unhoused community. If you are able, it is highly encouraged that you come in-person (masked). You can make public comments on Zoom or in person. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6pm. You can view the meeting agenda here.

Check out this student-created public comment guide!

Address: 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94702 (accessible via AC Transit). We highly encourage masking to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses.

Zoom URL: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1607838997. To request to speak, use the “raise hand” function in Zoom. To join by phone: Dial 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free) and enter Meeting ID: 160 783 8997. To provide public comment, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the Chair. Please be mindful that the meeting will be recorded.