• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
WRAP

WRAP

Western Regional Advocacy Project

  • Donate Now
  • Get Email Updates
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About
    • History
    • Mission
    • Strategy
    • Members
    • Board / Staff
  • Campaigns
    • Business Improvement Districts
    • House Keys Not Sweeps
    • Homeless Bill of Rights
    • Oregon Right To Rest
    • Without Housing
    • Street Outreach
  • Organizing Tools
    • Without Housing Organizing Toolkit
    • Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign Manual
    • WRAP Organizers Manual
    • WRAP Artwork
  • Resources
    • Art in Action Power Point Slide Show
    • Hobos to Street People
    • House Keys Book
    • Political Education
    • Legal Research
  • Media
    • Blog
    • Hobos to Street People Art Show
    • Street Newspapers
    • Sweeps Gallery Videos
    • Videos
  • Support Us
    • Donate
    • Become a Monthly Sustainer
    • Volunteer
    • Support WRAP
    • WRAP Newsletters & Updates Sign Up

Conceal, Criminalize, Capitalize: How government sanctioned tent cities promote the criminalization of homelessness under the guise of service

July 14, 2021 by Jonathan 1 Comment

Jade Arellano / Western Regional Advocacy Project

The community of unhoused Oaklanders living at Cob on Wood are anticipating the arrival of bulldozers any day now. Cob on Wood is one of the largest homeless encampments that currently exist in West Oakland, where residents have built their own tiny homes, a community clinic, and even a free commissary. While this beautiful and sustainably built settlement has been heralded in the media as a creative solution to Oakland’s housing crisis, there remains an ever-present threat that Caltrans (the public entity that “owns” the land) will evict everyone living in the encampment and destroy it.

Around the same time that the city issued a “cease and desist” order to the folks at Cob on Wood, Oakland  City Council was considering a proposal to give $350,000 to a non-profit to build a city-sanctioned encampment. This is an alarming trend across the US – while encampments created by unhoused people are vilified and violently dismantled, cities are proposing establishing “sanctioned encampments” as a tier of the formal shelter system. These government-run sanctioned encampments are not progressive or innovative, and they inevitably lead to criminalization outside of their fenced-in borders. Instead, these encampments represent another installation in the long history of warehousing and invisibilizing poor and unhoused people.

Unhoused organizers and allies have been asking for cities to support creative solutions to homelessness for years, and the idea to have legalized encampments certainly isn’t new.

However, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that spurred local governments to create sanctioned encampments as part of the emergency  response  to  the shutdown  of  congregate shelters.  Typically,  tents are lined up next to each other in a fenced off area, which is then patrolled and policed by a local provider and/or private security. While  conditions  inside the encampments vary, the decision to make sanctioned encampments part of the service landscape turns them into leverage for law enforcement; like a shelter bed offer, turning down an offer to stay in an encampment can result in a person being branded as “service-resistant.” On the heels of Martin v. Boise and Judge Carter’s decision regarding LA’s Skid Row, cities are leaning into the narrative of service resistance as a way to continue business as usual without being convicted of cruel and unusual punishment; by making offers of shelter a precondition to the enforcement of anti-homeless laws, they fuel the narrative that homelessness is choiceful, and thereby that criminalization is deserved. This tactic becomes even more insidious in light of the fact that an “offer” of shelter can mean practically anything, and that even the mere pretense of an offer seems enough to circumvent the requirements set forth by the 9th circuit.

Local leaders have been very straightforward about this strategy. In Sacramento, mayor Darrell Steinberg specifically cited the Carter decision as a precedent for establishing a “Right to Shelter, Obligation to Accept,” which would make it illegal for unhoused people to refuse offers of shelter. In regard to sanctioned encampments, he said, “I strongly support our new safe ground movement to organize designated tent and tiny home encampments. It is our best short-term strategy to triage the thousands living in the numerous tent encampments and then regulate the places in our city where it is not appropriate to camp” (emphasis added). Clearly, one of the most appealing aspects of these encampments for local governments is that they give cities more capacity to make offers by cheaply and quickly increasing their “shelter stock.” The greater the number of offers, the easier it becomes for cities to continue the brutal and blatantly unconstitutional displacement of unhoused people.

Communities created by unhoused people can be places for revolutionary dreaming, rad mutual aid projects, and sites to mobilize political resistance to the criminalization of extreme poverty. Government-run encampments take away what can be empowering about living in an encampment by turning the encampment into a “service.” The institutionalization of encampments reinforces the carceral logic that unhoused people and poor people can only legally exist within a system that is designed to reform them, even if the only difference between being in the system and on the streets is whether it’s your tent or a tent issued by the city. Institutionalization also completely alienates the sense of community that characterizes most encampments on the streets; since the advent of contemporary homelessness in the early 80’s, people have banded together in community with friends and allies to protect themselves, their belongings, and each other. It is a natural form of survival and togetherness in lives that are way too often dangerous and incredibly isolated.

 


Governments have the choice to stop the brutal evictions and destruction of encampments created by unhoused people. Rather than co-opt and criminalize, cities could work to support people living in encampments by providing sanitation, water, healthcare, and survival gear. The continued refusal to honor the ingenuity and creativity of folks who must survive on the streets reveals that the agenda behind “sanctioned encampments,” like many other services created to “help the homeless,” is to corral poor people and conceal them from the public. Thirty-nine years of failed policy should speak for itself – criminalization is cruel and dehumanizing, nothing ends homelessness but a home!

Filed Under: #right2rest, #StopTheSweeps, Advocacy, Blog, Civil & Human Rights, WRAP Article, WRAP Members

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mike Rhodes says

    July 15, 2021 at 10:43 pm

    Great article about the issue of homeless people living in government or social service encampments vs. self governed communities. 20+ years ago, when I first saw the demolition of a self governed community, I asked a social service provider what he thought about what was going on. He said there was too much crime so “of course” the police had to bulldoze all of the tents, destroying everything these people had. I said, “but there is crime in north Fresno (the affluent side of town) and I don’t see any bulldozers knocking down those houses.”

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Instagram Feed

HOMELESS AWARENESS NIGHT at Dodger Stadium | Tuesd HOMELESS AWARENESS NIGHT at Dodger Stadium | Tuesday, September 6th, 2022 @ 7pm 

Proceeds go to the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP)

Tuesday, September 6th, 2022 @ 7pm

FIVE ways to help support the movement to make housing a human right!

Purchase a ticket – $30: $11 of each ticket sale goes to WRAP.
Sponsor a Community Member – $30: Purchase a ticket so that an unhoused community member can attend the game; for $45 they will receive a T-shirt as well.
Purchase a ticket AND a WRAP T-shirt – $45: Receive your shirt at the game and wear it in solidarity!
Purchase a ticket AND a WRAP poster – $40: Receive your poster at the game.
Donate Directly to WRAP: Learn about and support the amazing work of homeless-led and accountable organizations at www.wraphome.org
To purchase tickets, send money by Venmo – @Dodgers42 – with a message about which option you choose from above.

Housing is a Human Right!

Questions? Email wrap@wraphome.org.

Learn more about WRAP’s work at www.wraphome.org

https://wraphome.org/2022/06/24/homeless-awareness-night-at-dodger-stadium-tuesday-september-6th-2022-7pm/
Conceal, Criminalize, Capitalize WRAP Webinar http Conceal, Criminalize, Capitalize WRAP Webinar https://conta.cc/3LMtrBs

How government sanctioned tent cities promote the criminalization of homelessness under the guise of service.
Instagram post 18189609832165249 Instagram post 18189609832165249
In this webinar, we will discuss the implications In this webinar, we will discuss the implications of these encampments as a “service,” namely how they will and are being used to sweep and warehouse unhoused people on the streets, and how they are part of a larger trend whereby local governments fabricate and formalize “service resistance” in order to continue the criminalization of homelessness under Martin v. Boise. 
https://conta.cc/3NU87eJ
https://conta.cc/3raYH4D
Sweeps and Bans don’t “Solve Homelessness,” Sweeps and Bans don’t “Solve Homelessness,” Housing Does! – RV & people bans, Echo Park Lake, and more
https://conta.cc/3JFtcH3
Let's talk about Funding! House approves $768 bill Let's talk about Funding! House approves $768 billion defense funding bill
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/house-approves-768-billion-defense-funding-bill/ar-AARzI8H?rt=0&ocid=Win10NewsApp&item=flights%3Aprg-mobileappview
Governments, media, business community and BIDs al Governments, media, business community and BIDs all love to talk woof about homelessness & poverty over the Holidays – while a quick review of the pieces below document the truths behind the pretense and rhetoric of compassionate oppression!! https://conta.cc/3FQ0XDz
November 5, 2021 | 5:30-7:00PM PT Onsite at Oaklan November 5, 2021 | 5:30-7:00PM PT
Onsite at Oakland Asian Cultural Center
Details & RSVP at www.oacc.cc https://wraphome.org/2021/11/01/oakland-ca-prints-protest-the-legacy-of-poster-making-and-social-justice-movements/
“For the fourth consecutive year, homelessness i “For the fourth consecutive year, homelessness increased nationwide” The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress 
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2020-AHAR-Part-1.pdf
#stopthesweeps #stopthesweeps
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Facebook Icon

Facebook Feed

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

HOMELESS AWARENESS NIGHT at Dodger Stadium | Tuesday, September 6th, 2022 @ 7pm - WRAP

wraphome.org

Proceeds go to the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) Tuesday, September 6th, 2022 @ 7pm FIVE ways to help support the movement to mak...
2 days ago
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • Likes: 0
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Twitter Icon

Twitter Feed

24 Jun 1540471739100016641

Purchase a ticket – $30: $11 of each ticket sale goes to WRAP.
Sponsor a Community Member – $30: Purchase a ticket so that an unhoused community member can attend the game;

Image for twitter card

HOMELESS AWARENESS NIGHT at Dodger Stadium | Tuesday, September 6th, 2022 @ 7pm

Proceeds go to the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) Tuesday, September 6th, 2022 @ 7pm FIVE ways to help ...

wraphome.org

Reply on Twitter 1540471739100016641 Retweet on Twitter 1540471739100016641 0 Like on Twitter 1540471739100016641 0 Twitter 1540471739100016641
24 Jun 1540416345090600961

Despite telling voters what candidates’ focus groups and polls suggest they want to hear, there is little evidence that expanding police departments and increasing incarceration rates reduce crime – in LA or elsewhere.

Image for twitter card

Despite Calls for More Cops, LAPD Won‘t Be Riding to the Rescue

Despite telling voters what candidates‘ focus groups and polls suggest they want to hear, there is little evid...

www.laprogressive.com

Reply on Twitter 1540416345090600961 Retweet on Twitter 1540416345090600961 0 Like on Twitter 1540416345090600961 2 Twitter 1540416345090600961
24 Jun 1540412705248387072

Come out & celebrate Pride month at LACAN, this Saturday, June 25th from 4-8pm. There will be a panel discussion on the increasing anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiments and legislation around the nation, + what we can do to stand against this violence.

Image for twitter card

Building Stronger Communities, Loving You & Sharing Joy! Celebrate Pride @ LACAN

Come out & celebrate Pride month at LACAN, this Saturday, June 25th from 4-8pm. There will be a panel discussion...

wraphome.org

Reply on Twitter 1540412705248387072 Retweet on Twitter 1540412705248387072 1 Like on Twitter 1540412705248387072 0 Twitter 1540412705248387072
23 Jun 1540104976889876480

REVIVING THE BRACERO PROGRAM IS THE WRONG ANSWER FOR WORKERSBy David Bacon - WRAP

Image for twitter card

REVIVING THE BRACERO PROGRAM IS THE WRONG ANSWER FOR WORKERSBy David Bacon

The Nation, <a href="#" class="ctf_more">...</a><span class="ctf_remaining">6/23/22https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/bracero-h-2a-farmwork...

wraphome.org

Reply on Twitter 1540104976889876480 Retweet on Twitter 1540104976889876480 0 Like on Twitter 1540104976889876480 0 Twitter 1540104976889876480
23 Jun 1540104259600916480

San Francisco, CA. MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR CART TOMORROW AT 10AM - WRAP

Image for twitter card

San Francisco, CA. MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR CART TOMORROW AT 10AM

*En español abajo* Please join us for public comment tomorrow, June 24th, at 10am as we call on the Board of ...

wraphome.org

Reply on Twitter 1540104259600916480 Retweet on Twitter 1540104259600916480 0 Like on Twitter 1540104259600916480 0 Twitter 1540104259600916480
Load More...

YouTube icon

Youtube Code

Our Channel

Copyright © 2022 Western Regional Advocacy Project WRAP · Log in