Portland, Oregon. Troubling Rise of Urban Alchemy – Privatization of public space, labor exploitation, and criminalization of homelessness – ZINE

Urban Alchemy is on their way to becoming one of the most powerful profiteers in the homelessness industry; creating a dangerous precedent for cities in the U.S. A nonprofit based in San Francisco, Urban Alchemy receives nearly $50 million through contracts managing shelters, sanctioned encampments, and hygiene stations. Increasingly, and a cause for major concern, they are tasked to patrol public streets, parks, and transit stations despite not being a licensed private security company. It’s difficult to walk the streets of San Francisco without seeing one of their uniforms. You will instantly spot their Alchemist inspired branding. A logo representing their ‘third eye’ and jarring slogans invoking an unnerving feeling of being watched or surveilled.