For Immediate Release: We Charge Newsom with War (On the ) Poor Crimes

Newsom demands statewide “clearing” of ALL our houseless bodies to nowhere – Houseless Californians and advocates respond with a criminal charge 

Today California Gov. Gavin Newsom enhanced his already violent policy of removal and harassment of houseless people just trying to rest by directing  state agencies to dismantle homeless encampments on state land. He is making this move after the US supreme court ruled on  Grants Pass versus Johnson which cleared the way for states and cities to move even more violently against houseless communities  by saying we as houseless residents of the US have no rights to protection under the CONstitution. 

A coalition of Houseless peoples from Los Angeles to Sacramento who have already been rendered criminal just because we live outside without access to a roof hereby  respond to Newsoms violent threats.

“I would ask the question were are all those unhoused people going to go? Why are you criminalizing people for not making enough money to pay their rent? How is this going to make anything better? And you know there are not enough shelter beds in California to put everyone in who want to sleep in a shelter/ hell. Who are you looking out for? ” John Janasko- Wood Street Commons Resident Leader

“This morning, the last remaining community members of Aetna Street ( a houseless community in occupied Tovaangar aka so-called Los Angeles) were given orders for their removal and destruction of their homes and arrest if they refused to comply. This order comes directly from Governor Newsom who issued an Executive Order to California officials to remove homeless encampments from public state-owned land. What happens to our community when they are removed from public? They are forced underground to places where they are no longer visible or detectable. This is a forced removal policy, an order to “disappear” the visible sight of poverty. ” Aetna Street Solidarity 

“We houseless, disabled, swept, terrorized residents of California at POOR Magazine and Homefulness charge Politrickster Newsom with War (ON the poor) Crimes for the deaths that have already resulted from his violent sweeping, removing, evicting and arresting and this order which will only act to enhance that violence against our bodies and result in the drastic increase in our death. .Like all war criminals protected by corrupt governments from occupied Palestine to occupied Turtle Island, we will resist, as we have no choice and nowhere else to go,”  Tiny Gray-Garcia, Leajay Harper, Muteado Silencio, Israel Munoz, Brokin Cloud, Aunty Frances Moore, Juju A, Angel Heart, Danielle Smith, Daveion L, Dee A, Teo E, Frankie, Evander and many more houseless relatives and ancestors at POOR Magazine/Homefulness  

“The Governor’s executive order is punitive and builds in no protections for the unhoused. It builds in no punishment or consequences for resource providers that fail to conduct outreach or who fail to assist these vulnerable communities. The Governor does not build in guidance or direction on how state agencies and local governments can penalize continuum of care providers that fail to do their outreach prior to the sweep yet accept the millions of dollars to provide these services. There is no implementation of any oversight, therefore, leaving the unhoused subject to a new reign of terror and torment by state actors because they are poor and homeless.” – Andrea Henson, Executive Director, Where Do We Go

“Newson is making  a big mistake bc he has no offer of shelter. A permanent solution, people don’t have electricity, the state is over hot. Temperature over 90 an 100s no wather. Hosing hosing justice is a solution . Housing.”  Miguel Carrerra, Coalition on Homelessness 

“The narrative around the country is that California is a bastion of progressive values. There’s nothing progressive about the decision to sweep our unhoused relatives from their homes, This is just going to make way more un mitigated violence against our unhoused relatives. Given The political timing. One must wonder if Gavin is cleaning up the White House to clean up the reputation that the right has created about California in order to pave the way for Harris to the White House at the expense of the very people who should be the most protected by those we elect to do so” Cat Brooks cofounder executive Director Anti Police Terror Project

“Democrats, Republicans, the Supreme Court and the police, you can oppress the people for so long before they fight back!  Yeah we will be at your front door!” Leroy Moore, Co-founder Homefulness and Founder of Krip Hop Nation 

“This has already been a practice in Sacramento they’ve been arresting entire encampments” -Crystal rose Sanchez sacramento homeless Union 

“There is no social justice in criminalizing our unhoused community their is no solution in solving homelessness by incarceration, Junebug Keaoloha, POOR Magazine /San Francisco 

Governor Gavin Newsom, if you are enforcing an unjust law lying in public, then you are complicit with killing the most vulnerable people in this country.  Most unhoused folk are highly traumatized people, survivors of sexual violence, veterans, and elders unable to pay the high and immoral rents in California.  There are not enough shelters for them, and shelters are often carceral and abusive, further traumatizing traumatized people.  I am saddened and angered by how we treat people who need and deserve love, care, support, and safe, dignified housing.  Instead, you should criminalize landlords and corporations that have shockingly high rents. The solution to homelessness is creating a system that puts people over profit and treats poor people as human beings.  We should have supportive permanent housing options created and managed by people with unhoused experience.  We have enough resources and money for everyone; we need to use them effectively.  Newsom, you should Do Better and Be Better.  Do Not Enforce Immoral Inhumane Laws! Martha Escudero, Reclaiming Our Homes El Sereno, LA 

This entire violent move by Newsom is only possible because, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Grants Pass v. Johnson, a case that had barred cities from citing and arresting people for the sole act of being homeless in public. The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, said fining and arresting homeless people does not violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.

“200 years ago, before colonization there wasn’t even a concept of homelessness,” said Talking chief/spokesperson of the confederated villages of Lisjan/Ohlone and co-founder of the Sogorea Te Land Trust and Family Elders Council member of Homefulness.

“Who is being subject to the Governors order? Elders, people with disabilities, often both who will now have to move further and further from sources of food and water. California, the 5th largest economy in the world, is leaving people to die of forced starvation and dehydration, in addition to the threat of criminalization that people forced to live outside are faced with every day.

As these orders go in to effect, our people will die. There’s no need to house people once they are gone. It’s a final solution for people who are forced to live outside. This is a death march from the 5th largest economy in the world.” Aetna Street Solidarity  This is an example of why Homefulness – a homeless peoples solution to homelessness who just welcomed their 21st houseless family into rent-free forever housing is such an emergency need and not possible unless wealth-hoarders radically share so poor and houseless peoples can build our own, self-determined healing solutions to housing that will offer us rent-free forever homes, not subject to the classist , racist hate of the state that protects stolen indigenous  land over people,  The krapitalOST state will always incarcerate us for being poor., tiny gray-garcia, Homefulness /POOR Magazine

###

You can’t audit a course in the skoo of Hard Knocks…. Povertyskola

Tiny (Lisa) Gray-Garcia
Daughter of Dee/Co-madre/Co-founder
POOR Magazine/PoorNewsNetwork(PNN)/Homefulness
Author of Criminal of Poverty: Growing Up Homeless in America & SideWalkMotel – Poems & PoShunary from a PovertySkola

IG/Twitter/FB/TikTok:@povertyskola & @poormagazine 

www.lisatinygraygarcia.com
www.poormagazine.org
www.poorpress.net