FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Ian Cordova Morales, President and Advocate
Where Do We Go (Also known as Where Do We Go Berkeley)
510-575-1158
imorales@wdwg.org
Andrea Henson, Executive Director and Legal Counsel
Where Do We Go
510-640-7390
ahenson@wdwg.org
Californians will travel to Ross, California, Home of Governor Newsom tomorrow, Saturday, November 2, 2024 to Demand an End To the Violent Sweeps of the Unhoused and to Discuss Solutions
WHEN: Saturday, November 2, 2024, 10 am – 11 pm.
WHERE: 1 Ross Common, Ross, CA 94957 in front of the United States Post Office
We are calling on Californians to visit the town of Ross, California, the home of Governor Gavin Newsom, this Saturday to demand an end to sweeps of the unhoused. This Saturday’sgathering in downtown Ross provides an opportunity for everyone to exercise their First Amendment Rights and discuss how the application of state terror toward the homeless is affecting individuals in every jurisdiction in California.
Governor Newsom, it is easy to terrorize the poor and ignore systemic racism and classism when you live in a neighborhood where the median household income is $250,000 plus.[1]
We demand accountability. Robbie Powelson, a Marin County Homeless Advocate commented: “The hypocrisy of Governor Gavin Newsom is glaring as he calls on other cities to build homeless shelters and affordable housing while turning a blind eye to absurd wealth inequality and NIMBYism in his hometown of Ross. It’s time to hold our leaders accountable for the standards they set for others.”
We demand an end to sweeps. Tiny (Lisa) Gray-Garcia, Co-founder of Poor Magazine calls out the abuse that is raining down on the unhoused: “Following the violence of Grants Pass v. Johnson – Newsom’s “clearing” order is a death sentence for houseless communities across California, the majority of whom are disabled elders, who not only have nowhere to go when we are swept, but whose lives, and safety are drastically impacted and put in danger with the loss of our communities, support, medicine and belongings. “
It is unacceptable that California has begun a new era of terror and segregation that is focused on making unhoused communities disappear. In June 2024, the Supreme Court provided authority for jurisdictions to criminalize the unhoused since they overturned City of Grants Pass v. Johnson. Taking the decision as a green light, Governor Gavin Newsom issued executive order N-1-24 ordering all state agencies to remove homeless encampments while providing very little protection for those living on the streets. Local leaders such as San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, have removed homeless encampments at unprecedented rates. In Fresno, the City Council passed a misdemeanor ordinance criminalizing homelessness. And in Berkeley, a city most noted for their history demanding social justice, City Council passed an encampment ordinance making it easier for the city to justify sweeping encampments.
As Californians we demand radical solutions rather than scapegoating and punishing the most vulnerable. Daryn Rogers, Treasurer of the Vallejo Homeless Union, comments: “The sweeps must stop because they don’t really accomplish the city’s goal of reducing the homeless population, it only puts more of us out on the streets.”
We demand transparency. Needa Bee, Executive Director at The Village In Oakland details how current policies and funding are not reducing homelessness stating: “[t]he Governor’s executive order and the pressure he has put on cities is not solving homelessness. It’s creating more desperation, more trauma and more harm amongst the unhoused residents of California. Funds have been released over the past several years to address homelessness, yet with the total lack of accountability and transparency those funds have been used to leave thousands of people on the sidewalks of Oakland to die. Permanent housing with supportive services is the only dignified solution and the approach to California’s homeless state of emergency.”
We demand new laws that protect the unhoused. Andrea Henson, civil rights attorney at the nonprofit Where Do We Go describes the purpose of this Saturday’s protest in Ross: “This protest will allow Californians to join together to discuss the vicious tactics that are being used to displace those who are unable to pay rent, who are living in the streets and in their vehicles across the state. More importantly, it will allow all of us to discuss strategies to fight back and provide an opportunity for the media to meet with Californians from across the state who are experiencing state terror firsthand.”
She continued: “We cannot allow these warlike tactics used to oppress residents of California continue. We must demand that the Governor, state, and local leaders create laws to protect those who cannot afford to pay rent and who are living on the streets. If you are not a tenant or a homeowner, your entire existence is illegal. You are subject to a host of laws that are used to persecute, criminalize, and subjugate individuals to punitive punishments for their inability to pay rent, recover from chronic disabilities, fight systemic racism and classism, and stop the natural aging process.”
Join us in Ross.
[1] United States Census Bureau, https://data.census.gov/profile/Ross_town,_California?g=160XX00US0662980
Andrea M. Henson
Executive Director and Legal Counsel
Where Do We Go
2726 Martin Luther King Junior Way
Berkeley, California 94703-2146
Tel: 510-999-WDWG (9394)
Cell: 510-640-7390
Ahenson@wdwg.org | www.wdwg.org
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