Fighting against sweeps and those who profit from the exploitation of poverty and public space
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ALT A flyer with an image of pioneer courthouse square with a banner reading “STOP THE SWEEPS” Text to the right of the image reads: STOP THE SWEEPS SOLIDARITY EVENT FOR THE JOHNSON V. GRANTS PASS SUPREME COURT CASE HEARING COURTS HAVE REPEATEDLY RULED CAMPING RESTRICTIONS AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. NOW A TRUMP SUPREME COURT, FRIEND ONLY TO THE WEALTHY, WILL MAKE A DECISION IMPACTING EVERY PERSON TRYING TO SURVIVE ON THE STREET. THIS SUPREME COURT DECISION WILL IMPACT UNHOUSED PEOPLE ACROSS THE NATION, AS GRANTS PASS AIMS TO CRIMINALIZE HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY IN THE MIDST OF A HOUSING AND ECONOMIC CRISIS. EMAIL [email protected] FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THE EVENT, OUR MISSION, JOINING, SWEEPS NEWS, OR TO SIGN UP FOR OUR SUBSTACK.
ALT Tent in front of city hall with a housekeys not handcuffs poster
ALT Stop the sweeps banner hung up on the front pillars of city hall. There are posters that say "how many portlanders must suffer this winter before you care?" "Out of sight and out of mind camping bans should be a crime" "sweep the rich" "housekeys not handcuffs" "why camps, not housing?"
ALT Stop the sweeps banner hung up on the sidewalk outside city hall
ALT Sign that says "public spaces for all!"
ALT (redacted) continued to resist and I activated my taser. (redacted) locked up again but after the cycle, he continued to resist and ignore commands to release the bag and put his hands behind his back. At this time I noticed several bystanders that were standing in the store behind us. They kept telling us to leave (redacted) alone and just let him go.
ALT I next spoke to King on the sidewalk and took his information. He told me that he got a call from his boss., City of Gresham Community Services Manager Jessica Harper, who in turn had received a call from the Assistant City Manager Eric Schmidt, about a subject that was sleeping on the back patio of the building where Cheap Charlies is, and that King needed to go move that person along. King knew it would be (redacted) because “that’s his area” where (redacted) hangs out all day every day. When King got there, the subject was in a sleeping bag, but he knew it was (redacted) when he started talking to him just by the sound of his voice. For around five minutes, King tried to get (redacted) to move along and (redacted) unzipped the sleeping bag and told King that he was working at Cheap Charlies. King went to talk with the store owner, and the owner opened the rear door and confirmed that (redacted) was working for him and confirmed that he was allowing (redacted) to sleep there.
ALT King said he couldn’t do that since it was against city code. King gave (redacted) two choices: move to a place where he was going out of sight, or he was going to call police. (Redacted) got angry about King saying he was going to call… screenshot ends.
ALT WHEELER 1 Motion to amend the Spring BMP Ordinance to add a finding and directive for continued services in the Impact Reduction Program. • Update the Spring BMP Ordinance as Amended to include the following finding: “The Fall BMP and Spring BMP in FY 2022-23 have included additional funds to ensure IRP is able to maintain service levels through the current fiscal year. The current contract does not match the current run rate for City owned and ODOT owned clean-ups and the contract will require additional funds in order to match the revised budget.” • Update the Spring BMP Ordinance as Amended to include the following directive: “The Chief Procurement Officer or designee is authorized to amend Contract #31002015, to increase the total contract value by an additional $12,000,000, for a new contract not-to-exceed total of $38,603,000, provided the amendment has been approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office.”
ALT Urban Alchemy's logo which consists of a triangle with an eye in the middle. On the right side of the logo is a picture of a window of Urban Alchemy's office. The window says "once you see us you can't unsee us"
ALT Email from Kirkpatrick Tyler of Urban Alchemy to Skyler Brocker-Knapp regarding the Mayor's Office visit to LA. Email is dated October 18, 2022. Hey Skylar! Please see the Itinerary for Monday August 24, 2022 9:30AM Meet at Lincoln Safe Sleep Village. 11:00AM: Metro CIRCLE Decompression Center 12:30PM Lunch with the Interim Housing Team 1:00PM Westlake Tiny Home Village Site Visit 2:30PM Venice CIRCLE Team Site Visit 3:30pm Head to LAX for Departure
ALT powerpoint slide from mayor's office: What is being proposed? Elements of designated camping sites. Six professionally managed camping sites. Initially, each site will have 100 tents (for up to 150 people). City Council must approve an additional 100 people (for up to 250 people), after this first phase, at each site. Site Features: Better access to available physical, mental, and behavioral health services. Improved navigation to housing and shelter resources. Residents provided two meals and a hefty snack. One entrance/exit. 24-hour on-site and 1,000 ft. perimeter security.
ALT Camp Management. Service Provider Model. Service provider will manage 24/7 with approximately 15/1 staff/client ratio. Using a Built For Zero client-centered public health approach to guide clients through the continuum of care. Weapons must be checked at the entrance (zero tolerance policy). Alcohol and drugs cannot be consumed in common areas/public spaces. No cooking or fires are allowed. Referral-based system, no walk-ins allowed. Develop sustainable and untapped workforce development pipeline. Hire staff with a passion for the work. Use a rigorous and proven training program for all staff.
ALT Email from Jeff Kositsky to Skyler Brokcer-Knapp. Bayron Wilson, Mike Anderer, Ian Clark-Johnson cc'd. Skye- I am attaching the budget for a safe sleeping village (sanctioned tent encampment) in Portland. This budget represents our best thinking on how to meet the needs of 225 people living in 150 tents on the site. We would start with 75 tents during the first 6 months and then add 75 more the second six months. The project we budgeted for is designed to both help people heal from the trauma of homelessness and provide them tools to find housing. Some features include: 1. Full staffing for the safety, security and health of the guests, having roughly 1 Practitioner for every 15 guests (providing safety, custodial, intake, and general support services) 2. A team of two people working 16 hours per day doing outreach around the site to invite people camping nearby to come into the village and to respect the surrounding area. Alt text continued next photo.
ALT 3. Care Coordinators (1 for every 20 guests) to help connect people to services, meet immediate needs and find exits from homelessness. Care Coordinators will have the resources to provide direct financial assistance to meet both immediate needs and to help folks exit homelessness. 4. Two meals and 1 snack a day to ensure that guests are properly nourished. 5. Operational expenses to ensure the site is safe, clean, and pest free, and that guests' hygiene and other needs are met. Note that the budget includes all operational costs other than utilities, which we assume will be covered by the city directly. We estimate that guests will stay 3-6 months at the site but there will be no time limit. We will want to get everyone into coordinated entry with the hopes that some % of the guests will get access to permanent housing. We will directly help 40-60 guests exit homelessness with one-time assistance (security deposit, bus ticket home, etc). Alt text continued next tweet.
ALT Finally, we want over 90% of the guests to report they are happier being at this site compared to the last place they were sleeping. Urban Alchemy would like input into the design, but we did not include start-up or capital costs as we assume the city will develop the site. This will include infrastructure and site improvements as well as the rent or purchase of office trailers, showers, restrooms, etc. The city would need to purchase computers, furniture and other items at the start up. Urban Alchemy would also need about $100k for start up expenses and a 2-3 month advance on the contract to get started. Sorry if this was TMI, but wanted to provide as much detail as we could to help put this in context. We look forward to talking with you about this soon. Bayron, Ian, Jeff, and Mike
ALT Email from Skyler Brocker-Knapp on October 17. Hi all, I wanted to connect you all, so you could start a conversation and hopefully a relationship moving forward as we partner together. Andy is the new head of Central City Concern, is an addictionologist and a fantastic human. Andy, this is the incredible leadership crew of Urban Alchemy. They are incredible people doing incredible work and we are so excited to bring them to Portland. Before announcing anything publicly, I wanted to make the connection between UA and CC. Happy to set up a meeting! Thanks, Skye B-K
ALT Email from Skyler Brocker-Knapp on July 5th. Thank you! Please feel free to give the staff who will be in town our numbers if they want to check out anything with us. Nate and I working on our end and will be in touch very soon with some updates. The pieces are all coming together. Really excited! Best, Skye
ALT Email from Jeff Kositsky to Skyler Brocker-Knapp, Kirkpatrick Tyler, and Bayron Wilson on October 27th. Hi everyone: It is very exciting that things seem to be moving forward! KP will be managing our government and community affairs in Portland and I will be responsible for managing our possible move to Portland. Bayron is the decision maker on all programmatic and community issues. It might make sense for us to set up regular meetings (every other week?) to keep things moving forward. What do you think? Jeff Kositsky Chief Growth Officer Urban Alchemy
ALT Screenshot of a tweet from Urban Alchemy on March 25, 2021. It says "166 people got housing today. Great day #EchoParkLake #resources and wraparound services for our community family". The tweet includes four images of Urban Alchmey employees walking around the park with trash cans with tents visible in the background.
ALT Urban Alchemy logo. It's a circle with an eye in the middle and the outline of a triangle. The logo incorporates alchemist imagery of the 'third eye'
ALT Photo of Urban Alchemy's offices. Their logo is on two windows. Above their logo is a sign that says "San Francisco Police". It is located in the Sixth Street Safety Hub which is indicated above the entrance. A worker is standing outside of the entrance.
ALT Screenshot from the article about sanctioned encampments titled "Exist and Resist: Sanctioned Encampments and Co-opting Strategies of Survival" by Jade Arellano Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP). On the right is artwork from WRAP and the Poster Syndicate of six tents surrounded by a barb-wired fence. The fence is patrolled by two cops in riot gear as well as two vultures with security cameras attached to their heads looking down at the tents. In the background is a guard watch tower with the HUD logo. The artwork reads "Shelters and sanctioned encampments are not housing. Homelessness ends with a home."
ALT Flyer for the event. It's a yellow flyer with a drawing of a Street Books bicycle. It reads: Justice and Care: fall vigil and celebration of community. Hosted by Street Books. A vigil against the sweeps. A celebration of community care and resistance. Thursday, September 29th 5:30-7:30pm in the South Park Blocks, between SW Jefferson and SW Madison. 5:30 Food/Love Notes/Silk Screening. Vigil 6:30; Dancing 7:00pm. Bring a love note for Street Books patrons and librarians. More information at www.streetbooks.org
ALT In the wake of a damning report from the Auditor and under continued scrutiny and pressure from the public, the City of Portland's Office of Management and Finance (OMF) has released a survey soliciting "community input" on the future of Portland's Enhanced Services Districts (ESDs). Shawn Campbell, the City’s ESD coordinator, introduces the survey with an acknowledgment of the program’s many failings, “including a lack of oversight and transparency, the need for guidelines to create and govern districts, and concerns about the use of private security to patrol public areas.” That’s a lot to get wrong! Enough to justify halting the ESD program citywide, if not ending it once and for all! But the City says its ESDs are not on the chopping block. Instead, they’re reconsidering the shape and governance of Portland’s ESDs. For instance: Which “enhanced services” the program should support, How hands-off the City should be, whether groups like renters, houseless, and advocates deserve a say
ALT Graphic that says "Locked Out, Gentrified, Criminalized: ESDs Destroy Communities" the graphic has an orange background with a city skyline on the bottom. There are also security officers with shields that read "Enhanced Services District", "Our Neighborhoods are not shopping malls" and "privatizing public space with public money". The security officers have a camera on their head and are waving batons.
ALT Black and white artwork of a group of protesters taking down a statue off a podium. The statue is of a man in a suit with a money bag as a head. The man also has money overflowing from his pockets. The podium of the statue says "Status quo". Above the artwork reads "Portland: Keep public space public". Below the artwork reads "Defund private policing. Dismantle ESDs". On the bottom left corner are the logos for Western Regional Advocacy Project, Sisters of the Road, and Right to Survive.
ALT Artwork of downtown Portland. It is mostly black and white with a purple color used for shading. Mount Hood is in the background. Tall buildings, a bridge, and the Portland white stag sign is also visible. A wall surrounds downtown Portland with an entrance that says "Clean & Safe" and "Welcome Shoppers". Shoppers walk inside while tents surround the perimeter. A man is next to one of the tents holding a sign that says "Streets for all". Above the artwork reads "Portland: Keep public space public". Below the artwork reads "Defund private policing. Dismantle ESDs". On the bottom left corner are the logos for Western Regional Advocacy Project, Sisters of the Road, and Right to Survive.
ALT Flyer for the webinar. It reads: Save the date. Sanctioned Encampments webinar April 21, 2pm PST. Conceal, Criminalize, Capitalize: How government sanctioned tent cities promote the criminalization of homelessness under the guise of service. On the right side is WRAP's artwork that reads: Shelters and sanctioned encampments are not housing. Homelessness ends with a home. The artwork depicts six tents surrounded by a barbed wire fence with two armed guards and two vultures with security camera hats perched along the fence. In the background is a watch tower with the logo for the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
ALT Flyer for the webinar. It reads: Save the date. Sanctioned Encampments webinar April 21, 2pm PST. Conceal, Criminalize, Capitalize: How government sanctioned tent cities promote the criminalization of homelessness under the guise of service. On the right side is WRAP's artwork that reads: Shelters and sanctioned encampments are not housing. Homelessness ends with a home. The artwork depicts six tents surrounded by a barbed wire fence with two armed guards and two vultures with security camera hats perched along the fence. In the background is a watch tower with the logo for the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
ALT A white square with a turquoise border. In the center in large navy blue font reads, “Clean & Safe”- it is overlaid against turquoise larger font that reads, “end”. Atop this text a crow caws indignantly. Underneath, in navy bold font: End the collaboration between Clean & Safe and the Portland Police Bureau"
ALT Black text on a turquoise background reads" "In response to community outcry regarding a lack of public engagement, Portland City Council has delayed their vote on a contract renewing the relationship between Clean & Safe and the Portland Police Bureau from March 30th to April 13th, 2022."
ALT Black text on a turquoise background reads, "If approved, this contract will continue to staff four Portland Police Bureau positions, but transfer the responsibility of funding them after 2 years from Clean & Safe to the City. The historical lack of oversight, accountability and public involvement in these decisions affect all Portlanders, but disproportionately affect the unhoused communities who reside downtown."
ALT Black text on a turquoise background reads: "A public listening session with opportunity for public comment will be held on April 7th, from 6:00 – 8:00. We encourage you to sign up and attend if you’re able! On our website you’ll find talking points that can be a helpful starting point for crafting your testimony and a template email script to send to City Council. If you aren’t able to sign up for public testimony, you can still make your voice heard!"