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The City of Santa Cruz Plans Eviction of Hundreds of Houseless People

We’re Not Going Anywhere

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The Benchlands, an encampment of hundreds in Santa Cruz, CA, is in one of the wealthiest places on Earth.Yet, the City, which was provided millions from the state and federal government, has not offered dignified housing to people in need. Eviction procedures have begun. Photo/Facebook

SANTA CRUZ, CA — The city of Santa Cruz, CA, plans to start the process of evicting the Benchlands Camp of hundreds of unhoused people on Tuesday, September 6, 2022.

They may start to erect the fencing around the first area they plan to evict and post notice of a September 13 date to vacate. You can see for yourself if this is the case by coming to the Benchlands in the morning.

Officials had two years to set up sanitary camps that provided the dignity of showers, water and toilets, but failed to do so, even when provided with millions of dollars from the state and federal governments.

This never needed to become a crisis for the hundreds of houseless people driven to the Benchlands by the police and social service agencies.

The City claims it is meeting the restrictions of the Federal Court order Martin v Boise by returning the 50 to 70 people they removed from the Santa Cruz Armory in June back into the space this September.

If the city considered those who live on the Benchlands human they would be announcing the moving of those living there to higher safe locations where they can access the essentials before the rains and floods.

We live in one of the wealthiest places on Earth and we can’t even offer dignified housing now. Just imagine the magnitude of the crisis that is about to surge across our land when many of those 3.8 million American families who believe they will be evicted in October, 2022, join our unhoused community.

See short video by young woman resident of the Benchlands camp.
https://peoplestribune.org/2022/08/this-could-happen-to-anyone/

September 6 Update from Keith McHenry: Eviction notices and fences were put up at the Benchlands today. Access to our weekly food delivery and trash pickup will be blocked. Those evicted from the Benchlands will be moving to the doorways and river backs as the shelter program is already to capacity and the Unhoused population is likely to double by November if the US Census claims that 3.8 million American families expect to be evicted in October. The government has had two years to prepare and did nothing. A million dollars of the $14 million just given to the City of Santa Cruz Economic Development Department will be used to drive the Benchlands people into the doorways of downtown. Food Not Bombs needs money to replace the tents that the city plans to trash. This is a humanitarian crisis caused by city and county officials and their corporate masters.” Please donate at http://foodnotbombs.net/new_site/donate.php?fbclid=IwAR1XcJghgbthZg0-E9zTeKbBc3r68U1MPa3oOwlp0vgxpQchFPJRl4eqR7Q

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Keith McHenry is co-founder of Food Not Bombs.

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