On April 1, Camp Resolution, a self-run community of tents and vehicle dwellings of about 50 people on a fenced city-owned lot in Sacramento CA, celebrated a victory. The camp was set up nearly 200 days ago by houseless people and their supporters, some of whom had come from the large Wood Street Commons camp in Oakland CA to be part of the action, to safely shelter people, and as a base of operations for their movement for homeless people’s rights and for the right to housing. The Camp was founded by women, and its council all women except for one man.
After a series of actions and passionate testimonies at the City Council, the city reversed its threats to raid the camp. Instead, it has agreed to lease the property to the Camp Resolution residents for no money, as an autonomous community of vehicles and RVs. Those who have been living there in tents will be given RVs owned by the city. This may become a model for similar projects elsewhere in Sacramento.
In the words of the President of the Sacramento Chapter of the National Homeless Union, Crystal Sanchez, “We fought, we won! Our brothers and sisters across this nation are being swept, with no real solutions, while the people in power continue to profit off of people dying on the streets.”
Camp Resolution will be celebrating a ‘Campchella’ on their 200th day on April 16. The Union and the houseless in and outside of Camp Resolution are building a movement to defend themselves, their people, and their communities, and to actively demand real solutions. Crystal Sanchez: “We are seeking to set up more unions and continue to mobilize, across the country and internationally.” Reach them for more information at: https://www.sacramentohomelessunion.org/
San Francisco poet and organizer Sarah Menefee is a long-time homeless rights activist. She is the Homeless Desk on the People’s Tribune Editorial Board, and a founding member of such organizations as the San Francisco Union of the Homeless, Homes Not Jails and 'First they came for the homeless’. Known for her poetry about the streets, her latest collections are Winter Rose, Sign and Holy Eel.
