Sweeps Kill! The City of Sacramento is Complicit in Homeless Deaths

Latest

The City of Sacramento is Complicit in Homeless Deaths
Photo Sacramento Homeless Union

We know that sweeps kill. As history repeats itself the city and county of Sacramento are going to move forward with allowing this sweep at Camp Resolution, home to many unhoused people in Sacramento who care for one another. We have contacted the public health officer trying to stop it.

Vanessa was a Homeless Union leader of Stockton Boulevard SOS camp. Many of you may know it as the Stockton Boulevard camp at the Old San Juan motel. In 2019 we went through what was similar to what they are trying to do to Camp Resolution. On January of 2019 they pretended to come out and give faulty services.

Ultimately May 1, 2019, after tons of rallying for a community of over 200 individuals, the county came in and there was a brutal standoff between 30 protesters and 140 SWAT officers as they shut down the Stockton Boulevard camp. They violently broke through the gate, pushed and shoved and ultimately kicked people out, including breaking the arm of another leader named Betty.

Vanessa found safety in her encampment. People took care of her and she took care of them. We warned over and over about the harms that were going to come to the people. Approximately one week after she was kicked out of the camp, Vanessa was found beaten and sexually assaulted, her arms and neck broken in an abandoned house. 55 of the 200 people that were at 5700 Stockton Boulevard have died since 2019. Five of them have been given housing and resources. The rest have been recycled from block to block, including hot spots like Diaz, 48th Stockton Boulevard, Lawrence etc. The city and county of Sacramento will continue to have blood on their hands, and this time like every time, it will be shameful. How dare the city of Sacramento be complicit in genocide of people experiencing homelessness! 44 of 48 Camp Resolution residents are disabled. Disability accommodations have been requested per their policy and a letter from disability rights of California has been sent, but they continue to ignore our attorneys and continue to violate the rights of our unhoused community @eric.guerra @thecityofsac stop the sweep! You won’t be able to recover from this one. @sacpolice @sacpolicechief don’t be complicit in the death of these individuals! You have discretion to carry out these orders from an overpaid city manager.

+ Articles by this author

The People’s Tribune opens its pages to voices of the movement for change. Our articles are written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Articles entitled “From the Editors” reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: peoplestribune.orgPlease donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement for change. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff. The People’s Tribune is a 501C4 organization.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

When Enforcers Look Like Us: La Malinche, the Border, and America’s Colonial Trap

A painful and recurring question surfaces in immigrant communities: why are so many of the people working for ICE and Border Patrol and enforcing deportation, detention, and family separation Latino themselves?

Afghanistan War Veteran Dies in ICE Custody One Day After Arrest

Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal served alongside US troops in Afghanistan. He died at age 41 after ICE arrested him in front of his children and he had been in ICE custody only one day.

Tribunal of Conscience to Hold Hearings on US Crimes Against Migrants and Countries

The International Tribunal of Conscience of Peoples in Movement will launch a series of hearings beginning March 18 in Mexico City. The hearings, to be held throughout Latin America and the US, will deal with the crimes of the Trump regime and its predecessors and accomplices against migrants and refugees within US borders, as well as US crimes against other countries.

Glimpses of the Terror Inside a Detention Hotspot

The patch pictured above appears on the uniforms of some guards at "Alligator Alcatraz" in Florida. Below the grim reaper riding on an alligator are two human skulls, similar to the Totenkopf or death's head that the Nazis who ran and guarded German WWII concentration camps had on their SS uniforms.

The Women Who Move the Labor Movement Forward

History shows that the labor movement moves forward when women organize. Women have repeatedly proven willing to confront power, build solidarity, and move the fight forward when others hesitate.

More from the People's Tribune