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  • How do you incarcerate culture? The CDCr Case Against the Prison Hunger Striker Peaceful Warriors

    By tiny aka povertyskola “Did you now or did you ever refer to each other as “family” ? “Did you call each other by 'code names' like Carnal or Hermano?” These racist classist profiling statements were brought to you courtesy of the legal “team” for the California Department of Corrections and (rehabilitation), against George Franco and three other Prisoner Hunger Striker representatives who were part of a powerful group of plantation prison warriors who organized a historic hunger strike with fellow inmates to end indefinite solitary confinement in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCr). I sat listening aghast in the deafeningly silent marble and wood mausoleum known as the United States Federal Court, filled with brightly polished floors and wooden church pew-like seats. The surrounding walls were filled with monstrously giant paintings of “judges” and other colonial ghosts of this system. “This case is absolutely retaliation,” said Jose Valle, organizer and advocate with SV Debug speaking along with George Franco’s cousin Melissa Valdez and Minister King X from Prison Focus and Kage Universal to speak on Poor Peoples Radio about the trial.  “The strike led to the creation of the Agreement to End Hostilities - a historic agreement between all prisoners of all cultures and communities realizing that their only true opposition was in fact the CDCr (California Department of Correction and rehabilitation) - aka the system.” concluded Jose. In 2012, George Franco and three other Prison Hunger Strikers Rights Movement (PHRM) representatives organized the aforementioned hunger strike with 30,000 participants to end the inhumanity and Brutality of indefinite solitary confinement in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Historically, solitary confinement has been used on incarcerated folks based solely on gang allegations, not conduct, sentencing or due process. In 2015, hunger strikers agreed to a settlement (Ashker v. Governor of CA) that radically reformed the use of solitary confinement in the California prison system, and a historic end of hostilities of all racial groups in CDCR. The CDCR hunger strikes were part of a statewide campaign that included a successful end of hostilities between all racial groups in CDCR, solidarity efforts to end solitary confinement in county jails i.e. Chavez v. County of Santa Clara and the greatest peace efforts in prison history. In addition, criminal justice reform legislation efforts by community organizations i.e. Prop 57, SB 81 , SB 1437 , AB 333 etc. have massively decreased the prison population and crime rates in communities across California. California’s legislative prison reform efforts would not be possible without the sacrifices taken by the Prisoners Human Rights Movement. Community members gathered in protest outside the Federal Courthouse in downtown Oakland. As I sat listening to more inane arguments and watching more powerpoints that “proved” these men's relationship to each other in that inhumane and brutal system, I was reminded that CDCr is just one in a long line of institutional systems built by colonization to destroy indigenous values, interdependence and ancestors' teachings in communities. To label, criminalize and codify the life ways of community and connections that have existed long before the settler colonial lies came to this stolen indigenous land and imposed a reign of genocide and criminalization.  Long before colonizers boxed in, red-lined and ghettoized communities of color in barrios, towns and so-called ghettos, there was family, cliques, grupos and villages. There were lifeways of interdependence which weren’t turned into Codes of Conduct to be deconstructed in a powerpoint. There were elders, and ancestors and ceremonies and care. These were all destroyed to “build” the wite supremacy nations we know as the United Snakkkes and of course the builders, the enslaved, the underpaid and the red-lined needed to “Stay in their place,” needed to be silenced and marginalized and to do that this settler society needed to criminalize and leech the culture and indigeneity from the communities so they could be exploited and extracted from, and ultimately when there wasn’t enough work for all of them, incarcerated for those same life-ways -- beginning with the very real school to prison pipeline, which i have sadly felt and witnessed firsthand as a houseless child of an indigenous mother, and then later a revolutionary teacher and advocate who was able to interrupt the intentional profiling and destruction of multiple indigenous children in poverty lost in the settler colonial system’s grips.     There is no rehabilitation in the r of CDCr which is why abolitionists say it's a small “r” but what there is, is intimidation and domination and more colonization.   Criminalizing of cultures and family and values  “The prosecution tried to offer our loved ones inside a sweet deal and thought they would take it - but we said no, let’s go to trial, because we knew they had no case and sure enough, this case is turning out to be a sham case and i do see bias from the judge,” said Melissa Valdez about the two month trial that launched in June and is winding down now in closing arguments.  From SVdeBug -  In 2016, George Franco was finally released to the general population with good behavior that allowed him to downclass to a level three facility. George Franco is one of the four PHRM representatives and we strongly believe that due his influence in ending indefinitely solitary confinement, implementing the end of hostilities, both CDCR and the federal government is retaliating against George and his co-defendants in the form of a RICO indictment for the purpose of job security in the prison industrial complex and inciting hostilities that may result in mass incarceration. “This case is the example of the CDCr continued attempt to try and stigmatize people with gang affiliation, but what is really being revealed is CDCr’s necessity to maintain racial capitalism and prison commerce,” said Minister X King to Poor Peoples Radio.  “In the end, no matter how many times the settler State tries to deconstruct our community, we will peacefully prevail,” said Brokin Cloud, Afro-indigenous elder formerly houseless resident of Homefulness at the prayer ceremony, organized by SV-Debug and POOR Magazine, that launched the trial in June. One of the things I felt was most ironic listening to the “prosecution’s” thin case against these resistors, is that the very things they are being “prosecuted” for, the very values of family and community, are the things we work so hard to lift up and live by at Homefulness- a homeless peoples solution to homelessness. We as Black, Brown, Houseless, Disabled and Pan-indigenous criminalized peoples work really hard to bring back all of the deeply important values of family and community for our children and our elders. Just like the PHRM, we do all of this to bring peace to all of our broken colonized selves, living inside this very hard, system abused krapitalist reality on stolen land. Like the brave hunger strikers, we lift these values up for peace, to end hostilities, to end the fake wars the system wants to impose on us, to accuse us of. Peace.

  • Homeless Peoples Solutions to Homelessness

    1) The immediate end of “sweeps” of houseless comeUnities and the end of criminalization of homelessness. Any act of state violence against the poor is completely unacceptable and undermines all attempts to provide actual solutions.   2)LAND BACK/BLACK LAND  The unselling and return of sacred sites,  occupied/hoarded vacant land, buildings and homes to stewardship by 1st peoples of  Turtle Island who suffered the genocide of colonization and make up a large majority of houseless peoples across Turtle Island. The paying of reparations by city and county governments and/or private wealth-hoarders/housing devil-opers to Black families who suffered eviction, foreclosure, blight notices, bank seizure of their homes and /or resources and are now houseless in settler towns like so-called Oakland, San Francisco,LA and beyond  3) The immediate liberation of  vacant bank and state "owned" so-called "private property" so that it may be used for housing for Homefulness - which is a homeless peoples solution to homelessness which includes rent-free forever housing, healing, art, education and care on-site to youth , adults and elders struggling with poverty and homelessness . It was reported in 2022 that there are approximately 1.2 Million vacant properties in California. This means there are six vacant properties for every unhoused person in the state.   4) A permanent moratorium on rental evictions for non-payment of rent. Evictions are elder and child abuse and cause homelessness. One of the ways to address  homelessness is to prevent any more people from becoming homeless.    5) The complete overhaul and restructuring of the HUD coordinated entry and Section 8 housing processes. The current wait for permanent housing is anywhere between 1-10 years. Navigating homeless housing through coordinated entry is so difficult and inaccessible that despite their want for housing, many people will never be able to get close.   6) The implementation of oversight by poverty skolaz of Non-profits  who supposedly provide services for houseless people. Poverty skolaz who ourselves  overstand the violence from the inside of homelessness and anti-social work and the multiple traumas involved in even receiving care while in the middle of trauma and crisis   At this moment there is little to no accountability for the behavior and spending habits of major non-profits. Current homeless shelter conditions in California are deplorable and dangerous. If a program can not maintain a person's safety and dignity, it should have no right to public funding.   7) An accessible and non-carceral approach to mental health care rooted in Poverty Scholarship- a framework of interdependence, care and love first versus.  5150 holds, medical incarceration, and forced conservatorships through Gavin Newsom's care courts which threaten to circumvent due process and other constitutional protections.   8) A Homeful (Not Homeless) Tax charged to every housing devil-oper, "private property owner" who is currently hoarding multiple lots of vacant land/vacant buildings in all of these settler towns  across Turtle Island. This "tax" rooted in radical interdependence would   be assessed based on the "property value" increased per year by hoarding the land.   9) Monthly rent support funds created for houseless/marginally housed/barely housed/ formerly houseless peoples from a Tech Reparations Fund, CorpRape Reparations Fund created by the Bank of ComeUnity Reparations which would be paid to all houseless peoples evicted from their homes and apartments due to violent gentriFUKation so they could remain housed once they are re-housed - read more about this here

  • 22nd Houseless Family moves into Homefulness- a homeless peoples solution to homelessness

    Houseless people build rent-free, forever, healing housing in deep East Oakland and welcome in their 22nd houseless family.     What: Welcoming in Ceremony    When: 8am Friday, November 29th   Where: Homefulness 8032 MacArthur Bl , East Oakland, Ca "I am excited and scared and so happy  to finally reunite with my daughters after struggling with homelessness for over 10 years, we finally have a home," said LeaJay Harper, Houseless resident of Wood Street Commons and now Homeful at Homefulness.  While this classist, racist, ableist, government legislates against us houseless people, we build our own solutions, healing solutions, because after the trauma of homelessness it isn't only housing that we need and we as poor and houseless survivors know what we need to keep us permanently safe and housed  From Grants Pass Vs Johnson to Governor Newsom and London Breed, Karen Bass, Sheng Tao and Eric Adams, all of these towns across occupied Turtle Island are waging a war against houseless residents. Sweeping, disappearing and arresting us to nowhere.Our poor people-led research,  RoofLess Radio WeSearch, has revealed the deadly impact of the violence of sweeps, bus tickets, jail-like motel rooms, navigation centers, temporary shelters, cabins, and arrests, that are killing us. The insane part of all the millions and billions spent on disappearing, sweeping and incarcerating us is we have actual solutions created by us for us - solutions like Camp Resolution, Wood Street Commons, Aetna Street solidarity, Reclaiming Our Homes and Homefulness to name a few.   Homefulness #1 was an 11 year long journey In 2022, after being blocked for over 11 years by the City of Oakland, the 1st Homefulness project  located at 8032 MacArthur bl was finally allowed to open its doors to houseless families, elders and youth. Friday's ceremony makes  21 formerly houseless, now homeful, residents living in rent-free forever healing housing. POOR Magazine is currently working with houseless communities in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and West Oakland at Wood Street to open their own versions of this powerful and doable dream we call Homefulness. "Friday's event is celebrating a Herstoric Day- 530 years after the violence of colonization we poor and indigenous peoples are building our own solutions..". Muteado Silencio- formerly houseless co-founder,povertyskola and lead builder Homefulness "With permission, prayer and guidance from 1st Nations Ohlone, Lisjan leaders we are opening a 2nd site for our own self-determined solutions of Healing Housing without the Lie of Rent... only possible because of the radical redistribution of conscious housed residents with resources radically redistributing to us poor peoples so we can mamafest this dream," tiny aka povertyskola, formerly houseless co-founder, povertyskola and visionary of Homefulness

  • December 2024 Activities Schedule (Yelamu/SF and Huchiun/Oakland)

    ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE TUESDAY DEC 17th DAY 1 Yelamu/SF 11AM - Press Conference , resource fair and art installation 12:30 - lunch and elephant mtg 7PM - Dinner 7:10PM - Movie night with Crushing Wheelchairs Other MOVIE TBA Huchiun/Oakland 3PM-Press Conference, Resource Fair, Art Installation 4PM Elephant mtg Public Comment in Shitty Hall - (times subject to change) 4:30-5PM Early Dinner served WEDNESDAY DEC 18th DAY 2 Yelamu/SF 8-9am BREAKFAST 11am Elephant mtg 12:30 LUNCH & ROOFLESS Radio WRITING WORKSHOP with Po Poets DINNER 6pm Huchiun/Oakland 8-9 BREAKFAST 9-12 Art Build making more signs 12:30 LUNCH 3pm ELEPHANT MTG 4pm ROOFLESS radio street writing workshop with stipends 6pm DINNER 6pm crushing wheelchairs movie trailer- & maybe more movies? THURSDAY DEC 19th DAY 3 Yelamu/SF 8-9am Breakfast 11am ELEPHANT MTG 12:30 LUNCH Sliding Scale Cafe 12:30pm Poetry READING WITH Po Poets, GUEST POETS 5pm HOMELESS MEMORIAL 6pm Dinner Huchiun/Oakland 8-9am BREAKFAST 12:30pm LUNCH 3pm ELEPHANT MTG 6pm DINNER FRIDAY DEC 20 Day 4 Yelamu/SF 8-9am Breakfast 11am MARCH TO PRIVATELY "OWNED" PARTY LOCATION- Huchiun/Oakland 8-9am BREAKFAST 12:30pm LUNCH 3pm ELEPHANT MTG 6pm DINNER (provided by WSC) 6pm GUEST POETS READING (TIME Subject to change) SATURDAY DEC 21 Huchiun/OAKLAND ONLY 9-10 am BREAKFAST 11am MARCH TO PRIVATELY OWNED LOCATION Calendario de actividades YELAMU (SF) 17 DE DICIEMBRE (MARTES) 12:30 - almuerzo y reunion de elefantes 7:00 p. m. - Cena 7:10 p. m. - Noche de peliculas con Crushing Wheelchairs Otra PELICULA POR CONFIRMAR Huchiun (Oak) 17 DE DICIEMBRE (MARTES) 3:00 p. m. - Conferencia de prensa, feria de recursos, instalacion de arte 4:00 p. m. Reunion de elefantes Comentarios del publico en Shitty Hall (horarios sujetos a cambios) 4:30 a 5:00 p. m. Cena temprana servida 11:00 a. m. - Conferencia de prensa, feria de recursos e instalacion de arte MIERCOLES 18 DE DICIEMBRE DIA 2 Yelamu /SF 8-9 AM DESAYUNO 11 AM Reunion de Elephant 12:30 ALMUERZO y TALLER DE ESCRITURA sobre radio con Po Poets CENA 18:00 Huchiun (OAKLAND) 8-9 DESAYUNO 9-12 Art Build haciendo mas carteles 12:30 ALMUERZO 15:00 ELEPHANT MTG 16:00 ROOFLESS taller de escritura callejera sobre radio con estipendios 18:00 CE Jueves Dec 19 Yelamu (SF) 8-9am Desayuno 11am REUNION DE ELEFANTE 12:30 Almuerzo de Sliding Scale 12:30pm LECTURA DE POESIA CON Po Poetas, POETAS INVITADOS 5pm memorial para los personas desemparados 6pm Cena Huchiun OAKLAND 8-9am Desayuno 12:30pm Almuerzo 3pm Reunion de Elefante 6pm Cena VIERNES 20 DE DICIEMBRE Yelamu (SF) 8-9 am Desayuno 11 am MARCHA A UN LUGAR DE FIESTA DE PROPIEDAD PRIVADA OAKLAND 8-9 am DESAYUNO 12:30 pm ALMUERZO 3 pm REUNION DE ELEFANTES 6 pm CENA (proporcionada por WSC) 6 pm LECTURA DE POETAS INVITADOS (HORARIO Sujeto a cambio) SABADO 21 DE DICIEMBRE Huchiun (OAKLAND) SOLAMENTE 9-10 am DESAYUNO 11 am MARCHA A UN LUGAR DE PROPIEDAD PRIVADA

  • Press Advisory: Sweeps Free Sanctuaries Launched Across California & Seattle

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: tiny gray-garcia, POOR Magazine,510-435-7500  John Janasko, Wood Street Commons (510) 712-7639  Sweeps-Free Sanctuary Communities launched Across California    Houseless artists, housed allies and spiritual leaders create Sanctuary from violent, deadly sweeps across so-called California   What: Sweeps-Free Sanctuary ComeUnities, Resource fairs/Free Stores “Homeless Peoples Solutions to homelessness”  art installations & Press Conferences Across California  When & Where:  11am City Hall in Yelamu (San Francisco) 3pm City Hall in Huchiun (Oakland) 9am City Hall in Yocut lands (Fresno) 11am City Hall in Sogorea Te (Vallejo)     12 noon City Hall in Chief Siah'l (Seattle) 11am at Aetna Street Solidarity 6060 Van Nuys Blvd Tovaangar (LA)    On Tuesday, December 17th in response to increasingly violent and relentless  sweeps of houseless residents of California, houseless and formerly houseless sweeps survivors  along with housed allies and spiritual leaders will launch “sweeps-free sanctuary comeUnities” at City Halls and other public land sites in Yelamu (San Francisco), Huchiun (Oakland), Yocut (Fresno), Tovaangar (Los Angeles) and Sogorea Te (Vallejo) and Chief Sia’hl (Seattle).  In addition to providing crucial resources for fellow houseless relatives in the cold, wet winter, we will be presenting solutions to homelessness created by us houseless people. Solutions that are healing housing models like Homefulness  and Wood Street Commons Community  As well as looking at the example of Tent city 3 - created by SHARE/WHEEL in Seattle,  Washington - which coulcd be replicated by cities and counties across the US  “Public land should be for the public, instead we face violent sweeps,” said La Monte Ford, Wood Street Commons Sweeps survivor. Following the Grants Pass Vs Johnson Superme Court Ruling that deemed houseless residents of the US no longer protected by the 8th amemdment of the constitution California Gov. Gavin Newsom enhanced his already violent "sweeps"  policy of houseless people by directing  state agencies to dismantle homeless encampments on state land. He also threatened cities across the state with drastic budget cuts if they didnt comply with his clearing orders.  Hundreds of houseless elders and disabled adults lives have become gravely endangered and have died in increasing numbers due to this state sponsored violence over the last several months.  "Sweeping my mama and me caused us to lose multiple shelters, tents and cars we slept in and eventually each other.  Sweeping, jailing and harassing us houseless people never gets us a home, or "solves" our homelessness, it just makes our homelessness more dangerous and more deadly, said Tiny gray-garcia, formerly houseless, incarcerated,  co-founder of POOR Magazine, a poor and houseless people-led movement  and Homefulness - a homeless peoples solution to homelessness that currently houses 22 formerly houseless youth, adults and elders. All the government  "Solutions" like Cabin Communities and shelters have failed to create the necessaary foundation unhoused people need to be able to rebuild our lives, said John Janasko, houseless resident leader at Wood Street Commons, a community of houseless people working to organize and support fellow houseless people.    “There is no social justice in criminalizing our unhoused community there is no solution in solving homelessness by incarceration,” Junebug Keaoloha,formerly houseless Community health workers and poverty skola with  POOR Magazine /San Francisco  “200 years ago, before colonization there wasn’t even a concept of homelessness,” said Talking chief/spokesperson of the confederated villages of Lisjan/Ohlone and co-founder of the Sogorea Te Land Trust and Family Elders Council member of Homefulness. "We center the launching of these sweeps-free sanctuary comeUnities in liberation of occupied and stolen indigenous land because we cannot talk about homelessness without talking about indigenous and Black Land theft, return and reparations, the violent history of indigenous land theft and genocide of colonization, chattle slavery, false borders and mass incarceration of Black, Brown, Indigenous and Disabled houseless peoples have led to the collective trauma of so many of us on the street and then we are terrorized by hundreds of laws that criminalize our bodies for being poor, without a roof, sleeping in our car, in doorways, in parks, on streets and in tents on so-called public (read: stolen) land. " concluded tiny gray-garcia   “The city, the so-called service providers—they’re not offering anybody anything. They’re just leaving us destitute. What should we get instead? We should get treated like the human beings that we are. I should get treated like your brother or sister.” - Giselle “Gelly” Harrell, Aetna Street Solidarity, Aetna Street Solidarity is an intergenerational community of housed & unhoused people organizing in Van Nuys against the criminalization of the poor currenlty working with POOR Magazine to create their own Homefulness Project..   Homefulness -is  a homeless peoples solution to homelessness which  just welcomed their 22nd houseless family into rent-free forever housing is one of the models we are presenting at the Sweeps-Free Sanctury ComeUnities.We are currently working with houseless comeUnities in San Francisco, LA, Seattle to create their own Homefulness Projects and on a second site of Homefulness in Oakland  Wood Street Sanctuary Community -  is a collaboration with affordable housing architect Mike Pyatok over the last year to envision a community-led solution to homelessness which houses teachers, working class families and the unhoused and includes an academy, a jobs program, dental care, health care and mental health care on site. In addition to press conferences, free stores, art installations, prayer vigils and sanctuary communities, housed allies will be standing, working and speaking up with houseless leaders to show their support for actual solutions, not more violent sweeps.  See Testimonials from houseless and formerly Houseless residents of Wood Street Commons and Homefulness by clicking here  Solutions to homelessness  presented by houseless people Sanctuary Communities, Not Sweeps: Stop sweeps, tows, and criminalizing poverty. Redirect encampment management funding towards positive solutions like encampment upgrades, sweeps-free sanctuary communities, and permanent low to no-income housing.  Land Back/Public Land for Public Good: House hundreds of people in the vacant Hilton Hotel on Port of Oakland land, The Civic Center Inn in the tenderloin District of San Francisco and/or countless other vacant and hoarded lots and land across Oakland and San Francisco.. Unsell and return sacred sites, vacant land, buildings and homes to stewardship by 1st peoples of Turtle Island who suffered the brutal genocide of colonization. Use public and vacant land for poor people led solutions like rent-free forever healing housing like   Homefulness ,  communities and the Wood Street Commons   housing vision  designed with architect Mike Pyatok and Share/Wheel in Seattle.  Prevent Homelessness: Strengthen renter’s rights and provide rent subsidies. Create a permanent moratorium on rental evictions and foreclosures for non-payment. Evictions and foreclosures are elder and child abuse* and cause homelessness. (Based on POOR Magazine poor & houseless people-led WeSearch study of 2014) Defund Coercive “Care Courts:” reinvest in an accessible and non-carceral approach to mental health care and harm reduction rooted in a framework of interdependence, care, and love first. Stop 5150 holds, medical incarceration, and forced conservatorships through Gavin Newsom's care courts which threaten to circumvent due process and other constitutional protections. *More Homeless peoples solutions available at this link  Follow the work of this movement on IG  @BayHousingLiberation  @poormagazine @woodstreetcommons Or websites: poormagazine.org  / woodstreetcommons.org

  • California transit agency wastes $9.3 million dollars on Encampment Sweeps in 2 years

    According to Caltrans work order reports from fiscal years 2020-2022, obtained via PoorMagazine’s investigation: “The Cost of Sweeping Us vs Housing Us” After a year-long process, PoorMagazine’s unhoused and formerly unhoused reporters reveal that Caltrans, a state transportation agency, spent $9.27 million on 490 violent encampment sweep orders in Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco in FY 2020-2022. This is on top of rampant spending by a local/state network of police and city departments, who work together to enforce and conduct daily sweeps. In Oakland, audits revealed the Oakland’s Encampment Management Team alone spent $12.6 million between FY 2018-2020 .  These reports come at a time when the state and city have ramped up encampment sweeps, killing the unhoused, causing spillover into local communities, while stalling on proposals for deeply affordable projects. In response, a coalition  of unhoused and housed advocates are launching art builds and Sanctuary communities for unhoused people, starting December 17th across the US in Seattle, SF, Oakland, Vallejo, LA, and more . Their demands are to end sweeps and the Landback of vacant public land to indigenous and unhoused communities for self-governed housing solutions. What is an encampment sweep? In California, encampment closures, aka sweeps, are violent operations in which city public works departments, Caltrans, or both, force residents to remove all belongings and vehicles under a tight deadline. Sweeps are performed under agency watch of local public works departments and police, with one commonly seen sergeant making over $480k a year . If residents resist or cannot relocate in time, police threaten arrests on residents, advocates, and even journalists , frequently utilizing the controversial Safe Work Zone Ordinance  to arrest supporters. Eventually public works forcibly tows vehicles and destroys all property, including medical equipment and tiny homes, even killing pets in the process. Sweeps happen daily in SF, Oakland, Berkeley, and cities across the US.  Unhoused communities are overrepresented by disabled people, with a 2024 Alameda county survey  showing 60.3% of unhoused individuals had at least one disabling condition. These are the same people who are swept in sweltering heat and pouring rain, forced to move without any support from the city. People of color are also overrepresented, especially Black/African Americans with the same survey showing 41.3% of unhoused individuals identified as Black/African Americans vs 9.8% overall in Alameda.  These sweeps have left hundreds of unhoused individuals dead, with 1062 mortalities reported from 2020 to 2022.  Many others are displaced, often forced into unfamiliar neighborhoods or unsafe, mold-infested shelters, far from their support networks. Ultimately, sweeps worsen the “homelessness” issue for all those involved, serving only to wear out residents and line the pockets of those involved, particularly towing companies and contractors. Sample of 3 work orders in the Wood Street Commons region (Columns: Total Cost, Comments, Project Code). These represent the most expensive Caltrans work orders in SF, Oakland, and Berkeley ($700k in March 17-28, 2022, $630k in Sep. 6-15 2022, and $426k in Sep. 19-28, 2022 ). Where are they being swept? Mostly costly encampment sweep order zones in Alameda County (calculated by average Post Mile of work orders, binned by 5 miles) Many frequently targeted locations are long-time unhoused communities, which serve as a make-shift safe-haven. One of these was Wood Street Commons, a community which served hundreds of unhoused folks as a safe-haven for over a decade. It was violently bulldozed  in May 2023. Documents show the state spent $2.13 million in the area during 2020-2022 even before the closure. During the closure, dozens of state and city police, highway patrol officers, public works employees, and contractors swarmed the street for days. The total cost of the closure is unknown. What is the impact? Agencies admit that major closures, such as Wood Street Commons, have caused significant impact to nearby communities , filling beleaguered shelter beds. Oakland’s stopgap solution was setting up sheds, including a 70 unit program built on former Wood Street Commons. Oakland spent a $8.3 million grant from the state to develop the site, which have been reported to have “unsanitary, inhumane conditions” including a lack of drinking water, unusable toilets, exposure to harmful chemicals , and recently reports of black mold. In comparison, Wood Street Commons provided community for hundreds of residents through internal organizing and volunteers, including housed residents of Wood Street. Their lifetime budget was about $50k from GoFundMe campaigns . A joint effort from the state and city has failed both the unhoused and housed residents of Wood Street, wasting millions to forcibly displace residents, rather than supporting residents with mutual concerns.  What are the Solutions?  Unhoused communities have long advocated for self-governed housing solutions. These include PoorMagazine’s Homefulness model , which has successfully housed over 20 residents in Oakland since 2015, and has begun construction plans for 2 more communities across California. These solutions integrate trauma-informed councils and conflict resolution frameworks to support the challenges of being formerly unhoused.  Recently, Wood Street Commons worked in collaboration with affordable housing architect Mike Pyatok proposed  a 405 unit building complex with a similar self-governing model. Separately, PoorMagazine collaborated with San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston on a proposal to convert office buildings into housing. So far, both have been blocked by local and state government bodies.    Calls to action However, the unhoused and housed are still pushing for an end to sweeps and for long-term solutions. Here are a few upcoming projects: Where Do We Go has launched camps across Berkeley , protesting the city’s new punitive policies under Grants Pass.  Attend Berkeley City Hall Meetings Donate in person, or online . The Tuesday, December 17th Sanctuary Community installation from Bay Housing Liberation . Organizers are asking the public to: Attend the press release (11am SF City Hall, 11am Vallejo City Hall, 11am Fresno City Hall, 11am LA City Hall, 3pm Oakland City Hall) Promote their  demands to government officials Donate to the sanctuary villages in person , or online (please indicate the Sanctuary Community)

  • Mercado de Cambio/Tha' Po' Sto'

    Indigenous Holiday Art Market 12/15 3-6pm 3-7pm Sunday 12/15 8032 Macarthur Blvd, OAK, CA DM us @poormagazine by 12/10 for Vendor/Artist Tables This is a POOR Magazine/ Deecolonize Academy/ Homefulness Benefit. If you can't make it please donate. Indigenous Art/ Vendors Food, Performances, All Nations prayer, Music 3-7pm Domingo 12/15 8032 Macarthur Blvd, OAK, CA Mensajenos @poormagazine antes de 12/10 para mesas de Vendadores/Artistas Este es un beneficio por POOR Magazine/ Deecolonize Academy/ Homefulness Benefit. Si NO puedes venir, por favor done aqui. (venmo) Vendadores Indigenas Comida, Actuaciones, Oraciones de Todas Lugares, Musica

  • REVERSE OSMOSIS 

    PURIFIED WATER IS NOT PURE, ITS PURIFIED!  In peoples terms, “toilet to tap”, aka (poop water)          By PNN reporter and poverty scholar, Gera                                      A we-search (peoples research) project of poor magazine                                                                               By PNN reporter and poverty scholar, Gera WHAT IS REVERSE OSMOSIS? Reverse osmosis is the introduction of an advanced filtration system that uses pressure to force  water molecules through a semipermeable membrane to “remove impurities”. This is a “toilet to tap” advanced filtration process in wich waste water is treated, then redistributed to the public for faucet use in most Municipalities that has been also adopted for irrigation systems in fields and land application all over Turtle Island and oppressed nations around the world. This is an attack on humanity, mother earth , and all life form dependant on water. A study done by poor magazine reporter Aztlan Native in a project we call wesearch, not “research” at PNN not “CNN” This study has uncovered the hidden truths of this advanced filtration system. It is not healthy to consume this recycled water for a long period of time causing numerous health complications and can create negative health effects to those who consume it. Alhambra, Arrow head, smart water and even FIJI water have been bought out by these corporations who are profiting off of our recycled sewage waste and poop water.  WHO IS DOING THIS TO US? Genocide! This introduction to our society by global leaders is a part of Agenda 21 “sustainable development” which is actually a plan by global governments to depopulate the human race has been discovered to be a form of genocide by global elites who wish to make a profit off of our treated waste water calling it “replenishment”, or “purified” water. We are a water planet , there is no need for us to consume our own waste water when we have oceans of water deep beneath the mantle. Local Municipalities are adopting this system to depopulate a society with no remorse for the loss of human life or destruction and contamination to mother earth. WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? We must first become educated as rapidly as possible. We can locate natural springs all over mother earth's occupied stolen lands. These natural springs can be located after rain closer to the hills or near any water reservoir. Create awareness and change, let people know about this on social media and word of mouth. We are a water planet, LOCATE MOTHER EARTH'S PRIMARY WATER.

  • Will Donald Trump pardon Sean Grasey, the killer Cop who murdered Sonya Massey in her home in July of this year? 

    A recent interview with new elect President, Donald Trump in late November has left us expecting a pardon to take place in weeks ahead in favor of Sean Gracey, the killer pig who just seconds after entering the home of beloved Sonya Massey , shot her in her face , one bullet going directly through her eye leaving her to bleed to death when she said to him “i rebuke you in the name of Jesus”. When asked if Sean Gracey should receive a Pardon from jail Trump responded “oh, you mean the lady who threw the boiling water” while gesturing his expression with his hands movement to look as though he was tossing a bucket of hot water at us, implying she was at fault for her actions when in fact it was the Corrupt killer Sheriff who murdered Sonya in her own home when she called them for help with a possible intruder. We will keep you posted on the developments of this case in coming weeks. Trump has been known to pardon killer cops and pedifiles with ties to Epstiens Island yet speaking on giving life sentences for drug sales and theft related charges. BAND KILLER PIGS! PNN reporter Kop watch aztlan investigative journalist Gera aka Aztlan Native the Chicano Che Guevara

  • Diaro Detox/ Detox Diary

    Por Alvaro Kepokamaztli Tellez/ By Alvaro Kepokamaztli Tellez ¡Recuerdo salir el viernes en la mañana listo para comenzar de nuevo! Mis pensamientos no están claros, mi cuerpo se siente herido por mi culpa. Tengo dos días sin consumir y mi mente y cuerpo lo saben, tengo temblores y náuseas. ¡¡Quiero consumir!!! Pero no debo ni quiero. Gracias a mi carnala y carnal por su apoyo y tener el tiempo de llevarme al lugar seguro donde tengo que estar. Pasamos parte de la mañana en el proceso de admisión y del doctor, me siento incomodo de explicarles mis problemas de adicción y de enfermedad física y mental, muchas preguntas, pero lo tengo que hacer por bien. Llego a mi destino a comenzar mi tratamiento y lo primero que veo en la pared es "TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE" Creo haber visto ese mensaje en otro lugar? Pero no le puse atención, pero en este momento me puse a pensar lo que significa y me di cuenta que ¡es un mensaje muy fuerte! Mi mente empezó a regresar al pasado y de todo lo malo que me ha pasado y por alguna razón estoy aquí en este lugar volviendo a nacer. Hoy es mi ultimo dia en este lugar que me devolvió de nuevo mi paz emocional y espiritual, se que tengo una enfermedad física y de adicción pero ver a otros hermanos y hermanas en este lugar que están sufriendo mucho más que yo, me da más fuerzas para no regresar a lo mismo y poder ofrecer medicina espiritual a los que están sufriendo de esta enfermedad de la adicción. De regreso a mi comunidad a mi hogar HOMEFULNESS, Lugar donde estamos seguros y donde también tenemos Escuela, secciones de sanación, Radio, Periodismo, Cultura, etc. SOMOS REVOLUCIONARIOS!!! para mas informacion visita y registrate a www.poormagazine.org SOLO POR HOY Reflexiones: Dia nublado y con llovizna Días que siempre me han gustado desde mi niñez. Esta mañana me tocó ir YELAMU {SF} estoy contemplando toda la vista de esta tierra OHLONE, la entrada de la bahía, el puente Golden Gate, la Isla de Alcatraz y recordando que mis hijas nacieron en esta ciudad. El creador, el destino, no me están dando otra oportunidad de vivir o será la última? Tengo 20 días sin consumir desde mi última recaída y casi 9 años limpio, también estoy sanando mi páncreas!! Me siento fuerte con mi mente clara, no depresión, no pensamientos negativos, sé que no estoy solo, tengo apoyo familiar y de mi comunidad de HOMEFULNESS, se que tengo que salir adelante y tratar de asegurar un futuro para mi familia, se que no es fácil pero te que empezar a caminar de nuevo y no correr muy rápido, por que si me caigo va a ser difícil levantarme. I remember leaving on Friday morning ready to start again! My thoughts are not clear, my body hurts through my own fault. I have two days without consuming and my mind and body know it, I have tremors and nausea. I want to consume!!! but I should not and do not want to. Thanks to my friends for their support and having the time to take me to the safe place where I have to be. We spent part of the morning in the admission process and the doctor, I feel uncomfortable explaining my addiction problems and my physical and mental illness, many questions, but I have to do it for good. I arrive at my destination to start my treatment and the first thing I see on the wall is "TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE" Do I think I saw that message elsewhere? But I did not pay attention to it, but at this moment I started thinking what it means and realized that it is a very strong message! My mind began to return to the past and all the bad things that have happened to me and for some reason I am here in this place being born again. Today is my last day in this place that gave me back my emotional and spiritual peace, I know I have a physical illness and addiction but I see other brothers and sisters here who are suffering much more than me, it gives me more strength not to return to the same thing and to be able to offer spiritual medicine to those who are suffering from this disease of addiction. Back to my community to my home HOMEFULNESS, a place where we are safe and where we also have School, healing sections, Radio, Journalism, Culture, etc. WE ARE REVOLUTIONARIES!! For more information visit and register at www.poormagazine.org JUST FOR TODAY Reflections: Cloudy day and a drizzle Days that I have always liked, since my childhood. This morning I had to go to YELAMU {SF}. I am contemplating the whole view of this OHLONE land, the entrance of the bay, the Golden Gate bridge, Alcatraz Island and remembering that my daughters were born in this city. The creator, destiny, are not giving me another chance to live or will it be the last?  It’s been 20 days without drinking and since my last relapse and almost 9 years clean, so I am also healing my pancreas!! I feel strong with my mind clear, no depression, no negative thoughts, I know that I am not alone, I have family support and my HOMEFULNESS community, I know that I have to get ahead and try to secure a future for my family, I know it's not easy but you have to start walking again and not run too fast, because if I fall it's going to be difficult to get up.

  • Eminent Domain

    by Monique French Roots of mine well not well but yield they do come from and are deeply rooted in the south and of Black/Brown ascendants from first nations and first people of all nations.   For many years, Shoe Lane was a symbol of Black resilience in an era of segregation and racial discrimination. Residents had to navigate an environment where opportunities for advancement were limited due to systemic racism, but they created a strong, supportive community nonetheless. It was a place where Black families could live, work, and raise children.  For many years, Shoe Lane was a symbol of Black resilience in times of Jim Crow law racial tensions,  segregation and racial discrimination. Residents had to navigate an environment where opportunities for advancement were limited due to systemic racism, but they created a strong, supportive community nonetheless. It was a place where families could live, work, and raise children despite the challenges they faced. As the city moved forward with its redevelopment plans, families in Shoe Lane were forced to relocate. Some residents were given financial compensation, but it was often inadequate to replace what they had lost—homes, businesses, and a deep sense of community. The process was traumatic, especially for those who had lived in the area for generations. The loss of 110 acres of the Shoe Lane and Moore’s Lane represents a larger pattern of displacement experienced by Black communities in cities across the United States of America. Many urban renewal projects disproportionately affected black neighborhoods, often resulting in the erasure of long-standing communities in favor of new commercial or residential developments that benefited wealthier, typically white, populations. For Newport News, the end of Shoe Lane was symbolic of the broader forces of gentrification and disinvestment that affected many Black neighborhoods then and even now.  Many folks would say that the city could have built or not taken eminent domain (the government’s right to forcibly purchase private property for public use) of their property but built on 59.9 acre lot which was owned by the city. The enclave of the Johnsons' vision, the Blacks in the community and at large was about to flourish and grow.   Fuck this shit….Im dealing with the blight of the same times as the early 1900s.  I was just accused of allegedly fraud to the “Berkeley Housing Choice” preference.  It was the truth my…. My great grandfather owned the entire corner of Prince ST and California ST in Berkeley CA.  Wassnt as much as the Johnson’s land at Moore’s Lane and Shoe Lane  One of the points of Preference states Parent or grandparent lives or lived in a formerly redlined neighborhood in Berkeley .   Redlined neighborhoods in South Berkeley, West Berkeley, and elsewhere were designated as the riskiest places to issue loans by a federal government agency during the 1930-60s. Redlining devalued properties, in the process undermining housing stability and enabling ongoing displacement. It's as if the city knew I made number 84 on the list for the widely publicised property on Ashby and Martin Luther King Jr. Way.  I feel directly targeted.

  • ¿Dónde Puedo Refugiar?/ Where is My Refuge?

    Esta tierra es un santuario. Esta pequeña parte de la madre tierra me ha ayudado a valorar la importante que es tener una relación con ella y conmigo mismo por medio de su naturaleza. Soy de la Ciudad de México donde todo se vende y compra, lo cual no es una manera de tratar a la Madre Tierra porque debe ser un santuario y no un objeto de compraventa y nadie debe sacar provecho sin su consentimiento. Una de las creencias que nos trajeron los colonizadores son las iglesias. Muchísimo tiempo nos han hecho creer una mentira y nos han trabajado para sacarnos dinero y en muchas de los casos no estamos seguros en las supuestas casas de dios. Si no das dinero ni los sigues, es cuando empieza el maltrato emocional y verbales contra las personas que no aceptan o predican de la misma manera. Así empiezan los imperios de las mentiras. De acuerdo con las historias que nos echo creer -que yo personalmente no creo- todo lo que se dice en la iglesia en los tiempos de antes era un tabú. Pero en estos tiempos se ha rebelado tanta maldad y tanto abuso de parte de los predicadores, o mejor dicho predadores y solo se esconden debajo de una sotana hacer doble vida que en realidad ya se perdió el respeto a si dios y todo es negocio y poder. Una de las iglesias más poderosas es la católica y la cantidad de crímenes que se han registrado y cuantos estan si salir a la luz es por eso que mucha gente pierde la fe y ase lo que su corazón le dice. Las iglesia son como los partidos políticos, solo prometen, pero a la mera hora te siguen robando. Las iglesias son más malvadas porque te destruyen tu fe y ponen en mal a tus santos, en otras iglesias te roban tu familia y tu alma, sin contar el dinero que reciben y mal usan. Especialmente si eres como yo que viene de otro país y ocupas ayuda de verdad - al último minuto te dan la espalda y te das cuenta que ni dios te puede ayudar. ¿En qué lugar me puedo refugiar? Uno de los lugares que yo he encontrado que es mejor que la iglesia es Prensa Pobre que en realidad es un lugar santuario donde no llaman a la policía, a diferencia de las iglesias donde si tienes un conflicto lo primero que hacen es llamar a la policía. This earth is a sanctuary. This small part of Mother Earth has helped me to value how important it is to have a relationship with her and myself through her nature. I am from Mexico City where everything is sold and bought which is not a way to treat Mother Earth because it should be a sanctuary and not an object of purchase and sale and no one should profit without her consent. One of the beliefs that the colonizers brought us are the churches. They have made us believe a lie for a long time and they have worked to get money from us and in many cases we are not safe in the supposed houses of god. If you do not give money or follow them, the emotional and verbal abuse begins against people who do not accept or preach in the same way. This is how empires of lies begin. They force stories on us- that I personally do not believe- and in the past it was taboo to oppose the stories the church told. But in these times so much evil and so much abuse has been sparked rebellion due to preachers, or rather predators and they hide under a cassock living a double life where in reality respect for God has already been lost and everything is about business and power. One of the most powerful churches is the Catholic Church and the amount of crimes that have been recorded and how many will come to light is why many people lose faith and accept what their heart tells them. The churches are like the political parties, they promise, but at the same time they continue to steal from you. The churches are more evil because they destroy your faith and they disgrace your saints, in other churches they steal your family and your soul not even counting the money they receive and misuse. Especially if you are like me, coming from another country and needing real help- at the last minute they turn their backs on you and you realize that not even God can help you. Where can I take refuge? One of the places that I have found that is better than the church is POOR Magazine, which is actually a sanctuary place where the police are not called, unlike the churches where if you have conflict the first thing they do is call the police.

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