Homeless in Berkeley at 21: A Young Father's Story

[daredtowork]

Last edited Sat Feb 14, 2015, 01:00 AM - Edit history (1)

This is terrific - The Atlantic did a story about being homeless in Berkeley. I like that it mentioned that there's not "government money" to fall back on here.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/02/homeless-in-berkeley-at-21-a-young-fathers-story/385428/

Since the interview took place on Telegraph Avenue, I'd like to also mention that the Berkeley political establishment seems to be making an effort to "disappear the problem" as we speak. I wrote about this on DU a few days ago: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10409068

I was going to try to question Berkeley's City Council on this at their monthly meeting this week, but I had a medical situation and wasn't able to.

I want to point out that this homeless father would be one of the people being "disappeared" of Telegraph avenue, though.

[mackerel]

1. Interesting read but the writer doesn't seem to have the ability to recognize

someone who has behavioral health problems. This young man is severely depressed and most likely has PTSD and is self-medicating.

[daredtowork]

2. I think the writer is just conveying what he sees

The larger point would be to connect homeless people with the services they need.

Sadly, the chances of that happening are going to decrease if they are swept out of sight, as the Berkeley establishment (I'm not sure who gave the order - I'm guessing it's directly from Mayor Bates.) is now actively trying to do. I've been wondering why they are doing it now since the protests are not taking the route through Telegraph avenue. I'm thinking it might be in response to this article: "Hey look tourists world, Berkeley doesn't have a problem with homeless people after all! Just don't look down any side streets, okay?"

Perhaps we should start calling it the Potemkin Telegraph Avenue Village?

[daredtowork]

3. Homeless people back on Telegraph Avenue

I was on Telegraph Avenue late last night, and the homeless people were back. I'm not sure if it's because there were fewer police about because of the holiday or because my questions (or perhaps other people had been questioning this as well) actually made a difference. Maybe it impressed someone that I nearly became Berkeley City Council's first fatality to make a point, hahaha.

[daredtowork]

4. Now that's a Black Brunch!

I just saw a young woman delivering pizza to homeless people all over Telegraph Avenue. She even popped into Fat Slice to buy a drink upon request.

When she was between deliveries I asked her if this was her own initiative to feed the hungry or whether the good work was sponsored. She said after her organization ( Black Collective something...?) was done meeting, they took the leftover pizza from their meeting to Telegraph Avenue. But then some citizen gave her $10 to buy MORE pizza. It was unclear whether more people had pumped in cash to keep the pizza slices flowing, but she was very busy with her special deliveries! I wish I had been able to take a picture!

On the same street is the Rasputin Records perma-display/memorial to the Black Panthers distributing grocery bags of food for the people. I wonder if that young girl was aware she was briefly reviving a legacy?

While I was on the spot, I asked a group of homeless teens whether the police had backed off from patrolling the street. They said that things were back to normal and that police only actively harassed them to get them off Telegraph Avenue when a University event was going to involve the arrival of a lot of Dignitaries and/or parents of undergrads who expected Berkeley to be a sort of Disneyland themepark of the 60s for tourists. I guess the homeless really are literally swept under the rug to create a Potemkin Village!

Anyway, I am much relieved to see this because Berkeley is a model of extreme inequality, and Telegraph Avenue helps insist on an ongoing social coversation about that inequality. "Visibility" isn't just important for ambitious executives seeking promotion. Visibility is also an attention-getting tool of the poorest of the poor. With its International fame as a tourist spot and historic notability, Telegraph Avenue is a key spot for the visibility of homelessness in America.