Across California, unhoused residents are taking a bold stand against the criminalization of homelessness. In the wake of the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Johnson v Grants Pass, which re-legalized penalties for violating anti-camping ordinances, homeless individuals and advocates are staging protest encampments in public spaces to demand an end to policies that penalize unsheltered living.
The encampments, set up by a coalition of housed and unhoused activists, have swelled to over half a dozen sites scattered across Berkeley and Oakland. Organizers say it’s a last-ditch effort to claim safe public space and fight back against the wave of harsher anti-camping laws sweeping the nation following the Supreme Court ruling.
“When you see these tents, it’s unhoused individuals fighting back and having a voice,” attorney Andrea Henson told press gathered at an October encampment in Berkeley. “And wherever you see these tents, you will see us protecting them.“
A Haven of Community and Support
For residents displaced from existing encampments, the protest sites aim to provide a safe haven with 24/7 access to community, food, water, and restrooms. Organizers have even set up a free store at Berkeley’s Ohlone Park. More than just a place to pitch a tent, the encampments foster vital social bonds and mutual aid.
“I know that there’s a bunch of people that I can go to … and we have to have social contact. We’re social creatures. Without it, we go crazy and die like Tom Hanks in Castaway, right?”
– Erin Spencer, military veteran and Berkeley encampment resident
Staying together in highly visible protest camps, organizers argue, means greater stability and safety for homeless individuals. It’s also a powerful way to thrust the crisis of homelessness into the public eye and consciousness.
Demand for Shelter and Housing Outstrips Supply
The organizers’ demands come amid a severe shortage of shelter beds and affordable housing in California’s Bay Area cities:
- Berkeley has approximately 350 shelter beds to serve an estimated unhoused population of 844, nearly 400 of whom are unsheltered.
- Oakland’s 1,627 beds, including group facilities, cabins, and RV parking, serve an estimated 5,500 people, over 3,600 of them unsheltered.
- Wait times for subsidized housing vouchers can span up to 12 years in Berkeley and nearly a decade in Oakland.
Advocates argue that even when beds are available, many unhoused people face steep barriers to access, from disabilities to mental health struggles to the inability to store belongings. Stepped-up sweeps under new anti-camping laws, they warn, will only make it harder for people to get housed.
A Fight for Visibility and Dignity
While Berkeley and Oakland officials say their new policies aim to balance the rights of the unhoused with public health and safety concerns, protesters argue the laws unfairly target vulnerable groups and make it nearly impossible to survive without violating city codes. They’re demanding legal protections for encampment residents and a halt to sweeps.
Until then, organizers vow, the occupations will continue – a poignant reminder that California’s unhoused residents refuse to be pushed out of public view or denied their fundamental human dignity. In the words of activist Gordon Gilmore: “You’re not going to push us out of view anymore.“
As the nation grapples with a mounting homelessness crisis, California’s bold protesters may well be lighting the spark of a new movement – one that envisions a society where everyone has a safe place to call home.
