Page One

Looking for a place to sleep Tuesday night, about 20 local homeless people set up a tent city in Civic Center Park – the first of its kind since 1987. 

Unlike the previous encampment which existed for months and was finally shut down by police amid violent protest, organizers say they are running this one peacefully, hoping to draw attention to the plight of the homeless, made worse recently, they say, by stepped-up police harassment. 

Tim, who set up a hammock and kitchen space in the park on the second night of National Homeless Awareness Week, said last month he was ticketed for sleeping along Bancroft Way and is sometimes hassled throughout the night by police. 

“They wake me up at 3 a.m., and tell me to move and then again at 6 a.m. It disturbs my sleeping patterns,” he said. 

Police say the homeless who are confronted have been given warnings are in violation of city trespassing laws. 

“Officers have been enlisted to problem solve what merchants and residents say appears to be a problem,” said Officer Mary Kusmiss in an September interview. 

For many homeless in Berkeley, nighttime encounters with police are standard practice. 

With an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 homeless people and only 220 full-time shelter beds, most of the city’s homeless spend their nights on the street. 

Michael Diehl, a homeless activist with Berkeley-based Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency, said that the homeless have been the target of stepped-up enforcement from police officers since summer. 

At the behest of local property owners and merchants, Diehl said police have started confiscating unattended shopping carts with peoples’ belongings and issuing trespassing tickets. 

The last straw for homeless advocates, he said, was that during the storm that hit Berkeley two weeks ago, several homeless people were ticketed for seeking shelter under store awnings. 

Homeless advocates are hoping the new tent city can help promote their plan for reducing harassment. 

Bob Mills, head of Berkeley-based Homeless Organizing Movement for Empowerment said his group wants a legal campground for the homeless, more shelter beds and a care and detoxification center for the homeless to receive medical attention and substance abuse counseling. 

Eric Landis–Branmans, the city’s homeless coordinator said Berkeley spends $1.6 million annually on programs to help the homeless, but noted that several of the activists’ demands are either unfeasible or undesirable. 

The city has opted against opening a homeless campground, he said, because the last one, Rainbow Village, located at the far edge of the Marina was home to frequent violence and was shut down in the early 80’s. 

He added that more shelters would divert funds from other programs such as the 150 units of city housing to provide shelter for disabled homeless people. 

A detoxification center, though, may be doable.  

For the past year Telegraph Avenue Association Executive Director Kathy Berger has worked with homeless advocates and city officials to seek grant money for a facility that could help drug- and alcohol-addicted homeless to clean up their act. 

Alameda County is the only county in the Bay Area that does not have a detoxification center, and according to Diehl activists have to petition other counties to let Berkeley homeless use their sites. 

While officials work on new programs, the homeless are gearing up for another wet winter. 

To deal with increased seasonal shelter demand, the city will provide motel housing vouchers and open up 50 beds at the Oakland Army Base. 

Still most homeless will remain on the streets. “It’s always a lot harder to get by when those torrential rains hit,” Diehl said. 

Contact reporter at matt@berkeleydailyplanet.net