pic is one I took while on the road
Hi people, it’s been a minute since the last episode. I’ve still been working on the podcast, interviewing and researching, I have some stuff I’m working on that is going to be more long-term investigation style. But meanwhile I created this episode to try and get a snapshot of the criminalization of homelessness since the Supreme Court ruled that people are not protected under the 8th amendment (cruel and unusual punishment) when they are fined and jailed from “public camping.”
There is an entire industry around sweeping homeless camps in California that private construction companies are profiting off of with multimillion dollar contracts. In this episode I quote from investigative journalism and look at articles that show what the impact of this has been on people just trying to survive. The shelters that they are supposed to be offered upon being removed and having their belongings trashed prove to not be a safe place for many people. The system is manipulated by its own employees and in some cases vulnerable women are even sexually assaulted.
I end the episode with an interview with Valerie who is the editor of The Challenger Street Newspaper in Austin, Texas. 95% of the contributors are people experiencing homelessness. I wanted to talk to her in this context in order to explore what we can do in our communities to not only defend communities from sweeps but build them up and reinforce them in the first place.
This is by no means a complete picture, but I am always looking for people who can add to it either through personal experience or reporting on what is going on in one of the many US cities and towns in which this is happening with zero reporting covering it.
More episodes soon.
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