Major homeless camp dismantled, hundreds displaced

[Bala Perdida]

Friends and co-workers have been talking about a recent attack by the state against the alienated population. The San Jose slum known as 'The Jungle' is a well known shanty town home to many homeless people. The systems failure to provide these people with any form of basic shelter resulted in them building and setting up the camp anyway they could. It's been home to families and individuals for a number of years recently, and attempts to dismantle it are not a new occurrence. However, recent business influx has caused housing costs around the area to rise. This gentrification is a natural result. Approximately last week, at the start of December 2014, police and social workers started a mass operation to demolish and 'evict' many of the residents of the jungle. They claim to be giving them temporary housing, but many can be found relocating and establishing camps elsewhere in the city. I've heard of sightings of police stopping groups of homeless people from resettling in other areas.

This story hit me personally, especially since I used to work with an organization that helped many people living in the jungle. I'm gonna see if there is anything I can do, or get involved in to aid the people suffering. If anyone has any ideas or would like to help, let me know.

For now, here's an article that I found after a quick google search. It's from a Trotskyist website, oddly enough, but it explains it okay:
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/12/09/home-d09.html

[consuming negativity]

The dismantling of the Jungle comes amid the biggest rainstorms in California in recent years. The state has been enduring the third, and worst, year of one of its most devastating droughts on record. San Jose homelessness response manager Ray Bramson cited the rain as well as other factors such as increased violence and unsanitary conditions as the immediate pretext for the eviction.


Within the past month, one resident attempted to strangle another with a cord of wire, while another was nearly beaten to death with a hammer. Trying to present the displacement as a process of environmental renewal, the State Water Resources Control Board celebrates the fact that nearby Coyote Creek will finally be cleaned of debris and human excrement.


Bramson told the Mercury News, “This site is no longer open for any individuals. The fact that anyone has to live in conditions like this is horrible. This shouldn’t be a viable alternative for anyone. We need to make sure that people never have to live in a place like this.”

>framing this as though he's doing them a favor

i'm not saying i think someone should pop him in the fucking mouth i'm just saying i'd understand why if they did

>fucking "social workers" screwing over the people they're supposed to be helping

lol, just lol

not much i can do from the other side of the country but good luck. :unsure:

[KristalC]

Thanks for posting this here. It was a great help. It's just sad to see how dangerous our state is nowadays. Not sure but in my opinion, our population is one of the factors causing this. Many cities struggle with dealing with growing destitute populations, but some are buying a ticket out of town for any that want to leave. More places are transferring homeless (http://personalmoneynetwork.com/moneyblog/2013/01/15/relocating-homeless/) willing to go, as it often solves difficulties for all parties involved.