Tick Tock Sheptock

On July 10th about 100 community activists began a tent city on a vacant which is owned by DC Government ( and the citizens of DC ) called "Parcel 42". This action was part of a national effort to bring attention to the need for housing as a human right. Many of the participants are part of the National Right To Housing Movement. This particular plot of land was chosen for the action so that we could highlight the broken promise of the out-going mayor Adrian Fenty to build affordable housing on this lot that has sat vacant for several years and promises to sit vacant for at least 2 more. Plans were drawn up and development slated to begin in December 2009. No ground has been broken yet and the official word is that it may be at least 2 more years before ground is finally broken on this "planned" project. Community activists have floated ideas for interim uses such as a community garden, outdoor theatre or a recreational facility. But no one has stepped forth so ...

The tent city at the intersection of 7th, R and Rhode Island in northwest DC is over 3 weeks old now. Many people are surprised to see that it hasn't been shut down by the city yet. It is firmly believed that Mayor Fenty doesn't want the images of protesters being arrested for defending their human right to housing plastered all over people's T.V. screens and that that may be the reason for the longevity of the camp. Let's bear in mind that he is fighting for his political life and that such images could be his political death knell. Some of us were actually anticipating getting arrested and that may still be a prospect. On the evening of July 30th, a DC Government employee named Pat Handy stopped by the tent city. She works for DC Government's Dept. of Human Services as the Homeless Outreach Manager. She is the troubleshooter for various homeless services. She managed the process on September 10th, 2008, as Franklin School Shelter residents were made to sig...

This blog post is a "CALL TO ACTION". Get involved in the ongoing effort to truly make housing a human right both in this nation and around the world. There is something for everyone to do. On January 28th and 29th of this year, about 40 people from all over the country met in New York City at the office of the Center for Constitutional Rights (http://ccrjustice.org/) to discuss doing vacant property takeovers across the nation throughout the month of May. The meeting was organized by Take Back The Land (http://www.takebacktheland.org/), an organization which has been successful in acquiring vacant property for use by homeless people and in preventing evictions in Miami, FL. Other organizers include Picture the Homeless (http://www.picturethehomeless.org/) of New York City, the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI -- http://www.nesri.org/) and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP -- http://www.nlchp.org/). All of the aforemention...