housing

Dear Friends,

At the June 14th community meeting about the illegal arrest and eviction of the residents of 1652 Ridge Ave, many of you asked how you could help (for those who need more info please read the press release: http://defenestrator.org/shoestore_raid

Your help will definitely be needed as the residents determine what steps they must take to get their home back, and we hope you'll be available in the coming months to assist with practical needs as they arise. For now, we'd like you to consider contributing a few dollars towards the residents' emergency expenditures of the last few weeks, which total about $1000 (including almost $300 for cell phone usage, several hundred for recording and documentation equipment, gas money, etc.). At this point, we're only trying to raise enough to meet that amount and pay back all the people who fronted money, saving more serious efforts and generosity for when they'll be needed. The residents would much rather be able to rely on you for future support when specific needs become more clear.

Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 2:25 PM

dear friends,

this is something that i want to communicate to as many people as i know, and as many people as they know. please forward this widely.

on the morning of friday june 13th, three plain cloths cops and captian wilson of the ninth district of philadelphia came to my front door. they said they were responding to a complaint about "trespassing in an abandoned building". we have lived in our home for almost 4 years. we are curious about the origin of this "complaint." after one house mate answered the door, asked for a warrant and refused to let the police in they arrested him and stole his keys. they broke in. there was no warrant. they arrested myself and my two other roommates. when asked if there was a warrant they informed us that they didn't need one. we were also informed that we weren't arrested, but were detained...and under investigation.

On Sunday April 6th, Movement for Justice in El Barrio took the struggle against gentrification in NYC to an international level. Through the new International Campaign in Defense of El Barrio, Movement for Justice in El Barrio is organizing on a transnational level to combat displacement in El Barrio (East Harlem) by building a multi-national network to go after one of their main targets, the multi-national corporation Dawnay, Day Group at their central headquarters in London and on multiple continents where they hold property. Movement for Justice in El Barrio and their supporters from around the city and nation gathered on the steps of city hall to launch their “International Campaign in Defense of El Barrio.”

The subterranean halls of Suburban Station and the catacombs below City Hall have long served as a place where Philadelphians without homes turn as a last resort for shelter from the cold. Non-profit homeless shelters can be unsafe and unwelcoming, places where one’s belongings can be stolen while one sleeps, doors close early, and restrictive policies result in many being turned away. Drop-in daytime cafes, run in winter months, offer a heated place to sit (although sleeping is officially prohibited) but “dropping in” requires trips to various agencies to get one’s name on a list, and even then the cafes are open only for 8 hours a day and their capacity is limited in the worst cold emergencies to only 125 people -- while the lists include nearly double that many names.

A Philly native talks about life inside the city’s homeless shelters -- and getting kicked out of one for his activism (the author’s name and other identifying information have been removed to protect the innocent).