Homeless Advocates in Santa Cruz Launch “Camp of Last Resort” Campaign

Advocates for people experiencing homelessness have long lobbied for the right of the unsheltered to a peaceful night’s sleep in a safe environment. As local attorney and activist Ed Frey says, “the right to sleep is not only a human right and a constitutional right, it is essential to the physical and psychological well being of every person, housed or not”. The recent effort to establish a safe sleeping space for the homeless in Santa Cruz is being led by Rabbi Phil Posner, whose son Micah sits of the Santa Cruz City Council.

The “Camp of Last Resort” is founded on Rabbi Phil’s belief that the right of every citizen to have a place to sleep is fundamental to our nation’s concept of “Life, Justice and the Pursuit of Happiness.” He says, “we know that there’s probably close to 3,500 men, women and children unsheltered in our community at any given time without a secure place to sleep at night. The Camp of Last Resort is an opportunity to address this situation in a substantive, community wide way. Rabbi Phil also adds “in proposing this partial solution to homelessness in Santa Cruz, we appreciate that there are community programs that are successfully providing other forms of housing and shelter and see the idea of a public camp site as augmenting those important programs.”

The camp proposal was created in response to the lack of more permanent housing for the homeless and supporters believe that a camp (or camps) of last resort will at least provide shelter for some of the thousands who are presently found illegally hunkering down on streets, trails or along the river. Although Rabbi Phil freely admits that such a camp of last resort would not be perfectly safe or orderly, he is confident that it will provide a far healthier environment with less crime and violence then the unregulated and chaotic situation that presently exists.

Supporters of the program are seeking approval for a six-month pilot camp calling for the City and County of Santa Cruz to designate one or more of the City parks, possibly a part of San Lorenzo Park, as a place where individuals may bed down for the night. The proposal further calls for the City and County to join together to support and fund this park project by providing large tarps or some other form of public shelter along with access to bathroom facilities. At the end of the trial period, representatives of the homeless community, the city, county and camp organizers would review the program and decide whether to terminate the camp or continue the project for a longer period of time.

The program brings with it promise for people experiencing homelessness in Santa Cruz but also requires a degree of commitment and accountability on the part of the participants. Park sleepers would agree that the sleeping area would be limited to sleeping bags, blankets and personal belongings and camping would be permitted only within set overnight hours. No tents or cooking equipment would be permitted. This restriction aims to head off mainstream objections to a city or county approved “tent city” which has long been an unresolved bone of contention between neighborhood groups, government officials and homeless advocates.

Rabbi Phil is realistic about how personal behavior will affect the success of failure of the proposed camp. He says, “each of our campers must understand that his or her personal behavior will impact the success of this “Camp of Last Resort” and it is essential that each person respect the rights of others who also use this park. The social interaction between park sleepers and other community members who use the parks will determine in large part the long term success or failure of our idea”.

Advocates for people experiencing homelessness believe that 2015 may finally bring some long awaited progress on the issue of homeless rights. With Warming Stations opening to provide warm, safe spaces on very cold nights, with Safe Spaces Recreational Vehicle and Sanctuary Village programs moving forward and with the continuing work of the 180/2020 and Smart Solutions on Homelessness initiatives, this coming year holds great promise. Sign the Petition and do your part to fulfill that promise.

Rabbi Phil and his supporters are currently gathering Petition signatures in advance of a full presentation to the city and county. An on line petition has also been created. You can contact Rabbi Phil at chatrabbi [at] aol.com and sign the on line Petition at:
https://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/petition-to-establish-a-camp-of-last-resort