A vacant lot in Oakland, California in the United States has been transformed by the local community into a model homeless encampment: a clean camp with a solar shower, garden, kitchen and even a lounge area.
Gentrification has resulted in Oakland seeing a whopping 85% increase in homelessness since 2015, with not enough safe shelter available for the homeless. Stefani Echeverría-Fenn, one of the organizers and once homeless herself, set up the very first tent in the lot when she saw it unused for years.
“Every single day for the past decade I lived here, I walked on my way to work past this vacant lot … that was never put to good use to the community,” says Echeverría-Fenn, 32, to the Guardian. “Meanwhile, you would see the tents grow just a half a block down there. You see people literally sleeping on the side of the street, on the side of freeways. Here, we at least have a little sanctuary.
Once an all-women’s encampment, the 37MLK camp has grown to house more than 20 black and Latinx people, including male partners of some of the women. The community decorates for the holidays and actively holds meetings to make sure the camp never gets too messy or rowdy.
