Cartoon by STEVEN DECINZO |
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From a home to the streets
By SARAH RINGLER
Keith McHenry of Food Not Bombs described one person’s story that occurred before the Santa Cruz Police and Rangers closed downtown's Parking Lot 27 on Oct. 2. “A fire evacuee from Boulder Creek who joined us on Sunday is typical of those who visit us. He'd lost the keys to his car and was not able to move it from its parking space on the West Side. While he was trying to replace his keys, the city towed his vehicular home. He needed $1,300 to retrieve his housing and the fee was increasing by $90 a day. He was forced by the city to find accommodations on the levee joining the many other people who are not able to access shelter. Like the many others who find themselves homeless, our visible location at Front and Laurel streets is their first point of contact with services and knowledge about how to survive on the streets of our community.
“For those on their first entry into the world of the streets, it is essential that the newly unhoused find us with ease. Many people in this condition have little access to electricity and cannot Google for help. Most are in a state of shock at their new condition and we provide not only direct services, but emotional support because of the positive community we have fostered during the past 200 days.” After the closure of that site under an executive order by Santa Cruz City Manager Martín Bernal, Food Not Bombs relocated their support operation to the Town Clock at Water and Pacific.
The prospects for ending homelessness are dim. Low wages, gentrification, lack of Federal money for subsidized low-cost housing, and loss of wages due to Covid, do not bode well. And, add to that disasters like fires, hurricanes and floods.
Many cities and counties, like ours, are playing shell games and in the process, with each move, people are losing not only the support and permanence they need but also all their belongings. Last Friday at Parking Lot 27, as volunteers were trying to salvage belongings that looked like they might have value, I was touched by a men's garment bag that contained a well cared for leather jacket and suit jacket. Who had toted and cared for these jackets hoping to wear them again, and where was he now?
Like McHenry, Brent Adams of the Warming Center Program and Footbridge is another long-time provider of services. He said, “I’m encouraging the awareness of accepting unmanaged camps, since they seem to be with us into the future. We’re encouraging community groups to take on caring for various camps - maybe in an ‘adopt an encampment’ sort of way.”
He is having success at the Felker St. Area Homeless Encampment. This encampment, with 100 people, has run for the last ten months and is a model of what's possible.
Adams said that camp occupants and volunteers “work to reduce the camp's impact on the surrounding host neighborhood which is in stark contrast with other camps within the city. Credit goes to all of the helpful camp residents, Footbridge's team of staff and volunteers, the city workers who arrive three times a week with a truck to remove loose trash items, and Ron Perrigo, who arrives on Friday morning to dump ten large trash bins.” He adds, “Footbridge staff pick up litter in the cul de sac area of Felker St. twice-daily and we work to address homeless-related issues on this side of the levee in order to reduce 911 calls for service.”
Are we going to accept that homeless camps are permanently part of our communities? Covid-19 will eventually pass, but what about the housing crisis?
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Food Not Bombs needs volunteers
to help in the kitchen at the Calvary Red Church on Cedar St. (across from the Santa Cruz Farmers Market ) on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4pm.
We also need people to help serve and clean up from 3pm till about 7pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The City of Santa Cruz has forced Food Not Bombs to move our sharing tables back to the Town Clock at Water and Pacific Ave. from Lot 27 at Front and Laurel St.
We also need volunteers to help Mon.-Fri. from noon to 6pm at the sharing tables which, we believe will continue to take place at the Town Clock as well.
If you can help, please just show up.
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Santa Cruz County Housing Report
Here is the Housing Inventory Snapshot of our county from Raeid Farhat Real Estate Inc. as of Sept. 30.
Single Family homes: The average list price - $1,183,458 (-6.4%, 30-day trend) and average sold price - $1,028,406 (-4.2%, 30-day trend).
Luxury Family homes: Average list price - $3,417,085 (-6.2%, 30-day trend) and average sold price -$3,2,777,346 (-29%, 30 day trend)
Condo/Townhomes: Average list price - $539,867(-3.3%, 30-day trend), average sold price - $616,814 (+4% 30-day trend)
Luxury Condo/Townhomes: Average list price - $1,038,634 (+8.3%, 30-day trend), average sold price - $1,113,385 (+20%, 30-day trend)
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‘We have seen better days.’
William Shakespeare
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Sarah's County Covid-19 Report
By SARAH RINGLER
The Santa Cruz County Health Department regularly releases data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county. As of Oct. 9, there were 2,535 cases that tested positive, a 4% increase from Oct. 1. Eighteen people have died, six more than last week.
We are currently in the Red Tier which allows personal care services, restaurants, places of worship, movie theaters, fitness centers, and museums to open indoors with modifications that will protect health and safety of staff and the public.
The dramatic 50% rise in deaths came from the Watsonville Post Acute Center at 525 Auto Center Drive where nine people have died and 61 have tested positive.
Other data remain stable. The county's Effective Reproductive Number has fallen to one since the beginning of September. Numbers above one shows the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing.
To get tested without a doctor’s request, call 1-888-634-1123 or go online at https://lhi.care/covidtesting. The testing clinic is at at Ramsay Park in Watsonville. Other testing sites that may have restricted access can be found here.
To visit the website for the Santa Cruz County Health Department:
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Known cases tested positive by age/% of population:
19 and under - 16%/25%
20-34 - 31%/22%
35-44 - 17%/12%
45-64 - 25%/27%
65 or older - 10%/15%
Under investigation - .3%
Tested positive by ethnicity/% of population:
Multi-Race - 1%/3%
White - 17%/58%
Latinx - 63%/34%
Black - .5%/1%
Asian - 2%/4%
Other - 2%/.4%
Unknown - 15%
Tested positive by gender/% of population:
Female - 52%/50%
Male - 48%/50%
Other - 0%
Unknown - 0%
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Weekly increases in positive tests:
June 12-19 - 7%
June 19-26 - 23%
June 26 to July 3 - 22%
July 3-9 - 23%
July 9-16 - 40%
July 16-23 - 20%
July 23-30 - 27%
July 30-Aug. 6 - 13%
Aug. 6-13- 12%
Aug.14-20 - 16%
Aug.20-28 - 10%
Aug. 28-Sept. 3 - 10%
Sept. 3-10 - 6%
Sept. 10-17- 8%
Sept. 17-24 - 7%
Sept. 25- Oct.1 - 5%
Oct. 1 - 9 - 4%
Tested positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 18%/12%
North county - 16%/60%
South county - 64%/29%
Under investigation - 3%
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YOUR STORY HERE: Please submit a story that you think would be of interest to the people of Santa Cruz County. Photos are also welcome. Try and keep the word count around 400. Also, there should be suggested actions if possible. Submit to coluyaki@gmail.com
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Welcome to Serf City Times. Over time, our county has grown more stratified and divided with many people feeling left out. Housing affordability, racism and low wages are the most obvious factors. However, many groups and individuals in Santa Cruz County work tirelessly to make our county a better place for everyone. These people work on the environment, housing, economic justice, criminal justice, disability rights, immigrant rights, racial justice, transportation, workers’ rights, education reform, gender issues, equity issues, electoral politics and more. Often, one group doesn’t know what another is doing. The Serf City Times is dedicated to serving as a clearinghouse for those issues by letting you know what is going on, what actions you can take and how you can support these groups.,This is not a profit-making enterprise and all work is volunteer.
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