By Laura Waxmann

In response to a surge of complaint-driven sweeps of homeless encampments by city officials in recent months, advocates for the homeless are now organizing and training civilians to monitor and document the rampant encampment removals.

On Wednesday, organizers with the Coalition on Homelessness conducted the city’s first ever “Sweeps Watch” training to coach some 40 residents in identifying and monitoring a sweep. The trainers also encouraged community members to step in and document incidents of harassment or wrongdoing by police and city officials.

“In this period of crisis, you will find people there who are losing everything they have to their name,” said Dayton Andrews, also a human rights organizer with the coalition.

The trainers urged participants to check in with the homeless before addressing police or city officials during a sweep, which trainers defined as a city-sanctioned process in which “people who are forced to live on the street are mandated to move along and there’s nowhere else to go.” READ MORE