Good morning, I hope everyone enjoyed a fine Thanksgiving (or a fine No Thanks Resistance Festival Anti-Colonial Feast, if that was your thing for the day).



I am writing because there is a new press release out from Share the Bulb, execrating the city's temporary homeless shelter: http://sharethebulb.org/2013/11/29/internment-trailers-an-insult-to-bulb-residents/



The city's 'Operation Dignity' shelter is, of course, not intended to insult the campers, but to provide them with a place to sleep, eat, wash up, store their stuff, and keep their dogs nearby, while they work on securing an appropriate place to go for the next stage of their lives (which might include alternatives to ordinary housing, depending on individual needs - such as rehab, an established homeless shelter near transit and services, supportive housing, return to families, or just some place where camping is permitted and affordable).

In accordance with the City Council's action, the Berkeley Food & Housing Project, in partnership with the Solano Community Church, will continue to make services available for those who need assistance, at least until the end of this year.

The continued participation of the Solano Community Church in the Bulb offers Albany a spark of hope that at least a few campers might be persuaded to start taking advantage of the shelter, food, and services on offer. The church's support for the BF&HP proposal, and its commitment to partner with that agency on this work, were surely a key reason that BF&HP was selected to provide these services. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the church can fulfill its role of building trust among the campers and inspiring them to begin rebuilding their lives.

On the other hand, it is less encouraging that "Share the Bulb" has evolved (devolved?) into a partnership between the Bulb campers and the familiar Occupy the Farm folk (Eric Husted of OTF is listed as a contact on the press releases, and Lesley Haddock of OTF seems to be partnering on the social media work with the young Minnesotan activist, Elliott Hughes, who recently jumped into the fray).

