Ruling on Temporary Restraining Order in San Lorenzo Leaves Houseless in Limbo
Along the San Lorenzo Riverwalk, houseless residents can be seen biking, gardening, napping, and even lifting weights under the warmth of the spring sun. This is as close to idyllic as the park has been in recent months. But this relative quiet is deceptive. The…
As Other Cities Across California Adopt Hazard Pay for Grocery Store Workers, Santa Cruz is Lacking
*All worker sources are anonymous for their protection. Even under their masks, food service and grocery store workers are expected to do their jobs with grace and a smile. As essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, that means remaining friendly, efficient, and polite in spite…
Feeding the Houseless Good Food
All sources in the following piece requested that their last names be omitted for their safety. The Santa Cruz People’s Kitchen was born out of flames. During last summer’s CZU Lightning Complex fires, Sal, a UCSC dropout and experienced line cook, was evacuated from Boulder…
Housing Matters Awarded With $2.5 Million to Take On Family Houselessness
Housing Matters, the largest nonprofit in Santa Cruz County working on solutions to houselessness, was awarded a $2.5 million grant on Dec. 9 from the Day 1 Families Fund. The grant is earmarked for family houselessness services. Housing Matters explained the grant money will be…
Sweeps Stopped: Judge Rules in favor of Homeless Union in Encampment Evictions
After two weeks of a temporary restraining order halting any attempts to clear the houseless encampment in the San Lorenzo Park, Judge Susan van Keulen ruled in favor of the Santa Cruz Homeless Union on Jan. 20. The preliminary injunction, granted by Judge van Kuelen,…
Following Protests, Judge Extends Restraining Order Against Houseless Encampment Evictions
[UPDATE, Jan. 13: Judge Susan van Keulen extended a temporary restraining order against the City of Santa Cruz, keeping houseless encampments at San Lorenzo Park open through Jan. 20 as residents await the final ruling. The motion was announced on Jan. 12, a day before…
Benchlands to Golflands: Temporary Housing Encampment Moves Across Town
This is a follow up to a CHP story published about the closing of the Benchlands encampment on Oct. 29. Winding up an isolated road through the De Laveaga golf course, down a smaller fork, through a gated, barbed wire fence, and behind the National…
Benchlands Houseless Camp to Close November 15
The Benchlands houseless camp is set to close Nov. 15 due to its location on a floodplain. City officials currently do not have an alternative location to shelter approximately 70 residents. Outside the chain-link fence at the Benchlands camp is an eight-square-foot plot of dirt,…
Building Community: Mutual Aid Funds in Santa Cruz County
Volunteer run mutual aid funds have been making waves throughout the country since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about what mutual aid funds in Santa Cruz are doing to build community amid COVID and the CZU lightning fires.