Green New City: An End to Homelessness

Problems:

• Homelessness has increased in recent years, and Berkeley now has approximately 2000 people experiencing homelessness — the highest per capita rate in the Bay Area.
• Garbage, crime, and other negative impacts from encampments have worsened, leaving many public spaces unavailable to our community.
• Berkeley continues to battle with CalTrans and Oakland in attempts to shift responsibility, instead of identifying regional and collaborative solutions.

Our solution:

• Set a clear goal: reduce homelessness by 90% by 2025. Without goals, we will not make progress.
• Take ownership over the problem. Instead of shifting responsibility to CalTrans, make immediate arrangement with CalTrans to allow the City of Berkeley to provide garbage pickup and other functions at the I-80 encampments.
• End the ineffective criminalization of homelessness. Refrain from using punitive measures — e.g. vagrancy laws or the RV ban — to punish those who are housing insecure. They do not work, and just push people experiencing homelessness from one neighborhood to the next one.
• Pass an “ultra-millionaire” wealth tax — similar to Elizabeth Warren’s proposal — to fund permanent supportive housing (in Berkeley or in neighboring cities).
• Establish a regional agreement within 60 days of coming into office, that establishes funding requirements, processes, and building expectations for all regional authorities. Enforce the agreement by asking Governor Gavin Newsom to condition all aid for local cities on homelessness on compliance with the regional agreement.

Like the majority of Berkeley, we believe housing is a right, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy. Join us in making Berkeley the first Green New City, one with housing for all, by signing to volunteer at www.WayneforMayor.com/volunteer.