WEBVTT - Aiding the Un-Housed Community in Columbus Ohio 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:08.639 Welcome to it could happen here the podcast about stuff 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:11.560 falling apart and perhaps how we can begin to put 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:15.680 them back together. Today, I'm your host, Garrison Davis. We've 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:18.400 had a lot of doom and gloom the past few 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:21.640 weeks here on the pod, so this episode we more 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:26.240 focused on the putting stuff back together side of the spectrum. 0:00:26.280 --> 0:00:30.000 We'll be talking with Elizabeth Blackburn of the First Collective, 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:34.400 a group of volunteers, organizers, and activists in Columbus, Ohio 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:39.239 focused on direct, grassroots action and mutual aid. But we'll 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:43.519 be specifically talking about a volunteer run homeless encampment that's 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:48.400 currently serving around people in the near East side of Columbus. 0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:53.880 Here's some of the history from Elizabeth. The project started 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:58.680 as a warming station at the end of January UM 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:05.040 and how is morphed into a autonomous encampment that's largely 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:09.960 self governed and managed by a loose network of mutual 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:14.080 aid organizations that came together during the uprisings. You know, 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:17.720 this is this is as flat an organization as we 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:20.679 can make it, and we're you know, we're trying to 0:01:20.720 --> 0:01:24.039 make it flatter, and I just think it's important that 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:28.080 the people recognize. You know, going out with resources is great, 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:31.520 but going out and finding out what resources people need 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:34.720 is better. There are so many groups in our city 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:38.360 that are supposed to be doing this work that are not, 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:44.680 and they're being paid to do this work, and it's ineffective. 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:49.800 And all I want is for for more people to 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:54.160 try and do it their own way, to try and 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:57.920 do what their community wants, you know, to the best 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:01.200 of their abilities. We see that lots of projects grow 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:05.080 out of the mutual a networks that were established. It's 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:07.560 been interesting to see how people in the wake of 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:10.680 the George Floyd uprising have built off things started two 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:14.200 years ago, what's changed in their practice, and how it's 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:18.840 evolved since then. This past winter in this area of Columbus, Ohio, 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:23.440 there was community needs not being met, people having to 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:25.480 be out in the cold and not having a place 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:29.639 to stay. This problem was recognized by people, but unfortunately, 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.360 far too many people just look at problems and just 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:35.640 be like, oh, yes, here's the thing that sucks. Well, 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:39.280 that's too bad. But today we'll be talking about how 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:43.080 a collective of people didn't simply acknowledge a problem, but 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:46.040 actually went past that point and decided that even with 0:02:46.120 --> 0:02:49.320 limited resources, they had the capacity to actually figure out 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:52.720 how to solve this themselves and provide a solution for 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:56.480 the community. I think the first time I really tried 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:00.440 something like that was in December. A friend of mine 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:03.360 had reached out about a camp on the south side 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:06.560 of Columbus that was being swept by the city and 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:09.519 they had needs. They needed new tents so they could 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:13.600 set up elsewhere. They needed food and water like they 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:17.600 always did, and they needed people to be there um 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.920 to keep you know, to prevent violence from occurring as 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:25.440 much as possible. UM. So hearing about that, I started 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:29.560 a I set up on my street in a bougie 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:34.120 part of Columbus UM with a little sign and collected 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:38.200 goods whatever people dropped off, I collected money. UM. I 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:42.320 raised about two thousand dollars and uh I think we 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:45.880 ended up buying around twenty two tenths UM got other 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:48.040 people there as well, and tried to make sure everybody 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.119 had what they needed so they could get set up elsewhere. 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:53.840 But that was my first, like my first experience with 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:57.280 that doing it hands on and seeing that that worked, 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:00.360 that encouraged me to do more. Is that How has 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.760 it grown and changed? Since then, there's still a need 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.600 for people to stay. Um, it still gets pretty cold 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:11.000 at night. Um, so how throughout throughout winter? How did 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:13.240 the project kind of morphin change? How did you go 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:17.120 about finding like places to actually like set up the 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:19.159 physical spot right, Like, that's that's a whole it's a 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:21.720 whole other problem. Um, it's all like the is all 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:25.320 like the logistical side of things. Yeah, exactly. Um, well, 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:28.560 we happened to have a space late last fall, I 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:32.120 was invited to join a collective. At first collective that 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:37.640 was operating out of a church that largely um falling 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:41.719 into disrepair, but still operating as a church. And because 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:44.400 we had that space, a couple of members of the 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:49.120 collective encountered some folks in the neighborhood who needed a 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:51.080 place to sleep. They were sleeping in a bus stop 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:55.640 on a snowy night, and we just decided to start 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:57.880 giving them a place to stay because we had a place. 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:02.840 It wasn't a super popular decision, but um, we had 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:06.680 community back in. Conflicts from some people in the neighborhood 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:10.840 who were more nimby minded did obviously come up, along 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:13.800 with the complaints from the church that the first collective 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:17.840 was operating out of for the community's part. When we 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:19.760 were at the church, we were in a part of 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:23.719 the neighborhood that had largely been gentrified, and so there 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:29.799 was some some resistance, some concern about the changing face 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:33.720 of the community and about the safety of kids and 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.880 so on and so forth. But we didn't have any 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:41.040 real safety concerns, not not in our not inside beyond 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:44.720 a couple encounters that we had to de escalate UM 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:46.640 and a few people that we had to remove for 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:52.400 based on their behavior, UM, but from inside the church, 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:57.200 from the church organization. UM. The conflicts started pretty early on. 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:00.480 They didn't really like how we oper aided and we 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:04.560 got a reputation as a warming space with no rules, 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:08.400 and so they felt like because couples could sleep next 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:11.200 to each other, UM, because people could go outside for 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.080 a cigarette at night, because they weren't locked in the building, 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:19.160 that we were running a space that was out of control, 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:23.719 well until until we were kicked out of the church 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:27.880 on March twenty nine. I think it was the physical 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:30.279 infrastructure was there. It was just a matter of getting 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:33.400 caughts and blankets and making sure that people had food. 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:38.440 Most of that was either through just one off donations 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:41.120 to my cash app or I bought it with my 0:06:41.200 --> 0:06:45.360 own funds UM. Once we were forced to move outside, 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:49.039 it got a lot more complicated UM because at that 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:51.919 point we didn't have any tents UM. We had to 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:55.400 go out that night and purchase. The day that we 0:06:55.400 --> 0:06:57.080 were removed, we had to go out and purchase I 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.520 believed ten tents to start, and then had a couple 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:05.839 dropped off UM. We now have around twenty tents UM. 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:08.960 A lot of those were purchased by by me or 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:13.320 by donations that we received UM, or have been dropped 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:17.320 off by by friends or people in the neighborhood. UM 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:20.200 that has been you know, the physical infrastructure is mostly 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:23.440 tents and canopies, and most of them are being held 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:29.360 up by pieces of old tents or large tree limbs 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:32.840 or whatever we can to survive the wind because it's 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:36.200 been nothing but windstorms for the past well since we 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:39.840 got here. Our first camp site was set up on 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.960 a lot that was connected to the farm four Seasons 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:47.560 City Farm UM. Several of the members of the collective 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:53.280 our former paid employees of the farm or multi year volunteers. 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:56.560 It's a it's a large organization on this part. In 0:07:56.600 --> 0:08:00.000 this part of the town UM Old Town East UM 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:05.920 with about fifteen I belief years of history and goodwill UM. 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.400 So we set up next to their lot. But because 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:11.120 they're on land bank land, we we didn't want to 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:15.840 interfere with their lease with the city. So rather than 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:20.480 risk the farm getting fined or UM having having their 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:25.920 least broken, we we look next door to a lot 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:28.080 on the other side of a chain length fence M 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.880 two lots. Actually, one is owned by the city that's 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:34.360 the one where most of our tents are, and then 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:39.079 one is owned by a private owner who's a rather 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:43.560 wealthy person in the neighborhood. UM. We've done our best 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:46.400 to stay on the city lot and that has been 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:49.520 good for us. But we're also maintaining both lots and 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:53.200 doing our best to keep the trash to a minimum 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:56.120 UM to make sure that we're not carrying up the 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:58.480 ground as much as we can, though it's hard with 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:02.160 all this rain UH, and and just do our best 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.000 to be good neighbors UM. And I think that has 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:19.360 helped us a lot. In recent years, lower class Columbus 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:23.280 area residents lost twenty thousand units of housing due to 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:28.440 unaffordable spiking rent prices. An annual Point in Time tally 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:32.240 this year organized by the Community Shelter Board, found the 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:35.800 number of homeless people in official Columbus and Franklin County 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:39.880 emergency shelters increased by more than two hundred people since 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:44.160 one and online data from the Shelter Board of a 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.280 nonprofit organization that receives funding from the City of Columbus 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:52.280 and other organizations indicates that as of March, there was 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.160 a seven percent drop in the rate of people exiting 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:58.880 their program and moving into stable housing as compared to 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:04.440 last year. Going from to a lot of times more 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:07.640 formalized shelters are not ideal for people to stay in. 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:11.760 There's many issues with the formalized shelters regarding the specific 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:14.320 rules of when you can get inside, how long you 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:17.720 can be inside, whether you're locked inside the building, what 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:21.080 stuff you can bring with you. At best, they are 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:25.199 challenging to navigate. At worst, they're simply hostile to people 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:29.200 looking for shelter. I asked Elizabeth what her take on 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:32.360 the homeless shelter situation is like in Columbus and the 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:36.199 ways their encampment is different from the more official shelters. 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:39.360 We have limited beds and then the beds that are 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:44.920 available are mostly under the governance of the shelter board, 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:48.840 and the shelter board wasn't too fond of us either. 0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:54.959 Weren't following all their rules, and there are a lot 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.040 of concerns about the way the shelters run. The people 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:02.120 that stay with us, the people that come through, they 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:08.760 feel safer here. Um, there's considerably less drug use. There's 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:11.600 basically no distribution. We try to keep a handle on 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:14.480 that because it, you know, would bring problems to the 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:17.600 camp should it happen there. Um, we are a safe 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:21.199 use space. We do have harm reduction materials and they 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:24.080 know that, um, and we we do our best to 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:26.360 you know, just make sure that people have the care 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:29.480 and the safety that they need. And that is kind 0:11:29.520 --> 0:11:31.320 of a dirty word. While all of those are kind 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:38.640 of dirty words, and the shelter organizing community, I guess, um, 0:11:38.960 --> 0:11:43.640 care and and you know, making people comfortable, it's just 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:48.640 not really the goal. Next, I asked about what types 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:52.560 of connections the encampment and First Collective have been making 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:57.600 with various organizations for infrastructural support or daily needs, as 0:11:57.640 --> 0:12:00.760 well as enquiring about the relations the camp has with 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:05.280 the city government. Here is Elizabeth's response. We reached out 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:10.120 to the different you know, harm reduction groups, the different 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:17.080 house listeners groups, the the emergency action groups that uh, 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:21.440 different serve groups, and we just asked them to bring 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:24.240 what they could or to send people if they could, 0:12:24.360 --> 0:12:29.120 just you know, whatever they could spare. And and it's worked. Um. 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:33.240 People show up with whatever they have to offer. UM 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:36.760 from all over the city and and just from around 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:40.800 the corner, which has been wonderful. That the grassroots community 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.720 support is just blowing my mind. I thought they were 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:46.520 going to hate us, and here we are like making 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:49.880 friends with everybody. Our first goal is to make sure 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:53.720 that we've met people's needs as best we can. UM. 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:58.000 You know that that involves right now, UM keeping propane 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:01.160 on site so that they can some of the food 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:03.800 that's brought. UM. We get a lot of prepared meals, 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:06.600 but we also get a lot of ingredients, and there 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:09.600 are quite a few people here that cook and have 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:14.760 done pretty miraculous things with a couple of propane girls. UM. 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:18.160 We try and have meals prepared every day, but it 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:20.600 doesn't doesn't always work out, and sometimes we fill the 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:25.600 gaps with Little Caesar's or or something else. UM. Whatever, 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:28.280 whatever it can be scraunged up at the last minute. 0:13:29.440 --> 0:13:32.600 Some of our biggest allies so far have been UM 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:37.240 the local food not bombs UH. They have been wonderful, 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:42.480 as well as some different church groups that that run 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:46.640 nonprofits like Community Kitchen. We get our meals provided six 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.760 days a week by church that's basically down the street 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:52.600 and around the corner. But as far as the city goes. 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:54.880 For the first couple of days, there were a lot 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:59.760 of roll by's, UM, a lot of city officials taking 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:03.320 pick sure's, no one really talking to us, but there 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:09.079 was clearly concern. It wasn't until a man who works 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:12.400 for the city and outreach under the Safety and Security Department, 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:17.520 Sean Stevenson, came out and talked to us UH that 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:20.960 we really started to see the possibilities of working with 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:23.720 the city and and so much as they let us. 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:29.400 He brought a city attorney, Steve Dunbar, and a gentleman 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:33.800 from the Mayor's office UM, Jason Jenkins by to talk 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:39.920 to our folks and they listened. They listened to the 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:42.600 people at the camp who explained to them why they 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:45.600 were here, explained to them why the resources that are 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:48.800 available didn't work for them. You know, it was a 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:54.800 it was a tearful conversation and since then they've largely 0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:58.160 left us alone. UM. We wish that they would provide 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:00.600 some of the resources that they talked about, like a 0:15:00.640 --> 0:15:04.160 couple of porta potties and a dumpster. But you know, 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:07.320 we we do our best with their composting toilet and 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:12.600 the good grace of some very kind neighbors. Police raids 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:16.200 and sweeps are always an existential fear for those living 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:20.040 in di y encampments. Here's what Elizabeth had to say 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:25.640 about sweeps and police interactions. What we've been told is 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:29.400 that they are They've been told to leave us alone. 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:32.360 We've heard this from the cops themselves. We've heard this 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.240 from people who have talked to them. Um. But the 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:38.560 precinct that is in this area has been told not 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:42.160 to mess with us unless there is a violent conflict. 0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:46.720 The thing to do cops stuff at. There are a 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.280 lot of sweeps that have been threatened around the city 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:55.280 of different camps. Um. They've received notice or notice of notice, 0:15:55.400 --> 0:15:57.800 so they don't know exactly when, but it's supposed to 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:02.720 happen sometime. UM. But as far as we're concerned, we 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:07.080 haven't really had that problem. UM. Cops have come through. 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:10.160 There are a couple of times when they've been called 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:16.080 by by people disgruntled residents or um by neighbors, but 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.720 for the most part, Kay talked to us and then 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:23.760 they leave. We we do our best as volunteers to 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:29.120 get between the police and other other groups that come out, UM, 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:31.800 even even the outreach groups that we know are are 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:35.560 here to help, just because those interactions can can quickly 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:39.920 get volatile, if you know, if people aren't sure about 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:45.160 other people's intentions. So I would say that one of 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:47.640 the best interactions I've had with the cops is they 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:50.360 did come through here once and talk to a few folks, 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:56.160 and a sergeant from the police department said, UM roughly 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:59.760 that they couldn't make us leave because this was city 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:01.720 land end and they didn't have anywhere else to send us. 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:08.280 So okay, I'll take it. I've got the dr assaultation. 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:12.560 Elizabeth does hope that one day the relations between the 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:16.560 church that first collective was previously operating out of could 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:20.320 be mended and once again work to utilize the space 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:24.080 to serve the wider community. She also discussed the possibility 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:27.400 of moving into vacant buildings and hoping to restore them 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:31.240 while also having a place to provide more stable housing. 0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:35.680 So where the church is concerned, UM, I haven't given 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:39.159 a prope we we aren't in the building now. I 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:44.440 don't have a key, but I got a church every Sunday. Um. 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:46.840 I'm not I'm not a Christian. I don't believe in God, 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:51.000 but I do like the messages that I get there, 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:55.760 and I I want to continue to use this really 0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:58.520 wonderful building as a part of the community. You know. 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:02.080 It's there are a lot of goals that that we 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:05.480 as a camp have and some of them include the 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:07.639 church and we we'd love to get back into that 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:12.960 space and fix the two bathrooms in the basement that 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:17.720 are just sitting there, build some showers, laundry facilities, a 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:21.600 free store, kitchen. Uh, There's there's so much that we 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:24.440 could do if we could utilize that building in addition 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:29.199 to the the infrastructure that we have here. Um. But 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:34.560 when it comes to to building something more, we're currently 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:37.479 working on a proposal for the city for some of 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:42.520 the relief funds that have been received but not dispersed 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:49.280 with the goals of ideally building little cabins on platforms 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:51.840 on the lot that we're on now, just to start 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:54.879 to get people out of tents, to start meeting some 0:18:54.960 --> 0:18:59.480 of the code requirements to improve the sanitary and living conditions, 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:02.280 and then from there we'll ask them to give us 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:05.600 a building to restore. There's a lot of really skilled 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:08.719 people out here and they want to work, and they 0:19:08.720 --> 0:19:11.359 want to work on all of these old buildings that 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:14.000 have been allowed to fall apart all over the city. 0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:18.200 There are so many rooms available, there's so many units 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:20.040 that they could work on that they could live in, 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:22.800 and I think that's what they want to do, So 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:24.119 that's what we're going to try and help them do. 0:19:24.720 --> 0:19:28.080 The camp functions under a sort of direct democracy with 0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:32.640 residents and first collective volunteers, some of whom are also residents, 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:37.080 hold regular community meetings where camp occupants vote to make 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:42.040 decisions about camp guidelines. There has been a couple instances 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:47.080 of violence, UM, a couple particularly scary moments that we 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:50.280 had to try and de escalate, And there's sometimes that 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.720 we didn't handle things as best we could UM, but 0:19:55.440 --> 0:20:00.199 we we try and we tried to talk through the 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:03.320 way that the way that it goes down with the 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:07.719 residents among the volunteers. UM. We try to be transparent 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:10.359 about you know, why why we make some of the 0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:13.560 decisions that we do, and for the most part, we 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.240 leave it to the community. UM. There have been some 0:20:16.280 --> 0:20:22.160 really great community meetings go so long. UM, but they 0:20:22.200 --> 0:20:25.640 talk about everything they talk about, you know, shared concerns 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:30.400 about safety, concerns about how they want to live together 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:35.960 and what would make them feel safer, and established guidelines 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:42.920 and occasionally vote to remove people. Though UM we've managed 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:46.080 to resolve some of those conflicts before they went that far. 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:50.600 I initially talked with Elizabeth in May two, but I 0:20:50.640 --> 0:20:52.359 was able to catch up with her a few weeks 0:20:52.400 --> 0:20:56.600 ago to hear about what's been going on the past month. UM. 0:20:56.640 --> 0:20:58.199 I just wanted to kind of fill you in on 0:20:58.240 --> 0:21:01.119 what we've been up to over the past month or so. 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:04.960 It's it's been busy. UM. We've been to a lot 0:21:05.000 --> 0:21:08.560 of area Commission meetings for the different areas of the 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:14.159 city to try and make some allies and talk to 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:18.520 people about what we think is a solution to a 0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:20.920 problem they don't know how to solve. I to get 0:21:20.960 --> 0:21:25.320 some unwanted attention, a local station Tom TB came through 0:21:25.359 --> 0:21:27.880 with a bit of an agenda right now. The City 0:21:27.880 --> 0:21:30.000 of Columbus has a problem, and it has to do 0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:33.679 with homelessness. A camp set up on city property along 0:21:33.680 --> 0:21:35.840 East Mound Street in the middle of the Near East 0:21:35.880 --> 0:21:39.320 Side neighborhood, is raising questions tonight about whether the twenty 0:21:39.359 --> 0:21:42.320 people who live there should be allowed to, say, are 0:21:42.359 --> 0:21:44.920 forced to go to Kevin Landers has been working the 0:21:45.040 --> 0:21:47.399 story all day. Today he went to the camp and 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:50.360 spoke to those who lived there and got answers from 0:21:50.440 --> 0:21:53.359 city leaders about addressing concerns from neighbors who say that 0:21:53.440 --> 0:21:57.680 camp it's got to go. This on housing community is 0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:00.880 located on East Mound Street. The people who live here, 0:22:00.920 --> 0:22:04.600 the city says, are technically trespassing. The city says they're 0:22:04.600 --> 0:22:07.320 going to let them stay here until they can find housing, 0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:10.800 but not everybody wants them here. They wanted to talk 0:22:10.880 --> 0:22:16.920 specifically about our sanitation situation and nothing else. Um. I 0:22:17.040 --> 0:22:19.119 told them we've been waiting on the city since abol 0:22:19.200 --> 0:22:23.719 fifteen for the dumpster the port of John's if they 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:26.720 had offered, but um they were still looking into it. 0:22:26.840 --> 0:22:29.840 So we took it into our own hands. All that attention, 0:22:29.960 --> 0:22:33.920 we needed to do something, So we contracted a port 0:22:33.920 --> 0:22:37.840 of john Company who is currently donating to Port of 0:22:37.920 --> 0:22:42.800 John's and servicing it once a week. UM, which is great. Uh. 0:22:42.840 --> 0:22:46.000 We had a compost toilet before and this is so 0:22:46.119 --> 0:22:49.560 much better. Um. And we went out of pocket to 0:22:49.880 --> 0:22:53.159 pay the trash service, so we're getting our own trash service. 0:22:53.280 --> 0:22:56.880 Trash service now once a week. UM. It's not quite enough, 0:22:56.920 --> 0:23:00.280 but it certainly helps. You see code enforcement go by 0:23:00.320 --> 0:23:04.520 all the time. UM, they've been driving by. I've seen 0:23:04.560 --> 0:23:07.480 them at least five or six times today. People are 0:23:07.560 --> 0:23:10.960 waiting for something that they can latch onto. But so far, 0:23:11.040 --> 0:23:24.920 so good. With Columbus facing one hundred degree heat waves, 0:23:25.440 --> 0:23:28.560 what started as a warming station in winter now serves 0:23:28.600 --> 0:23:31.560 as a cooling station this summer for its few dozen 0:23:31.600 --> 0:23:36.119 residents as gears shift and new seasonal materials are required. 0:23:36.480 --> 0:23:39.520 The camp has been exploring alternative methods of funding to 0:23:39.560 --> 0:23:42.840 sustain the level of resources and services they've been able 0:23:42.880 --> 0:23:45.879 to provide the past few months. We did launch a 0:23:45.880 --> 0:23:49.520 go fund me and we've had pretty good looks so far. 0:23:49.680 --> 0:23:55.199 We've raised seven thousand, five UM. This is just for 0:23:55.520 --> 0:23:58.639 operating funds. UM. There's a lot that we would like 0:23:58.720 --> 0:24:00.800 to do here, a lot we'd like to do with 0:24:00.840 --> 0:24:05.240 the land, but for now we just need We're just 0:24:05.320 --> 0:24:09.199 fundraising to keep going. The camp still serves around twenty 0:24:09.240 --> 0:24:12.720 five people, so resources end up getting distributed across a 0:24:12.800 --> 0:24:16.439 large collection of individuals. All the donations received have been 0:24:16.520 --> 0:24:19.919 used to provide necessities to survive, including but not limited to, 0:24:20.359 --> 0:24:27.240 shelters like tents, food, water, medical supplies, bedding, clothes, bus passes, 0:24:27.359 --> 0:24:32.359 medical services and prescriptions, hard production supplies, funds for individuals 0:24:32.400 --> 0:24:35.720 immediate needs, and assistance to pay with residents phone bills. 0:24:36.520 --> 0:24:39.760 Sometimes funds are also used to compensate residents for extra 0:24:39.840 --> 0:24:43.960 labor put towards maintaining the camp, like cleaning up the campsite, 0:24:44.040 --> 0:24:48.480 cutting up firewood, and providing extra services like haircuts. The 0:24:48.600 --> 0:24:51.159 response has been really good. I think people understand what 0:24:51.160 --> 0:24:54.600 we're trying to do and are are being really receptive 0:24:54.640 --> 0:24:58.680 to do it. Um I can't say the same about 0:24:58.680 --> 0:25:02.800 the city though. Uh. We met with Councilwoman shale A 0:25:02.880 --> 0:25:06.760 Favor from the city on Monday and presented a proposal. 0:25:09.040 --> 0:25:14.320 We asked for eighty five dollars over the next six 0:25:14.359 --> 0:25:19.919 months to continue operation, to pay a small salary to 0:25:20.040 --> 0:25:24.360 the three volunteers that are here all the time. Um 0:25:24.400 --> 0:25:28.880 for healthcare for a small stipend to give to each 0:25:28.920 --> 0:25:34.119 resident of the camp every every week, UM additional operating funds. 0:25:34.200 --> 0:25:39.160 Just we came to them with this ask and they 0:25:41.000 --> 0:25:44.240 didn't really seem to get it UM, so we're gonna 0:25:44.320 --> 0:25:48.840 keep trying. They UM, they felt like they can't really 0:25:48.920 --> 0:25:53.159 support a tent city in their minds, like they couldn't 0:25:53.160 --> 0:25:58.160 give money to support people who were residing in tense 0:25:58.280 --> 0:26:02.879