Homeless people and supporters of the homeless joined in two demonstrations at Fresnoās City Hall on July 20 and 23. They demanded better alternatives to being on the streets.
On July 20, homeless activist Dez Martinez set up a tent on the lawn in front of City Hall and invited other activists to come through. She then put out a general call via Internet messaging for more people to come by and set up tents on July 23.
On that second day, only a couple of tents went up but around 25 supporters came. They spoke with each other and listened to presentations.
One of the activists at City Hall was Gordie Ochinero-Bermudez, who recently got media attention for doing a 450-mile bike ride to raise money for porta-potties for Fresnoās homeless. Ochinero was herself homeless for a time, and she has had mental health issues. She thinks mental illness is common among homeless people and should be treated. In fact, she thinks this is key.
āThereās a core to the problem, and itās not addiction, itās not homelessness, itās mental health,ā Ochinero said. āWe have to go to that core.
āYou can put them in shelters all day long, but youāre not going to be successful unless you have help there and support and resources and an AA meeting, a therapist. Somebody who can go in there and say, āHey, do you take medication? Do you have a dog? Hey, let us get your dog in a shelter.ā Like doing the things that are going to help them emotionally, mentally.
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“[Some] homeless people are bipolar, have ADHD, and we suffer [a lot from] mental illnesses. Weāre intense. And itās really hard to listen to us because a lot of times, it takes us a minute to get to the right story.
āI think what theyāre doing is theyāre trying to help us in a way that doesnāt reach us because we are so intense. And we do have extreme situations and circumstances that have happened. You canāt come to us with just your education.ā
Ochinero believes people who have experienced homelessness can help other homeless people, reaching out to them, knowing their situation first-hand.
Madison Allen is living at a motel converted to rooms for the homeless, thanks to an intervention by Martinez. He regularly speaks at events she organizes.
In an interview, Allen shared his thoughts about the challenges of being homeless: āYou know, people have a tendency to think that being homeless is fine or something. Thatās not at all true. Being homeless is very dangerous.
āThereās been a hatred for the homeless for a long time, starting with the higher-ups, you know. Itās easy to take an ink pen and write [the homeless] off.
āNow you got to watch the police. They are going to come around with a garbage truck, pick up your little belongings.
āBeing homeless is not just a place where youāre hated. Youāre sleeping with one eye open at all times. When youāre not watching people around you, you donāt know who might hit you on your head out here.
āIf that doesnāt get you, the weather might right now. Some people, older people, are getting heat stroke. The death toll is steady, rising all over California.ā