The Bay Area city of Vallejo is putting California cities’ newfound power to clear homeless encampments to the test.
A federal judge last month stopped the city from dismantling the makeshift shelter of 64-year-old Evelyn Alfred, which she erected nearly two years ago on an empty strip of land next to a residential neighborhood. The ruling proves that, even as more cities in California crack down on encampments with sweeps and criminal charges, there are pathways open for unhoused people to fight back.
“I think now what this shows is that there is hope,” said Andrea Henson, an attorney who represents Alfred and also leads the Berkeley-based nonprofit aid organization Where Do We Go?…