Image – included with the press release – of mural on the side of a building displaying the word Homefulness at the top, in orange and yellow graduated tones. Images of Indigenous people, Black people, and people of color are painted below the lettering, some shown speaking, some shown with drums, some shown with masks, some hold posters. One poster says ‘We Are Not Trash – Stop Sweeping Us.’ The other poster says ‘Land Back so Houseless Indigenous Peoples Can Build Homes.’
October 25, 2021 Press release, POOR Magazine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
A Homeless People’s Solution to Homelessness…
POOR MAGAZINE, a collective of Poor, Homeless, Indigenous, Black and Brown writers and activists, hit the road to share an innovative model to solving homelessness called Homefulness. Members of POOR Magazine will share their innovative “Homefulness Handbook,” accompanied by a series of writing/poetry workshops in encampments, community centers, schools and jails with other homeless and formerly homeless communities. Leading a tour on stolen land and hoarded resources, they share the template of Homefulness via storytelling and spoken word performance with fellow houseless and housed residents of so-called Bellingham, WA., Bend and Eugene, OR.
Materials that were responsive to a number of recent public records requests obtained from the City of Bellingham, and one request from Whatcom County, provide insights into notable communications strategies of existing City staff, the mayor’s office, and some City Council Members regarding many of the winter’s events related to homelessness. On some of these matters, communications were being coordinated between the City and County executive branches.
Based on information contained in those materials, an important question arises regarding future actions of folks newly stepping up to run, or those continuing on to serve their community in public office: will they take action to eliminate government approaches that view or portray individuals and community organizations serving people in crisis as adversaries?
[Editor’s note: all redactions in this chapter are provided by the editor in the interest of not providing specific names of private persons considered unnecessary to the integrity of this review.]
During the Bellingham City Council’s public comment period at their February 22, 2021 regular Council meeting, a community member read the demands that were current at that time, that had been posted on social media by Bellingham Occupied Protest Mutual Aid, also known as BOP Mutual Aid.
Click the graphic of a Riveters Collective Facebook post promoting and providing an option to donate to Eve Smason-Marcus’ grassroots campaign for Bellingham City Council position, Ward 6
October 13, 2021 Dena Jensen
With current Bellingham City Council Members fighting against putting People First, it’s more important than ever that we support people who have stepped up to run for those positions who are going to embrace giving communities in crisis a voice and providing solutions that keep them central in that process.
Click the graphic displaying text from the Riveters Collective Justice System Committee’s review about the BPD internal investigation of their officer’s handling of a traffic incident involving Lelo Juarez in 2015 to access that full review
September 30, 2021 Dena Jensen
Although I’m not currently working with Riveters Collective Justice System Committee, I am excited about their latest work.
Here’s the link to access their full review of Bellingham Police Department’s internal investigation regarding one of their officer’s handling of an incident involving 15 year old, Alfredo ‘Lelo’ Juarez, who ended up being detained at the Northwest Detention Center back in 2015 after being pulled over for a traffic stop: https://riveterscollective.org/2021/09/learn-why-we-believe-police-reform-is-necessary/
9/1/21: This project is a work in progress, will be updated daily until transcription of public comments is complete, and will include transcriptions of public comments from Bellingham City Council meetings before the Council started restricting their public comment periods to 15 minutes on March 22, 2021. The public comments transcribed will be for regular City Council meetings earlier this year, from January 11, 2021 through March 8, 2021.
So! I have some additional news about the ICE Enforcement & Removals Operations office in Ferndale. It’s been known that such Immigration and Customs Enforcement locations exist in our local communities but it is challenging to find out where they are. Community members learned about an address in Ferndale and showed up there today for a Dignity Vigil to say we want ICE OUT of our Whatcom County communities!
Materials that were responsive to a number of recent public records requests obtained from the City of Bellingham, and one request from Whatcom County, provide insights into notable communications strategies of existing City staff, the mayor’s office, and some City Council Members regarding many of the winter’s events related to homelessness. On some of these matters, communications were being coordinated between the City and County executive branches.
Based on information contained in those materials, an important question arises regarding future actions of folks newly stepping up to run, or those continuing on to serve their community in public office: will they take action to eliminate government approaches that view or portray individuals and community organizations serving people in crisis as adversaries?
By the time the December 7, 2020 Bellingham City Council meeting arrived last year, the protest calling for more homeless services known as 210 Camp or Camp 210, had been occupying the lawn at Bellingham City Hall for almost a month.
Materials that were responsive to a number of recent public records requests obtained from the City of Bellingham, and one request from Whatcom County, provide insights into notable communications strategies of existing City staff, the mayor’s office, and some City Council Members regarding many of the winter’s events related to homelessness. On some of these matters, communications were being coordinated between the City and County executive branches.
Based on information contained in those materials, an important question arises regarding future actions of folks newly stepping up to run, or those continuing on to serve their community in public office: will they take action to eliminate government approaches that view or portray individuals and community organizations serving people in crisis as adversaries?
Chapter One: The County Executive
July 14, 2021 Dena Jensen
After the unsheltered community members who had been camping at Bellingham City Hall were swept from the area known as Camp 210 on January 28, 2021, City of Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood and Bellingham Police Chief Flo Simon held a press conference that same day. They presented their points of view regarding their actions related to the militarized sweep of around 100 unsheltered individuals and their belongings. In his statement, Mayor Fleetwood asserted, “Our civic center was becoming the target of agitators far more intent on mayhem than working toward any social good.”
In May of this year, Whatcom County 2021 candidate filing yielded seven candidates running for a total of four Bellingham City Council seats. There are fourteen candidates vying to fill four County Council seats, along with five Port of Bellingham candidates to potentially fill two seats. Whether running unopposed, or facing challengers, each one of them has potential to generate public conversation and advance solutions for critical community issues.
At Bellingham City Council’s June 21, 2021 Committee of the Whole meeting, Council Members discussed the content of a memo prepared by the City’s Legislative Policy Analyst Mark Gardner. The memo provided them with information samples of boards and commissions that provide oversight of law enforcement in other small and medium-sized cities in the United States. The memo also noted, “A few larger cities are included for comparative purposes.”
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