Since the eviction at Growing Hope Marketplace Hall on Wednesday August 23, 2023, Shelter Now has grown from an impromptu coalition of community members and organizations to a force to be reckoned with. Over the past two months, the group has organized a Week of Action targeting Ypsilanti government entities, hosted two public ‘People’s Meetings’ to discuss demands and conditions, and has distributed propaganda online and in the street. We have grown with every mobilization.
Sunday, October 29, the group hosted a community barbecue to bring people together, share a meal and build community, all while challenging property relations. The action started with people congregating at 10 S Prospect, a property that’s sat vacant for several years. We did brief introductions, talked about our three demands and why we were at the property. We had music playing and food served as per usual Washtenaw Camp Outreach BBQ. About 50 people attended, including houseless folks, CPUSA members, people from the MANY, and other unaffiliated leftists and community members.
Why 10 S. Prospect?
Besides the building having sat empty for years, 10 S Prospect is zoned already to be a homeless shelter, is on a bus line, and is walking distance from both downtown Ypsilanti and the Washtenaw County Human Services Center. It is listed for 300K, which is a drop in the bucket of the landlords’ egregious profits and the County’s coffers.
When met with our demands to
- Create and fund a dignified 24/7 shelter in Ypsilanti before spring 2024
- Open a temporary shelter immediately. Fund and do not interfere with unofficial and temporary shelter spaces. End street sweeps and camp sweeps, and
- Ensure that the houseless and housing-insecure communities have decision-making and veto power in all Ypsilanti shelter spaces, and in their creation,
Washtenaw County and Ypsi City plead “no time” or “no money.” Yet, last month, all but one County Commissioner approved an extra $500K for the sheriff, who already has $6M in surplus funds — on top of the yearly $2M budget.
Pigs on the Grill
We were there for about an hour before the owner (Adam Tasselmyer, who also owns the dispensary Herbal Solutions) rolled up for a showing of the property at 5pm. He called the cops on us so we moved to the parking lot right next to it which has a different, unknown owner. Two cops showed up and talked with the owner but essentially left us alone since we had moved next door. Shelter Now heckled the landlord-cop trifecta, chanting “When our neighborhood is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” That’s exactly what we did, and did again two weeks later. Shelter Now escalated this action on November 12 with another BBQ occupation at 206 N Huron St, owned by slumlord Ian Greenlee and managed by slumlord Stewart Beal.
Heating it up
The community marched from Solidarity Hall to 206 N Huron St. We hung up our Shelter Now banner, tacked up our demands, and covered the empty building with “wanted” signs with Beal’s face on it while the grills warmed up. With over 50 people eating, dancing, and socializing on the property, for the afternoon we reclaimed it as our own. When the sun was beginning to set, some started to clean up, and others started line dances in the yard. By then, slumlord Greenlee had called the cops and they attempted to order a dispersal. Facing threats of physical removal and arrest, Shelter Now continued occupying the property — through dance, completing the “wobble” and a karaoke rendition of “When I See You” by Fantasia.
On our own time, we marched home, through the street, hold- ing the Shelter Now banner, continuing to dance, sing and shout: SHELTER NOW!
If you would like to receive text notifications of our next demonstration, visit: www.ypsishelternow.com
Originally published in:
Carnes Asadas Comunitarias en un Lote Vacío, el Propietario llama a la Policía