The Weekly Wrap: Homeless Sweeps Are Still Destroying Peoples’ Belongings

Welcome back to The Weekly Wrap, our Friday roundup of stories that explain the problems oppressing people in cities and elevate the solutions that bring us closer to economic, environmental and social justice.

Also… registration is open for this year’s Solutions Fest, a virtual event series to recognize the most promising solutions we’ve reported on this year and those that we hope to see expand in the year to come. Register here to donate for the full series bundle — or sign up for the individual webinars you’re most interested in at this link.

Homeless Sweeps Destroying Belongings Across the Country

ProPublica spoke to homeless people across the country about items that were confiscated, thrown out or destroyed during sweeps of homeless encampments. The list includes not just survival gear like tents and blankets, but prescription medication, work clothes and ID, phones, scooters, electric wheelchairs, breast pumps, prosthetic limbs, oxygen tanks, Narcan, tampons, eyeglasses, CPAP machines, blood sugar monitors, eyeglasses, family photos, and more. In New York City, a lawsuit filed by six homeless New Yorkers and the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project alleges that the city has repeatedly swept encampments and thrown away property in violation of city policy that requires that peoples’ belongings be stored for 90 days.

Israel Bans United Nations Agency

Israel’s parliament passed two bills banning the United Nations’ main relief agency for Palestinians in the occupied territories, imperiling the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Gaza residents are already dying from starvation and disease as a result of Israel’s campaign of forced starvation and famine. The agency was set up in 1949 to aid Palestinian refugees, only a year after 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from what is now Israel during the Nakba. Israel has killed over 100 UNRWA employees in the past year, during what a consensus of scholars of genocide have agreed is a genocide.

Also, more than 1,000 authors, including Sally Rooney and Arundhati Roy, signed onto a cultural boycott of literary institutions that are complicit with Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Rent Control is On the Ballot in California

Mother Jones reports that Costa-Hawkins, a 1995 California law that bans local rent control laws for condos and new multifamily apartment construction, makes it difficult for disabled and aging people to find accessible, affordable housing. Because construction costs can sometimes be higher for accessible homes, rent control laws could potentially prevent these costs from being passed to renters. A measure on California’s November ballot, Proposition 33, would end Costa-Hawkins, and a bill in San Francisco’s city council intends to expand rent control if both measures pass.

Insurers Get Rich off Climate Disaster

According to Reckon, insurers are making a larger profit off of climate disasters despite the increase in insurance claims. Revenue in the “property and casualty” insurance sector reached $85.2 billion in 2023, double what it was in the previous year. This is because insurance premiums have increased while coverage has gotten skimpier. The companies lobby the government to keep these practices legal. The outlet provided a list of insurance companies’ political contributions and lobbying expenditures since 1990 and 1998, respectively.

Queer Mutual Aid Collective Aids North Carolina Residents Before FEMA

Them reports on the trans mutual aid group the Pansy Collective, which raised funds and delivered items in North Carolina before FEMA could reach the area. According to Them, the collective delivered six truckloads of goods, including food, water, cleaning supplies, gas, batteries and hygiene products to remote areas that residents were unable to evacuate. The Pansy Collective was formed in 2016 in response to the election of Donald Trump. It proceeded to organize “punk shows, workshops, and teach-ins on subjects like harm reduction and understanding RICO,” in addition to organizing mutual aid.

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Curated by Deonna Anderson

MORE NEWS

• New Orleans might create a virtual power plant, which would allow the city “to tap into a new networked back-up energy source when emergencies strain the traditional grid.” Axios

• Florida encampment ban worsens Hurricane Milton’s impact on houseless population. Prism

• New York’s Department of Health delays law to curtail surprise medical bills following provider backlash. Crain’s New York

• Millions of Americans who are eligible for welfare programs still don’t receive all the benefits they are entitled to because… paperwork. Vox

• Phoenix cool pavement study shows technology tradeoffs. Smart Cities Dive

• Los Angeles is finally getting a rail connection to LAX. LA Times

RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES

• Vital Village is accepting applications for its Community Food Systems Fellowship, an 18-month leadership program that aims to increase opportunities for diverse local food system leaders to build their skills, capacity, and networks through a series of community design labs on participatory engagement and human-centered design approaches, monthly learning sessions with other food systems leaders, and individualized technical assistance. The deadline is Nov. 8 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Access the app here.

• Applications for the Loeb Fellowship are open. The program is aimed at mid-career urban designers, public artists, developers, journalists, civic leaders, architects, landscape architects, urban planners, policymakers, and community development leaders whose work focuses on improving the built and natural environment. The deadline is Jan. 6, 2025. Learn more and apply here.

EVENTS

• Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. Eastern: PolicyLink is hosting a pre-election webinar with its CEO Michael McAfee and President Ashleigh Gardere. “We invite you to gather with us ahead of the election to ground in our purpose to be the founders of a nation where all can thrive,” the organization notes. Register here.

• Nov. 6 at 12 p.m. Eastern: The Embodiment Institute is holding a virtual space to help people stay connected to their body and purpose after the election season. Register here.

• Nov. 15 at 12 p.m. Eastern: Funders Together and the Fund for Housing and Opportunity are hosting a conversation about advancing housing justice with a new administration. Register here.

• Nov. 20 at 1:30 p.m.: Urban Insitute is hosting a conversation about what it takes to thrive in the U.S. today. Read about the speakers and register for the conversation here.