Alex Darocy Photography

Attendance increased at the 29th Freedom Sleepers community sleepout held at Santa Cruz City Hall on January 26, possibly due to the dry and somewhat mild evening's weather. The next sleepout is planned for Tuesday, February 2. Since July 4 of last year, group sleepouts have been held once a week at Santa Cruz City Hall to oppose local laws that criminalize homelessness and sleeping in public. Some of the demonstrators have their own homes to go to and some do not, and participants say the location continues to be the only safe place for people to sleep outdoors in downtown Santa Cruz on Tuesday nights.

The construction of the Occudome at Occupy Santa Cruz in 2011 represented a radical act of reclaiming public space, and the physical structure itself became an object of affection to many involved in the movement. I was looking through my archives and found this set of photos that document activities at the Occudome over the course of its lifespan. Most of these photos have never been published before. Early in November of 2011, members of Occupy Santa Cruz constructed a large, geodesic dome next to the steps of the Santa Cruz Court House, which was the location the group held their general assemblies every day for months. The structure served as a shelter space that was separate from the large Occupy encampment located steps away in the San Lorenzo Park Benchlands. It would soon be named, the "Occudome." Individuals use of the dome evolved everyday. Inside it were couches, a kitchenette, a tower heater, audio equipment and musical instruments, and information tables....

A small but dedicated group of "Freedom Sleepers" are facing all the conditions winter has to offer them as they continue to sleep outside of Santa Cruz City Hall on Tuesday nights. The rain stopped just before the beginning of the 28th community sleepout held on January 19, but the city hall area stayed wet all evening, as did some of the sleepers' possessions. Individuals, some with and some without houses of their own to stay in, have been coming together since July 4 for the sleepouts, which are organized to protest local laws that make homelessness and sleeping in public a crime. The City of Santa Cruz continues to take measures to prevent the sleepers from occupying the city hall courtyard and lawn area. The entire complex at city hall is closed to the public at night, and police have issued countless citations and arrested many during the course of the protests, in order to keep the area clear. Security guards were on duty all night at city hall on January 19, ...

Homeless individuals returned to sleep at Santa Cruz City Hall on January 5 for the twenty-sixth community sleepout. Facing intermittent downpours of rain, some slept in a large tent on the sidewalk in front of the city hall courtyard. Signs attached to the tent read, "No Sleep Til Justice." Some individuals successfully slept under the eaves of the city offices building itself, which is a no-trespassing zone at night. One person slept directly on city hall's brick walkway with out a blanket. Regardless of the sleep location, it is illegal to sleep in Santa Cruz anywhere in public between the hours of 11 pm and 8:30 am. Since July 4, community members, many of them calling themselves "Freedom Sleepers," have been organizing the sleepouts one night a week at City Hall to protest laws that criminalize homelessness and the simple act of sleeping.  Initially they attempted to sleep on the lawn in the courtyard area of city hall, which is also a no trespassin...

On January 2, community members in Watsonville picketed in front of the Mi Pueblo Food Center on Freedom Boulevard in support of the international boycott of Driscoll's Berries. The headquarters of Driscoll's Berries is located in Watsonville, and Mi Pueblo is a large chain supermarket that sells the brand. The action was organized by the Watsonville and Sacramento Brown Berets, who noted this was the first event organized for the Driscoll's boycott in Santa Cruz County. According to organizers of the international boycott, Driscoll's is the largest distributor of berries in the world and the company has a history of repressing union organizing. The boycott of Driscoll's has been initiated in response to the poor treatment of farmworkers who grow their berries in San Quintin, Mexico, as well as at Sakuma Bros. Berry Farm in Burlington, Washington. In 2013, workers at Sakuma organized an independent labor union named Familias unidas por la Justicia, or Famil...

Facing temperatures below the freezing mark, a small group of activists stayed the night for their twenty-fifth community sleepout at Santa Cruz City Hall on December 29. The next sleepout is planned for Tuesday, January 5. A street sweeper buzzes by homeless advocate Toby Nixon as he lays in front of Santa Cruz City Hall at 6 am on December 30 during the twenty-fifth community sleepout Since July 4, community members in Santa Cruz have been sleeping one night a week at Santa Cruz City Hall to protest laws that criminalize sleeping in public places. Their main focus has been on the repeal of the local sleeping/camping ban, which outlaws sleeping in public (with or without blankets) in the City of Santa Cruz between the hours of 11pm and 8:30am, in addition to prohibiting sleeping in cars. Individuals are also sleeping at city hall to encourage officials to open public parks to those looking for a safe place to sleep at night. The courtyard area of Santa Cruz City Hall, which is...

On December 8, community members in Santa Cruz joined together for their twenty-second sleepout at city hall. The sleepouts were initiated on July 4 by unhoused and housed community members to oppose laws that criminalize sleeping in public places within the city. Sunrise in front of Santa Cruz City Hall Over the course of the protests, the Santa Cruz Police Department and city staff have taken extreme measures to prevent people from entering and sleeping in the city hall complex at night. The area is marked "no trespassing" between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am. Police raids have been the norm for the majority of the sleepouts, with SCPD officers ticketing and sometimes arresting demonstrators for their participation. No one was arrested or cited at the December 8 sleepout, but a group of security guards stood watch over, and patrolled, the city hall courtyard all night long. Despite the heavy security presence, a small group of sleepers have made it through the night fo...