Following the Chinatown Homeless Sweeps, A New Tent Community Thrives at Salinas City Hall
In the wake of the Chinatown homeless sweeps that displaced hundreds of people in downtown Salinas in March of this year, a small but thriving tent community has established itself at Salinas City Hall, where a group has been camping out every night for over four months. Salinas City Hall on the evening of July 30 On the evening of July 30, 20 tents were set up around the courtyard area of Salinas City Hall, and several people were sleeping out in various locations without tents. "You can call it a sort of silent protest," said Van Gresham as he sat reading near his tent, which was located on the walkway outside of the city council rotunda. "We're hoping they will give us a place to go," he said. Gresham, who is without fixed housing, is a member of the Monterey County Homeless Union, a coalition of unhoused and housed community members who are organizing the campouts at city hall. He is also the Editor of Voices of the Street/Voces de la Calle, a bilingua...