Homeless Squat House, Seize City Council

Homeless Squat House, Seize City Council 

ed. note: November 1989 will long be remembered as a month of courageous action by local grassroots forces in the fight for affordable housing. After years of fruitless lobbying of City Hall, homeless people and housing activists took things into their own hands. Faced with a vacant house and homeless people on the streets - they seized the house and put people inside. Fed up with a City Council unwilling to make affordable housing a priority - they seized their chairs and filled them with people who would. On Nov. 13, about 50 homeless people and their supporters gathered in front of City Hall prepared to begin a HAC (Homeless Action Committee)-organized "Speak-Out" at that evening's City Council meeting. However Council learned of 'the H AC plan and moved their meeting elsewhere to avoid the protesters. That same evening HAC began its occupation of 337 S. Ashley, a vacant house scheduled to be torn down next year to make room for the proposed Kline's parking structure. On Nov. 20, at the next scheduled City Councilmeeting, HAC finally held its planned "SpeakOut." Over 100 people disrupted the meeting and Council members' chairs were occupied by the "People's Council."

The following three stories were filed as the events of the month unfolded.