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The Village in Oakland

The Village in Oakland

Grassroots & volunteer-run by unhoused, housing insecure and formally unhoused folks

  • About
    • About the Village
    • Reframing homelessness
    • Our Community
    • Core Team
    • Funders & Supporters
  • Our Work
    • Direct Services
    • Education
    • Policy Advocacy
      • Policy Advocacy
      • Policy Reports We Have Worked On
    • Media Advocacy
      • About Word On The Curb
      • Word On The Curb
    • Cardboard and Concrete Collective
      • About the Collective
      • Meet the Cardboard & Concrete Artists
      • What We Believe
      • Preview of Our Artistic Alchemy
      • Tarpestries
      • Past Events
  • Resources
  • Media
    • News
    • Past Events
    • Word On The Curb
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Reframing homelessness

When we consider that homelessness was foundational to the creation of the United States with the colonization, displacement and attempted erasure of the Native Americans, then we have an understanding that homelessness is part of this country’s design. 

We do not believe homelessness is a crime.

We believe homelessness is a by-product of a criminal society that seeks to commodify even the most basic human needs for money – a society that would blindly allow people to suffer to make profits. We believe homelessness is also an intended by-product that psychologically pushes people to remain/participate in the capitalistic grind so that they do not “end up homeless.”

We believe housing is a human right.

We believe that our society has completely devolved from this inherent truth and treats housing as a product for those who can afford it. We believe that there is enough empty housing stock to end homelessness today. Unfortunately that housing is unaccessible to those who need it due to the high cost of housing.

We believe that no matter what the issues, the communities most impacted will have the best interventions and solutions to the issues at hand.

This goes for the unhoused and housing insecure. We center the voices and lived experienced of those most impacted to inform all our services, programs, campaigns and advocacy. 

We believe the only solution to homelessnesss is permanent housing.

And the only solution to permanent housing inperpetuity is to invest in and create non-capitalistic cooperative home ownership models and land trusts. 

Copyright © 2022