Fighting City Hall

Michael Withey has been fighting City Hall for the past two years. He has a job and a place to live, but he was one of the people sleeping on the sidewalk at City Hall from late November, 2011, soon after the Occupy encampment was evicted, until September 4, 2013 when he reached a turning point.

“When we were kicked out of the camps, some of us went home to our warm apartments, but the unhoused people who had been there with us were left in the cold and rain. The churches came forward and said, ‘We will give you our parking lots for your cars and tents. We will provide warming centers and bring casseroles. We’ll help.’

“But the city government told the churches they couldn’t use their own facilities to take care of homeless people. So some people ended up camping out at City Hall in protest, and I decided to join them. I thought if we protested long enough, City Hall would let the churches help homeless people. I was told to go through proper channels, to work with what I call the ‘Homeless Industry.’ They make their living by providing services to homeless people, while most of their money goes to their salaries and ‘administrative costs.’ I made my pitch, and I was just ignored. They thanked me and went on to the next item. Right then I saw that many so-called advocates for the homeless were cooperating with the power structure to maintain the status quo.”

At that point Withey and others who were sleeping on the sidewalk began crafting a plan of their own. They call it the Six Point Plan to End Homelessness. Withy says all six points are proven strategies that have worked, in places like Haiti and New Orleans, to provide safe and affordable housing for unhoused people. He has worked with Habitat for Humanity, and he was part of the volunteer force that rebuilt New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He explains, “I didn’t make any of this up. The Six Point Plan is a grassroots solution based on many people’s ideas. I’m just a spokesperson for that plan.” So Withey decided that once he presented the plan to the city, he would end his camping protest.

The full Six Point Plan is developed and explained fully on a Facebook page called “Six Point Plan to End Homelessness.” The six points include Eco-villages, AmeriCorps relief camps, rest stations, re-purposing of existing buildings, and making leased and existing campgrounds legitimate. Withey presented that Six Point Plan to the Mayor and City Council, and they invited him to join a new committee. He’s waiting to see if that’s just a way they think they can shut him up, or if it’s a committee that has some authority and power to implement the plan.

One more event contributed to Withey’s decision to quit his camping protest. Recently the sidewalk in front of City Hall was re-zoned, and the protest moved across the street, to Terry Schrunk Plaza. Withey says that since that move, a number of drug-users have joined the encampment, seeing it less as a protest than as a place to party. On September 2, two women from that group attacked and beat him. He describes what happened:

“It was around 4 a.m. I was tired. I had the appointment to talk at the big meeting on September 4, and I wanted to get some sleep. There was a party going on, and the noise was keeping everybody awake. I went over and asked them to keep down the noise, and these two young women came after me and started punching me. I fell backwards, and while I was down they started kicking me in the head. I was able to get away from them and call the police. They arrested one of the girls, and the other one is still camping out at Terry Schrunk Park.

“The attack on me is not the reason I quit the camping protest. I’d already planned to leave after I made my presentation on September 4th. The assault did help me to decide I didn’t want to participate in what they are calling a protest at Schrunk Plaza. About one out of ten homeless people are drunken, drug-numbed assholes, and they’re the ones who always get the publicity. Nine out of ten are good people, helping each other out, forming street families, living in peace, but they don’t make it into the papers. Nine out of ten are not looking for attention; they’re just trying to live their lives. Those are the ones we’re trying to help.”

Note: Sadly it was full sun and I accidentally left the ISO at 800, so sorry for the thin range of tones. You know I am kicking myself. Other than that, I am happy to report that I am leaving early in the morning to go to the ocean for four days to stay with a friend and her family in the little town of Yachats. I won't have regular access to wifi, and I won't have time to comment. I may post some pictures of the gorgeous Oregon coast from a coffee house. I will leave comments on with this picture, as apparently people like to read each other's comments even when I can't join in, so carry on if you like. If I post from the coast, I'll turn comments off.