Homeless camp poses 'clear and present danger' to BHS: Op-ed
"Unhoused people deserve to be treated with dignity and care, and children deserve to be safe," the authors say: Both are true.
Editor's Note: The Scanner will periodically publish guest essays from community members on issues of concern. Today's piece was submitted by Rebecca Levenson and Diana Gordon, co-chairs of the Gender Equity and Sexual Harassment Advisory Committee for BUSD.
The Civic Center homeless encampment across from Berkeley High School is a study in balancing the needs of our citizens, and calls for our leaders to prioritize — fast.
Unhoused people deserve to be treated with dignity and care, and children deserve to be safe when they go to school.
At the heart of this dilemma is the struggle to balance the needs of vulnerable individuals with the safety, security and educational environment of students.
Homeless encampments give rise to very bad behavior. While many innocent people live in encampments, we have witnessed actions in this encampment that pose a clear and present danger to students and faculty.
The list is long:
- Sexual battery of a student during the school day (by a perpetrator who has a long history of public masturbation, most recently showing his penis to a security officer at Berkeley High School in January)
- While Berkeley police arrested this person, the judge only required him to stay 100 yards away from BHS
- A BHS safety officer was bitten by a dog owned by an encampment resident, who set his tent on BHS grounds. When the officer tried to move the tent he was bitten, injured and unable to work for weeks.
- Unhoused adults wandering through the BHS campus
- Regular screaming of the N-word and other mental health outbursts are overwhelming
- Rampant catcalling and harassment of students
Emilie Raguso
At our recent school board meeting (see minute 47), students asked the board to pressure the city to close the encampment.
As adults, we should be capable of holding two truths.
First, we care about the unhoused, and want them to receive the services they need and deserve.
Second, our elected officials are responsible for the safety of our children in a public school.
These two truths conflict with each other, and they will continue to be in conflict because we cannot control the behavior in a homeless encampment.
The homeless encampment outside Berkeley High as of Tuesday, Feb. 18. Scanner Insider
Tolerance is a Berkeley value, and part of our community’s culture. However, sometimes we get so consumed with doing the right thing we fail to see the harsh realities right in front of us.
We cannot tolerate encampments next to public schools.
"As adults, we should be capable of holding two truths."
So let's look for solutions.
Berkeley is currently in the process of moving the unhoused population at Sixth and Harrison streets.
The city has allocated resources to move this unsheltered population with a housing-first approach.
While that encampment is unsettling to businesses in the area, it does not pose an omnipresent danger to children.
We implore city officials to reallocate resources to close the Civic Center Park encampment.
Nearly 4,000 students (Berkeley High School and Washington Elementary) are directly impacted by this enormous and growing security threat.
Berkeley has a moral and social imperative to care for our city’s children. Leaving this homeless encampment intact next to a school is a dangerous liability nightmare. Frankly, it is a dereliction of duty.
The city has weighed the needs and desires of our unhoused population against the needs of our children and to date, has chosen the unhoused population over our children. We implore them to choose kids first.
Sincerely yours,
Rebecca Levenson, MA
Diana Gordon, Psy.D.
Co-chairs, BUSD Gender Equity and Sexual Harassment Advisory Committee
Editor's Note: The Scanner will periodically publish guest essays from community members on issues of concern. Submit your guest essay ideas to TBS.
