Advocates help Chinatown, petition and lawsuit for encampment sweeps underway

“I got a lot of food, clothes, socks, everything,” said Epifania Dunpit, who is homeless.

More than 20 churches and agencies set up shop for Chinatown’s homeless on Saturday.

“It’s different situations that brought them here and it can happen to any of us,” said Communities Working Together outreach coordinator Jose Soto.

Many homeless people walked away with anything from a pair of socks to words of encouragement.

“We, as a body, come together, and just blessing them in anyway that we can,” said Soto.

Soto says gatherings like this one, are a blessing for those living on the streets, as the fate of a city law to seize their property within a 24-hour notice is in limbo.

“El Nino is threatening to rage even harder as time goes on,” said Van Gresham with Justice for Salinas. “It’s important for these people to have something they can seek cover and shelter.”

The lawsuit has suspended enforcement of Chinatown sweeps and confiscation of their belongings until early March, when the case will be heard in court.

The civil suit is aimed at deciding if the city has the right to continue breaking up and clearing encampments.

“I think we need to put people first before we put any type of budget figure to a community,” said Salinas City Councilor Jose Castenada.

Castenada says now is the time for city leaders to look for long-term solutions.

“Services for housing, mental health services,” said Castenada. “We definitely have to come out here and look for some public buildings that are vacant and immediately provide this type of housing especially in the vacant lots.”

City officials say the homeless community in Chinatown is also in the process of forming a union, which will be the first of its kind in California.

A petition to suspend homeless sweeps in Salinas is circulating.