Punishing the victims of the housing crisis

It’s hard to imagine making the homeless more homeless. Yet, that’s exactly what Mayor Malik Evans did on December 20, 2024.

The frigid temperature was plunging as RPD conducted a sweep of an encampment near Interstate 490 on the mayor’s orders. Blankets, clothes, tents—things people need just to survive—were stripped away from some of our most vulnerable neighbors. The mayor’s office argues this brutal treatment was necessary, even merciful, because the weather posed a life-threatening risk to those living outside and because RPD offered to take these unhoused individuals to shelters. This argument collapses under the barest scrutiny.

First, going to a shelter is not an obvious solution. Putting aside Rochester’s inadequate shelter space, many unhoused neighbors have found them to be far more dangerous than the encampments the mayor destroyed. They have faced sexual harassment, physical assault, unsanitary conditions, and had their belongings stolen (albeit by someone who will potentially use them, unlike the RPD who will likely throw them away). This is if they can even get into a shelter, many of which have barriers that prevent them from being accessible, including mental or physical ailments. Additionally, there are no shelters in Rochester that provide accommodations for adult LGBTQ+ individuals, such as a gender affirming environment.

Given that shelters are an unsafe option, if they are an option at all, the RPD’s offer amounts to saying, “You have nowhere to go, but you can’t stay here.”

Second, if the mayor truly had good intentions, why did he not alert outreach organizations, such as Person Centered Housing Options, before he unleashed the RPD? People who are trained to assist the unhoused, many who already have relationships with these individuals, could have offered support and real options. Instead, the mayor’s actions ensured this ordeal would be an undeserved, unprovoked trauma for our houseless neighbors.

Some may still argue that encampments are not a solution to Rochester’s housing crisis. But the fact is, encampments are the safest option for some. Even if you adamantly oppose them, surely the solution is not to punish the people trying to survive the crisis the city has failed to address.

The mayor’s decision resulted in those with almost nothing having even less, and advocates scrambling to help those affected. He showed contempt for his constituents, both those he directly harmed and those he tried to mislead with specious arguments.

We must put a stop to all sweeps before these bully-policies put any more lives at risk.

Matthew James Seidel
Rochester Grants Pass Resistance, City-Wide Tenant Union, Rochester DSA