Humans inBetween Homes Dinner Party
Donation protected
HELP US GIVE THE HOMELESS (AND THEIR STORIES) A HOME FOR A DAY
(Facebook Event) (Omni Global Calendar Event )
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The lack of affordable housing is an issue that affects many people in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
With the cost of existing housing units rising exponentially, and no affordable housing units taking their place, more and more people are finding themselves in between places they call home.
WHAT WE ARE DOING
We want to provide for those who do not have this security in their lives, and we want to tell their stories and show housed society that people who are homeless are human beings like all of us.
Individuals who are in between homes do not have a space to sleep, stand, sit, or just be still in.
Without this stability, it is incredibly difficult to maintain other aspects of life.
WHO WE ARE
We are Ilana Sawyer and Heather Fairweather, and we are artists living in Firehouse Art Collective in Oakland, CA. There are 20 people total in our house, but we are very fortunate to have four walls to call our own and the relative security that we will have these rooms to come home to in the near future.
Ilana Sawyer works in the Civic Center area of San Francisco, where she meets many individuals living and sleeping on the streets. She talks to these people whenever she can, gives away any change she has on her, and, in her spare time, she interviews individuals living without homes in Oakland.
Housing rights and advocacy and are her passion. She used to write for Street Sheet, San Francisco's newspaper on homelessness, and volunteer for Homeless GoPro, another storytelling platform for individuals in between homes, but she is now more focused on direct action services to individuals on the street.
Heather Fairweather used to work at a coffee shop on Adeline St. in Berkeley, CA, where she would see many individuals in between homes huddled against buildings, pushing carts full of recycling up and down the street, and coming into the cafe for warmth. She would always give these people a hot cup of coffee and a smile, but she always felt that this wasn't enough.
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THE EVENT: PART 1:
The Dinner Party for the East Bay's Residents without Addresses
Omni Oakland Commons//4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland
DEC. 5TH, 2 -5 PM
Sheila, one of the residents of the encampment in West Oakland, CA.
We want to provide individuals without homes with a safe space to relax, eat a hot delicious and nutritious meal, receive some gifts for the holidays, enjoy ambient music, access resources, and rest or socialize-- for an afternoon.
The Omni Commons has generously allowed us to open their doors to these individuals for a dinner party on December 5th, from 2-5 PM.
We need to fund the cost of renting the space for the afternoon, as well as the cost of:
-food (in addition to what is donated)
-clothing
-hygiene supplies
for the attendees,
and
-a Christmas tree and festive lights to make the space more celebratory,
as well as miscellaneous costs of the event (printing costs for flyering a wide range of neighborhoods in Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryvile, serving tools for the food, etc.). We do promise that these costs will directly benefit the show. There is no 'overhead' with this event; the time and energy given by volunteers involved is generously donated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE EVENT: PART 2:
Humans In Between Homes Art Show
Omni Oakland Commons// 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, CA
DEC. 5TH, 7-10 PM
We are also curating an art show based on street outreach and interviews with individuals living in between permanent homes.
The hope of this event is to make real, raw, visceral, and visible to housed society the experiences and humanity of the people who sleep on the street or are in between permanent places they call home.
Each of these human beings deserves to be appreciated as an individual, with a unique past, present, and future.
The people featured in the art show will be Leon, Sheila, Oscar, June, Johnny, and other residents of the encampment in West Oakland, CA.
Leon in front of his house on the street, made from discarded objects
Oscar, resident of the encampment in West Oakland, and Sheila's husband
Sheila and her and Oscar's friend Johnny, who is deaf and cannot speak an oral language. The couple takes care of him with what little they have.
To incite empathy for these individuals, this exhibition will also feature:
-Artwork by artists in between homes, who created their work at the Community Arts Program of Hospitality House in San Francisco. (These artists will keep 100% of the proceeds from any artwork sold.)
-A debut screening of a documentary made from raw footage of conversations with individuals who lived in an encampment in the Albany Bulb of Albany, CA, and were forced to leave the property, and made homeless as a result
– A tiny house (one effective solution to homelessness) on display, courtesy of the Homeless Homes Project
- Narratives of Displacement: A live interactive map of evictions in San Francisco and Alameda County, courtesy of the SF Anti-Eviction Mapping Project, an affiliate of the SF Tenants’ Union
-other artwork displaying the humanity in homelessness
-Representatives from community resources on how YOU can help homeless individuals
We need to fund the cost of renting the space at the Omni for the evening as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This double-header event is not-for-profit, and is only for good. Any donations received that do not go to the costs of renting the space and providing food will go to BOSS (Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency), of Berkeley, CA, a non-profit organization that provides tangible resources and supportive guidance to individuals working to get off of the streets and making radical changes in their lives.
Our only motivation in making these events happen is to help people directly (by offering them food and safe space to spend time in) and indirectly, by working to change mainstream perceptions about humans who are in between homes.
Seeing the smiles of the attendees at the dinner party and the revelations and understanding of attendees at the art show will be its own reward.
Please give what you can so our event for the homeless can have a home.
Donations in any amount are greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your heart and your help in making this happen!
(Facebook Event) (Omni Global Calendar Event )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The lack of affordable housing is an issue that affects many people in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
With the cost of existing housing units rising exponentially, and no affordable housing units taking their place, more and more people are finding themselves in between places they call home.
WHAT WE ARE DOING
We want to provide for those who do not have this security in their lives, and we want to tell their stories and show housed society that people who are homeless are human beings like all of us.
Individuals who are in between homes do not have a space to sleep, stand, sit, or just be still in.
Without this stability, it is incredibly difficult to maintain other aspects of life.
WHO WE ARE
We are Ilana Sawyer and Heather Fairweather, and we are artists living in Firehouse Art Collective in Oakland, CA. There are 20 people total in our house, but we are very fortunate to have four walls to call our own and the relative security that we will have these rooms to come home to in the near future.
Ilana Sawyer works in the Civic Center area of San Francisco, where she meets many individuals living and sleeping on the streets. She talks to these people whenever she can, gives away any change she has on her, and, in her spare time, she interviews individuals living without homes in Oakland.
Housing rights and advocacy and are her passion. She used to write for Street Sheet, San Francisco's newspaper on homelessness, and volunteer for Homeless GoPro, another storytelling platform for individuals in between homes, but she is now more focused on direct action services to individuals on the street.
Heather Fairweather used to work at a coffee shop on Adeline St. in Berkeley, CA, where she would see many individuals in between homes huddled against buildings, pushing carts full of recycling up and down the street, and coming into the cafe for warmth. She would always give these people a hot cup of coffee and a smile, but she always felt that this wasn't enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE EVENT: PART 1:
The Dinner Party for the East Bay's Residents without Addresses
Omni Oakland Commons//4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland
DEC. 5TH, 2 -5 PM
Sheila, one of the residents of the encampment in West Oakland, CA.We want to provide individuals without homes with a safe space to relax, eat a hot delicious and nutritious meal, receive some gifts for the holidays, enjoy ambient music, access resources, and rest or socialize-- for an afternoon.
The Omni Commons has generously allowed us to open their doors to these individuals for a dinner party on December 5th, from 2-5 PM.
We need to fund the cost of renting the space for the afternoon, as well as the cost of:
-food (in addition to what is donated)
-clothing
-hygiene supplies
for the attendees,
and
-a Christmas tree and festive lights to make the space more celebratory,
as well as miscellaneous costs of the event (printing costs for flyering a wide range of neighborhoods in Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryvile, serving tools for the food, etc.). We do promise that these costs will directly benefit the show. There is no 'overhead' with this event; the time and energy given by volunteers involved is generously donated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE EVENT: PART 2:
Humans In Between Homes Art Show
Omni Oakland Commons// 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, CA
DEC. 5TH, 7-10 PM
We are also curating an art show based on street outreach and interviews with individuals living in between permanent homes.
The hope of this event is to make real, raw, visceral, and visible to housed society the experiences and humanity of the people who sleep on the street or are in between permanent places they call home.
Each of these human beings deserves to be appreciated as an individual, with a unique past, present, and future.
The people featured in the art show will be Leon, Sheila, Oscar, June, Johnny, and other residents of the encampment in West Oakland, CA.
Leon in front of his house on the street, made from discarded objectsOscar, resident of the encampment in West Oakland, and Sheila's husbandSheila and her and Oscar's friend Johnny, who is deaf and cannot speak an oral language. The couple takes care of him with what little they have.To incite empathy for these individuals, this exhibition will also feature:
-Artwork by artists in between homes, who created their work at the Community Arts Program of Hospitality House in San Francisco. (These artists will keep 100% of the proceeds from any artwork sold.)
-A debut screening of a documentary made from raw footage of conversations with individuals who lived in an encampment in the Albany Bulb of Albany, CA, and were forced to leave the property, and made homeless as a result
– A tiny house (one effective solution to homelessness) on display, courtesy of the Homeless Homes Project
- Narratives of Displacement: A live interactive map of evictions in San Francisco and Alameda County, courtesy of the SF Anti-Eviction Mapping Project, an affiliate of the SF Tenants’ Union
-other artwork displaying the humanity in homelessness
-Representatives from community resources on how YOU can help homeless individuals
We need to fund the cost of renting the space at the Omni for the evening as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This double-header event is not-for-profit, and is only for good. Any donations received that do not go to the costs of renting the space and providing food will go to BOSS (Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency), of Berkeley, CA, a non-profit organization that provides tangible resources and supportive guidance to individuals working to get off of the streets and making radical changes in their lives.
Our only motivation in making these events happen is to help people directly (by offering them food and safe space to spend time in) and indirectly, by working to change mainstream perceptions about humans who are in between homes.
Seeing the smiles of the attendees at the dinner party and the revelations and understanding of attendees at the art show will be its own reward.
Please give what you can so our event for the homeless can have a home.
Donations in any amount are greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your heart and your help in making this happen!
Organizer
Ilana Sawyer
Organizer
Oakland, CA