It’s been two weeks since Kalamazoo City officials broke up the homeless encampment in Bronson Park. Monday night community members, homeless residents and supporters packed the City Commission meeting to express their frustration.
Commissioner Shannon Sykes Nehring was one of those arrested following the break-up of the encampment. She says the compassion and love shown within the movement has been unforgettable.
“This has been amazing...and powerful. And I am so honored and so blessed and so grateful...to have been able to share in this experience. And we will win, because if you don’t give up you just do...you know? We should be grateful for you all and I am sorry that not everybody in our community knows that.”
Sykes Nehring says that finding a new safe space for the homeless has been difficult. But she says homeless residents aren’t giving up. She will be in court Wednesday to face misdemeanor charges of resisting and obstructing police.
Mayor Bobby Hopewell says addressing Kalamazoo’s homelessness problem will need work by the whole community, not just the city.
