No Fooling - April 1 Action in Fresno

Highlighting local financial boondoggles, homeless advocates in Fresno called on city officials to open up a space for safe and legal campsites. An early morning semi-clandestine action resulted in banners being hung on a baseball stadium at Granite Park (see photo below). Granite Park is one of numerous City of Fresno investments that have gone bad. It includes a large open field that homeless advocates say could be used to make life better for the city's thousands of homeless residents. In addition to land, they are demanding drinking water, trash bins, and portable toilets that will be available until the city’s Housing First program finds housing for everyone who needs it.

The City of Fresno, in addition to losing money on Granite Park, has the Metropolitan Museum, an EOC Neighborhood Youth Center on California Street, and the Chukchansi baseball stadium downtown weighting them down financially. Yet, they were able to find over $200,000 to destroy homeless peoples shelters in October and November of 2011. Homeless advocates are calling on the city to convert some of the available space at these facilities to house the homeless.

After the banner drop at Granite Park, activists were joined by Occupy Fresno as they marched, with tents on their backs, to the Chukchansi baseball stadium. Once on the plaza in front of the stadium, some of the protestors started a baseball game. Others talked to the media, set up tents, and everyone eventually held hands in a symbolic act of solidarity with the homeless.