Berkeley Public Library Sponsors Mayoral Candidates Round Table: Solving Homelessness through Community and Collaboration

Contact: Jack Baur
Supervising Librarian
Berkeley Public Library, North Branch
510-981-6050
jbaur@ci.berkeley.cs.us



Berkeley Public Library Sponsors Mayoral Candidates Round Table:
 Solving Homelessness through Community and Collaboration


Berkeley, CA.  September 8, 2016 – According to a January 2016 Berkeley City Council report, homelessness is on the rise. Beyond the immediate impact upon those living without shelter it is on the minds of Berkeley residents and business-owners and is important to Berkeley voters this November. As the 2016 election cycle heats up, the Berkeley Public Library partnered with the Northbrae Community Church and Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action  to bring you this discussion about homelessness.

We invite the public to Solving Homelessness through Community and Collaboration: Mayoral Candidates Roundtable at the Northbrae Community Church on Sunday, September 25, from 4:00 – 6:00pm. The Northbrae Community Church is located at 941 The Alameda in Berkeley. All are invited to this free event, followed by light refreshments and a reception to meet the candidates. For more information call 510-91-6050.

Moderator Peter Leyden (former managing editor at Wired, founding director of the New Politics Institute, and founder/CEO of Reinvent) will engage the Berkeley Mayoral candidates in a conversation looking at ways to address Berkeley’s growing homelessness crisis. Tackling this critical and often difficult issue means answering a host of questions:

  • How can Berkeley best address the issues of the escalating costs of affordable housing and the support for persons who are homeless?
  • What policies or ordinances would candidates seek to repeal or propose?
  • How do the candidates feel about sit/lie ordinances?
  • What role should business, development, and public agencies play in working toward a community that meets every people's basic needs?
  • Is housing a human right?

This free event is made possible by a generous gift from the Pace Trust, in support of the Berkeley Public Library North Branch.

The Berkeley Public Library opened in 1893 with 264 books. It now has a Central Library located at 2090 Kittredge Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 and four state-of-the-art neighborhood branches with thousands of books, audiobooks, music CDs, DVDs and online streaming and downloadable materials.

Wheelchair accessible. For questions, to request a sign language interpreter or other accommodations for this event, please call (510) 981-6195 (voice) or (510) 548-1240 (TTY); at least five working days will help ensure availability. Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs. Visit the library’s website.

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