In 2020, the city opened A Bridge Home shelter on Aetna. Yoked to law enforcement, this prison-like structure has been a bridge to nowhere. But it’s slated to close soon with an opportunity for Metro Los Angeles to repurpose this land & facilities for the unhoused community. 7/7

We don’t use the word community lightly. Our research shows that Aetna Street is a place of refuge & return for those pushed out of stable housing & employment in the San Fernando valley. With strong family & kinship ties, it is a key node of Black life & belonging in LA. 6/7

In the wake of Inside Safe, police violence against unhoused persons has escalated at Aetna Street. This elder, just released from a convalescent home with a pacemaker & having lost all belongings to a vicious sweep, said to our research team, “I want the world to see us.” 5/7

Law enforcement is the only strategy that this city & its public agencies & officials care to mobilize as a response to mass homelessness. Followed by the fencing of public spaces. While unhoused persons get ticketed for being on a sidewalk, the city does so with immunity. 4/7

Our research team has witnessed & documented the alarming relationship between Inside Safe & sweeps & arrests. This confirms the fears of Aetna & other unhoused communities that the program is a coercive one, with police-led reprisals for those who say no or ask questions. 3/7

Many community members living on the streets are eager to go inside. But Mayor Karen Bass’s Inside Safe is at best a temporary placement in unsafe conditions for which unhoused persons have to give up their belongings, social networks, ending up more precarious than before. 2/7

Open letter to Mayor Karen Bass from researchers Institute on Inequality & Democracy expressing grave & urgent concerns about the displacement of, & escalating police violence against, the Aetna Street community, where we have been doing research and collaborative pedagogy for a year. Read & amplify. 1/7

You may want to be seen as more generous than usual. Even so, ... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

You can talk people into something at this time, but you'll ha... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

A current fight concerning money in one of your close relation... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

Sharing your bleaker thoughts with a trusted advisor now has t... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

The importance of a peer group or community in your life could... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

Low energy can make things seem worse than they really are. Yo... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

My nanny kid wanted to show her mom and I a trick she was really excited about. She got her words mixed up and said “are you ready for me to blow your heads off??”

In reality, she really
Only wanted to blow our minds with her new trick 😂

Seize the day with gusto! It might feel like you have a new bu... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

Power imbalances may make it difficult to connect. In your fri... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

Your family members may hurt your feelings. There might be emb... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

Your family will probably appreciate seeing how much you care ... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

You might be the mediator in your family today. As long as you... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G

Disappointments can shake your current footing. You may have s... More for Aries bit.ly/zzEL3G