There was a lot more anonymity and a lot more opportunity for exploitation. “They don’t have name tags on, and some were pretty confrontational. “Once the city increased the contract, we got all these new Urban Alchemy people coming and going,” Powelson said. Urban Alchemy notified the city on May 9 that they wouldn’t be entering a new agreement, according to Urban Alchemy’s media representative. The agreement calls for Urban Alchemy to provide “positive engagements” with the campers, de-escalation interventions and custodial services. In December 2021, the Sausalito City Council approved a $463,620 contract with Urban Alchemy for around the clock site management services, from January through June 2022, at the Marinship encampment. Urban Alchemy employee Mike curses at Sausalito encampment. However, Mike was later moved to another Urban Alchemy location after being caught on cell phone video calling a woman at the Sausalito encampment a “bitch” and a “whore.” He then clocked out, came back into the camp, and “hung out.” Mike drank a beer while working, according to Kennedy. “I like them,” Ken Kennedy, a camper who is in the process of leaving the Sausalito encampment, said. Most campers reported few problems with Mike and Joseph. Throughout much of that period, Mike and Joseph oversaw the camp and helped move the encampment from downtown Sausalito to Marinship Park last June. One reason the city cited for retaining Urban Alchemy was the amount of time the Sausalito police were spending at the camp. They helped pick up trash, brought pizza and smoked concentrated marijuana oil out in the open with the homeless residents, according to Powelson.Īfter Clark-Johnson, director of residential services, and Hammonds, chief of training, stopped coming to the camp on a regular basis, two Urban Alchemy employees, Mike and Joseph, whose last names are unknown, took over.įrom February through December 2021, the City of Sausalito entered into several contracts with Uban Alchemy. We didn’t know who they were.”Ĭlark-Johnson and Hammonds came back several times. I looked on their website and it was hella vague. They never said they were working for the city. “They were salesmen, you know,” Powelson said. The city formally announced its relationship with Urban Alchemy in a Feb. Robbie Powelson, a former Sausalito camper and president of the Marin Homeless Union. At the time, Powelson and the other campers had no idea Clark-Johnson and Hammonds were high-level managers in an organization retained by the City of Sausalito. Although the pair mentioned they were with Urban Alchemy, Powelson said the men gave the impression they were homeless advocates from San Francisco. Ian Clark-Johnson and “Loving” Lou Hammonds told the campers they came to help and make them more comfortable. 13, 2021, about two months after the first tent was pitched, according to Robbie Powelson, a former Sausalito camper and president of the Marin Homeless Union. Urban Alchemy made their first contact with Sausalito’s homeless residents on Feb. Some Urban Alchemy staff members did drugs on the job and sexually exploited homeless females, according to more than 10 current and past residents of the Sausalito camp who spoke to the Pacific Sun. Fearing retaliation, the campers have remained silent for months about serious allegations against Urban Alchemy employees. The residents of the Sausalito homeless encampment emphatically disagree about the staff’s qualifications. Urban Alchemy asserts that “spending 20+ years in a confined environment” teaches instincts that can’t be learned in a classroom, making their “practitioners” uniquely qualified to work with homeless people. You can join them.Most of Urban Alchemy’s 1,100 employees “have served life sentences in prison,” but did “serious self-work to get out from under” their incarceration, according to its website. In the midst of an unrelenting homelessness crisis, Urban Alchemy is forging a hopeful path. Urban Alchemy has turned the whole notion of incarceration on its head.” “It’s a revolutionary and simple idea, but nobody thought of it before. “Your support will help Urban Alchemy develop more jobs, uplift more neighborhoods, and provide complementary strategies to policing,’’ says Bayron Wilson, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, who was once incarcerated. For formerly incarcerated people with people skills, emotional intelligence, and empathy, Urban Alchemy provides a living wage and excellent benefits. Urban Alchemy is seeking support for its campaign to hire more people who have been incarcerated to help unhoused residents and keep neighborhoods safe and clean. Guest Services Supervisor Bay Area Job Creation
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