To advocate for their unhoused neighbors affected by the housing crisis and demand action from local officials, community members held a rally outside the Broome County Department of Social Services office.

The rally, also an encampment, was held Wednesday evening and many chose to remain overnight. Community organizer Jasmine Stradford, who spearheaded the event with the help of other advocates and organizers, led a 5:30 p.m. press conference, sharing the core motivations behind the gathering.

Speakers raised concerns about several prominent issues, including the denial of government assistance to families in need, systematic changes that significantly impact marginalized communities and a lack of available shelter space. Other motivations behind establishing the encampment were the separation of families forced to sleep in unsafe hotel rooms, the destruction of encampments at the hands of local law enforcement and the Department of Social Services’ inability to properly handle the crisis.

Stradford, who, up until recently, was houseless alongside her family, said those still facing housing insecurity inspired her to hold the rally.

“Granted, I found security and I found permanent housing, but I can’t help but to think about the people that are dealing with this right now, that are still fighting to keep their placement, fighting to get assistance,” Stradford told Pipe Dream.

Salka Valerio, a community organizer with Citizen Action, a local activist group, echoed the sentiment. She condemned local officials for sending residents to social services, despite their inability to provide adequate support.

“This is where they tell everybody to come to get resources, but there’s not enough resources in the community to actually help people properly,” Valerio said.

Stradford said the Department of Social Services was unhelpful to her and her family during their time of need. When they lost their home after falling behind on rent payments, she thought the department might help them stay in their residence. Instead, Stradford said, they were verbally denied before being put through the proper process.

The family bounced from motel to motel before securing permanent housing. The absence of security and permanence took its toll on the family, and Stradford said they were bullied out of their placement before 28 days passed, a period after which they would gain tenants’ rights.

“They created a scenario then deemed me the angry Black woman,” Stradford said. “At Motel 6, the lady terminated my stay because she was upset that my 15 year old was watching my 12 and my 3 year old. DSS ended up adding it to my independent living plan, which meant that I could not leave them home in order for me to do the things I was doing — which was volunteering, pursuing school, pursuing a career.”

The department did not respond to Pipe Dream’s request for comment about the grievances laid out during the rally.

Organizers also looked to address the disproportionate impacts economic hardship and the housing system have on marginalized communities. They said that marginalized people are most neglected when it comes to accessing resources and support.

A main criticism of local officials arose from their reliance on motels and temporary housing rather than investing in affordable housing. Many community members said the city should focus on turning abandoned buildings into permanent housing.

“We have more than enough buildings in this city to house every single person twice over,” a community member said during the encampment’s speak-out portion. “There’s greed, greed from the University, greed from these property managers, greed from the corporations that are buying up our homes. And the politicians who take the money from the property managers and the landlords. Its greed and its simple and it’s wrong.”

Student housing expansion was also offered as a factor driving the continuing housing crisis. Kenneth Brown, founder of the Hunger Resistance — a group that hands out food to those in need — said he feels local housing is sacrificed for additional student housing, and the county should perform a reassessment of student rental property taxes.

Community members called on elected officials, including Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham, to take substantial steps to improve the housing system. Stradford said she believes State Sen. Lea Webb could help improve the state of housing in Binghamton, highlighting her efforts to personally make calls and guarantee the department would issue her food stamps. Community member Clarence Morales, who is of retirement age but continues working and still faces homelessness, said Webb often speaks with the unhoused population, connecting with them face to face.

In August, the Binghamton City Council approved legislation amending the Human Rights Law to include “unhoused” as a protected class.

“I wish they [were] pushing pen and paper to do something for us out here,” Morales said. “You got people that work too that need help. It’s sad because you know people have a job and still need to come here. It’s not working the way the system should work.”