37MLK, a community of about 20 unhoused people living on land at the corner of 37th St and Martin Luther King Blvd in Oakland, marked their six month anniversary on Feb 10 by hosting a meeting for those who wish to support.

The community started in Aug, when Stefani Esheverrí-Fenn, a housed person in her early 30s who was homeless as a teenager in New York City, broke into fenced off land that had sat vacant at least since she had moved into Oakland in 2009. Esheverrí-Fenn, who lives two doors down from 37MLK, then set up about 15 tents, a shower, solar lights, and a garden with chickens. The intent behind the community was to provide shelter to unhoused people, mostly elder Black women, many of whom became homeless after their landlords evicted them from homes in the nearby area. The community is also home to some of the women’s partners and husbands. 

“This is not a project of rich people swooping in and saying ‘I’m gonna do this for people,’” said Esheverrí-Fenn over loud wind to the over three dozen people who showed up to the meeting. She then emphasized that most of the housed residents who are supporting live in substandard housing and/or are precariously housed and at risk of becoming homeless  themselves.

The meeting had a somber tone as just hours before it started, a man who used to live at 37MLK and was still close with those who live at the site, died within the fence of the community. He was stabbed just outside the nearby Eli’s Mile High Club and sought aid from those within the community before passing way.

Feb 10’s powerful winds which reached 75 mph in the East Bay Hills and knocked down branches, power lines, and even entire trees throughout Oakland, added to the community’s stress. The wind had knocked down and destroyed many of their tents.  

“This morning is about the worst thing that could ever happen to me,” said Delores Dixon, a 37MLK resident, during the meeting.

“I’m so glad to see everyone. I’ve never seen so many people come at once like this to support. I look at all of you all like my family from today on,” said Dixon.

37MLK has garnered media attention with articles in The Bold Italic and The Guardian, partly because of the site’s beauty. The solar lights, clean environment, and matching large blue tents show an organized aesthetic that have impressed many. But the winds decimated the community and its beauty, at least temporarily.

Esheverrí-Fenn said during the meeting that 37MLK is “so proud about our cleanliness and our aesthetic.” But she also decided to continue with the meeting even though the wind had made it impossible for visitors to see 37MLK at its most beautiful, emphasizing the circumstances were the natural result of being forced to live in tents, and weren’t the fault of the residents or the supporters.

“As a formerly homeless person I always felt at risk. The stakes were life and death. Tents are never going to be a permanent solution,” she said.

Esheverrí-Fenn, Dixon, and a 65 year old indigenous 37MLK resident named Pocahontas, all called for the community to support with trash pick up, food, help with installing a door with a lock, and the construction of tiny homes. Although 37MLK had avoided constructing homes due to The City of Oakland’s recent history of destroying self made structures, they’ve ultimately decided that tents aren’t sustainable and tiny homes are necessary, even if they only stay up temporarily. 

  “I don’t want to survive. I want to live,” said Pocahontas at the meeting.

People who want to support the community financially can visit patreon.com/37MLK to set up recurring donations.

People, especially skilled builders, who want to support the community with their labor can message 37MLK on Facebook at facebook.com/37mlkgarden.

This article originally appeared in The Oakland Post in February 2020.