‘Safe Ground’ march and rally draws hundreds


	Photo from the march that appeared with Indybay article.

The Safe Ground March which ended with a rally in César Chávez Park drew hundreds of participants in the event and citizen listeners at the park where spokespeople plead for the rights of area homeless folk.

The following words were posted at the SHOC [Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee] wikispace, today, on a page that featured many photos taken during the march and at the Chávez Park rally: “Safe Ground March photos. March was held December [23], 2008. It started at Loaves & Fishes and ended at César Chávez Park. Marchers marched around the park at the beginning and end of march. There was anywhere from 200 to 300 people in attendance at the rally.”

By this reporter’s count, as the rally got underway, there were one-hundred people on the elevated concrete area at the park, standing behind an early speaker, and another hundred people on the lawn, listening. Many of the people, behind the speaker and on the lawn, were carrying colorful hand-made placards advocating for homeless people’s rights. Of course, many listeners came and left as the rally was going on. Perhaps as many as 400 people can have been influenced by the message at the rally. More people saw the march as in wended its way from Loaves & Fishes to Chavez Park, downtown.

These words were posted in a piece by the Indybay news organization called "Sacramento Safe Ground Homeless March": “The march started on 12th street and ended at [Cesar] Chavez Park. Homeless people spoke about the condition they face every day, the difficulties of overcoming social barriers and their demand for a safe ground. At the end of the event the names of homeless people who died last year in Sacramento were read. This coincided with National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day, a day dedicated to raise awareness of the homeless people who die every year.”

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