![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/DSC8513.jpg\")
In quiet moments, Satearah Murphy works on her poetry. Russell Stiger Jr., OBSERVER<\/p>\nLiving outside presents obvious challenges. Some people choose a nomadic lifestyle; others seek safety in community. As in any family or community, such situations are not always perfect, but they do provide a sense of stability despite the fact they often are swept up and reappear in the same place or another.<\/p>\n
Camp Resolution was a little bit different. Satearah Murphy and Alaytreya Gregory, aka \u201cChop,\u201d thought they\u2019d finally found a safe place there to live, free of sweeps and displacement, a community of unhoused people living on a plot of land leased to them.<\/p>\n
That lasted until August 2024, when the lease owner pulled it back and the city cleared the camp, forcing more than 50 residents to scatter. Some since have found housing and others still live in encampments and seek more permanent shelter. Murphy and Gregory are among those still on the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In quiet moments, Satearah Murphy works on her poetry. Russell Stiger Jr., OBSERVER<\/p>\n
Murphy \u2014 a poet and former camp leader \u2014 shared \u201cBetrayed by our camps leaders and City leaders\u201d:<\/p>\n
Many posing and posturing,<\/p>\n
While homelessness festers,<\/p>\n
shame and blame,<\/p>\n
Million spent on relocation,<\/p>\n
yet crisis remains.<\/p>\n
A photo op,<\/p>\n
empty promises,<\/p>\n
heartless games.<\/p>\n
Concrete hearts,<\/p>\n
ignoring desperate cries,<\/p>\n
Funding diverted,<\/p>\n
as hopes fade,<\/p>\n
The vulnerable suffer,<\/p>\n
while you pretend to do something.<\/p>\n
Politics over people,<\/p>\n
a never-ending trend.<\/p>\n
Empty shelters,<\/p>\n
overcrowded streets,<\/p>\n
A humanitarian crisis,<\/p>\n
your legacy meets,<\/p>\n
Lip service paid,<\/p>\n
to affordable housing claims,<\/p>\n
As displacement and poverty perpetuate the pain.<\/p>\n
Homelessness isn\u2019t just a statistic or someone to blame,<\/p>\n
It\u2019s human lives,<\/p>\n
struggling to reclaim,<\/p>\n
Dignity and hope,<\/p>\n
lost in systemic flaws,<\/p>\n
Leadership failed,<\/p>\n
by inaction laws.<\/p>\n
Break the pose,<\/p>\n
confront the truth,<\/p>\n
Address root causes,<\/p>\n
provide actual youth<\/p>\n
Substance abuse treatment,<\/p>\n
mental health aid,<\/p>\n
Affordable housing,<\/p>\n
a basic human trade.<\/p>\n
People over politics,<\/p>\n
it\u2019s time to act,<\/p>\n
End the betrayal,<\/p>\n
and take a concrete fact,<\/p>\n
The homeless deserve more,<\/p>\n
than just empty words,<\/p>\n
Compassionate action,<\/p>\n
genuine support,<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unheard.<\/p>\n
Camp Resolution was the spot,<\/p>\n
where we found hope,<\/p>\n
Built a community,<\/p>\n
saved lives,<\/p>\n
That\u2019s no joke,<\/p>\n
But city officials shut it down,<\/p>\n
no remorse,<\/p>\n
Left us stranded,<\/p>\n
no place to endorse.<\/p>\n
The Founders went Hollywood,<\/p>\n
chasin\u2019 that dough,<\/p>\n
Left us in the trenches,<\/p>\n
where the struggle grow,<\/p>\n
Tent cities poppin\u2019 up,<\/p>\n
dignity on the line,<\/p>\n
But I won\u2019t give in,<\/p>\n
Nawwww,<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll keep mine.<\/p>\n
![\"Satearah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/DSC0098_1.jpg\")
Satearah Murphy at Camp Resolution where she helped build a community before it was removed. Russell Stiger Jr., OBSERVER<\/p>\n
Murphy was raised in Oak Park by her grandmother. On her 13th birthday, her mom, who she hadn\u2019t seen in years, showed up at school. Murphy\u2019s grandmother, who was moving to a new house, needed her help, postponing any birthday festivities. Her mom said she could pick Murphy up at Arden Fair Mall later to celebrate, but her mom never showed up.<\/p>\n
Murphy decided to live outside for the time being. One day she was out joyriding as a minor and got stopped by the police. They contacted Murphy\u2019s grandmother, who told officers she did not know who Murphy was and hung up.<\/p>\n
With seemingly no place to go, Murphy made a life outside. Later, after her grandmother died, Murphy learned that she had suffered from dementia and in fact was looking for her but was in the middle of an episode when she was contacted years prior by the police.<\/p>\n
Murphy said she\u2019s a published poet and has paintings, including one that hangs in the shelter office on North A Street. She\u2019s looking for a job, since she has yet to find a program that \u201cactually has helped someone sustain housing and become independent on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she is still living outside, sometimes staying with friends or family, while she tries to get into First Step Shelter. Ultimately, she would like to return to school and graduate from Sacramento State, where her grandmother and aunt obtained their degrees.<\/p>\n
![\"Alaytreya](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/DSC0140.jpg\")
Alaytreya \u201cChop\u201d Gregory poses for a picture at the old Camp Resolution site. Russell Stiger Jr., OBSERVER<\/p>\n
\u201cTo describe myself in one word, I\u2019d say \u2018optimistic.\u2019 I\u2019ve been homeless for the last 15 years \u2014 I became unhoused at 16 when my mom passed. When we moved from Richmond to Sacramento she was an in-home care provider. She only had weekends off, so she just was following the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not employed at the moment, but I do odd jobs from time to time for people when I need cash. I have skills in warehouse, care provider, and just general labor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m currently looking for housing and for a job. I\u2019m not sure what\u2019s next but I\u2019m focusing on being somewhere secure.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/DSC2540.jpg\")
James Dupree poses for a picture during a homeless summit. Russell Stiger Jr., OBSERVER<\/p>\n
One word that describes James Dupree is \u201cchameleon,\u201d because he adapts to his surroundings. The Sacramento native entered the military at 23 the day after his birthday and got to travel the world.<\/p>\n
But a stint in a military prison started a long run of unfortunate events. Dupree, now 60, was in and out of jail and prison for 29 years.<\/p>\n
Dupree started working as early as he could remember, but with his record it\u2019s hard to find consistent employment. After getting out of jail in 2013, he began working in construction before life at home presented big challenges, including gambling and substance abuse. \u201cWhen I came home I didn\u2019t have anything, both my storages with everything in are gone, I didn\u2019t have a shoe lace. Over 270 hats, plenty of shoes, gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recently his bag of clothes was stolen, another setback.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s currently looking for housing but probation issues create a barrier. \u201cI just want to treat people how I want to be treated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supported by the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism\u2019s 2025 California Health Equity Fellowship<\/p>\n
\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Living outside presents obvious challenges. Some people choose a nomadic lifestyle; others seek safety in community. As in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[7931,7932,7933,912,7934,7935,7936,407,7937,121,123,122,5481,7938],"class_list":["post-7870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-alaytreya-chop-gregory","tag-arden-fair-mall","tag-camp-resolution","tag-carousel","tag-city-leaders","tag-first-step-shelter","tag-james-dupree","tag-oakland-police-department","tag-russell-stiger-jr","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news","tag-sacramento-state","tag-satearah-murphy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}