"" The only people who see me are people who hope I disappear... " "He was just trying to sleep." Shawn O'Malley, one of the houseless leaders from the Vallejo Homeless Union spoke to POOR Magazine's RoofLessRadio after the tragic death at a sweep of James Edward Oakley. James is just one of the ancestors of the violent war on the poor I wrote about in the new movie Crushing Wheelchairs."
""At 65 years old they evicted me from my home, my community, where I provided a home and cooked for hundreds of houseless neighbors, where I, who was houseless myself for many years, finally had a safe place to be.... To face eviction as an elder resulted in me wanting to take my own life." "This was Reggies story who I 'play' in the movie, this is my story..." said Auntie Frances Moore. "We aren't Acting, we are living.""
James Edward Oakley died during a sweep, and community leaders describe him as someone who "was just trying to sleep." The film Crushing Wheelchairs centers houseless elders and neighbors affected by violent sweeps, evictions, gentrification, and anti-poor actions. Auntie Frances Moore recounts eviction at age 65 after providing shelter and meals to hundreds, and links that trauma to suicidal despair. The project began as a play staged across the Bay in 2023 and expanded into a film after the 2024 Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling removed certain constitutional protections for houseless people. Benefit screenings occurred at historic sweep and gentrification sites.
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