The California Homeless Union (also referred to as the California Homeless Union Statewide Organizing Council) is an informal far-left activist coalition that opposes efforts to remove homeless encampments from public spaces and supports taxpayer-funded public housing programs. The group is affiliated with the National Union of the Homeless, an informal chapter-based organization that campaigns for wealth redistribution to fund public housing for all people living in poverty. The National Union of the Homeless and its chapters organize homeless people to be the face of its protests and campaigns. Given the informal nature of the network of groups, little specific information is available about the structure of the California Homeless Union other than its participation in lawsuits against cities and counties in California related to local policies that clear out or prohibit homeless encampments. ^{1 2 3}

Background

The California Homeless Union is one of an unknown number of chapters of the National Union of the Homeless (NUH), an informal chapter-based organization that campaigns for wealth redistribution to fund public housing for all people living in poverty. NUH solicits donations, but as an unincorporated organization it is not obligated to reveal who its donors are, how it spends its money, or any other financial information. Its website also does not reveal who organizes the national organization or any guidance on forming local chapters. ^{4 5}

The California Homeless Union, the National Union of the Homeless, and other California-based NUH chapters are closely affiliated with the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, an activist group founded by William J. Barber in 2018 that conducts organizing around a variety of far-left economic policies and promotes civil disobedience and intentional arrests to elevate its work. ⁶

The National Union of the Homeless was originally founded in 1985 and dissolved in the 1990s. A Poor People’s Campaign convention in 2019 voted to revive the organization and establish 10 local chapters, including the California Homeless Union. ¹

Activities

Limited information on the structure or activity of the California Homeless Union is available other than its occasional filing of lawsuits against cities over homelessness policies. A Facebook page attributed to the California Homeless Union lists the Sacramento Homeless Union’s website and email address as the contact info for the group. ⁷

In 2020, shortly after the revival of the National Union of the Homeless by the Poor People’s Campaign, the California Homeless Union and the Poor People’s Campaign sued and ultimately received a $300,000 settlement from the City of Maryville and Yuba County related to the clearing of a homeless encampment. ¹

In 2020, it was also reported that the California Homeless Union had, in its own words, “advised the organizing efforts of graduate students and university employees at UC Santa Cruz, who are staging a general strike in the face of low pay, high costs of living, and the reality of homelessness on the campus of the richest university system in the nation.” ¹

In 2025, the California Homeless Union sued the City of Fremont, California after the city added additional restrictions to a local camping ban in order to curb homeless encampments. The policy, approved in February 2025, stated that anyone “permitting, aiding, abetting or concealing” the ban could face a misdemeanor, though city leaders struck the “aiding and abetting” portion of the policy after it drew significant backlash. ²

Anthony Prince, the group’s general counsel, filed the Fremont lawsuit. Prince is also the co-chair of the California Poor People’s Campaign and “was a founding and leading member of the National Union of the Homeless and its Chicago/Gary Indiana local chapter in the late 1980s and early 1990s.” ^{8 9}

1. Theoharis, Liz. “The Revival of the National Union of the Homeless.” The Nation. March 20, 2020. Accessed March 19, 2025. https://www.thenation.com/article/society/national-homeless-union/
2. Holden, Lindsey. “Advocates sue California city over ‘unconscionable’ camping ban.” Politico. March 5, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/05/advocates-sue-fremont-camping-ban-homelessness-00215382
3. Graceffo, Loretta. “’You Only Get What You’re Organized to Take’ – Lessons from the National Union of the Homeless.” Waging Nonviolence, October 8, 2021. https://wagingnonviolence.org/2021/10/national-union-of-the-homeless/
4. “Donate.” Donate to NUH. Accessed August 8, 2022. https://nationalunionofthehomeless.org/donate/
5. “National Union of the Homeless.” National Union of the Homeless. Accessed August 8, 2022. https://nationalunionofthehomeless.org/#locals
6. Kaufmann, Greg. “How the Poor People’s Campaign Is Building a ‘New Electorate’.” The Nation, January 21, 2019. Accessed March 19, 2025. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/poor-peoples-campaign-2019-liz-theoharis/
7. “California Homeless Union Statewide Organizing Council.” Facebook. Accessed March 19, 2025.  https://www.facebook.com/CAHomelessUnion/
8. “Anthony Prince.” People’s Forum. Anthony Prince. Accessed March 19, 2025. https://peoplesforum.org/instructor/anthony-prince/
9. “California Homeless Union vs. City of Freemont.” United States Court District of Northern California. Politico document upload. March 5, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2025. https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000195-6987-d055-affd-6b972cc00000