Shelly passed away this week.
Shelly was a great organizer and a pillar of the community. She would facilitate distros and meetings, lending and setting up her tables and chairs. She would organize and mediate, and make sure people got what they needed and said what they needed to say.
It seemed like Shelly had held every job under the sun across the decades: welder, contractor, big rig mechanic, bike mechanic, bus driver… She was a master of finding cool stuff: from antique dressers to scrap metal art. She would fix bikes, sell scrap, and would fix things and find things for free. It seemed like Shelly could find anything. If you needed something, Shelly got you.
Shelly kept several big dogs who were always friendly, playful, and happy. She loved her dogs, and always did whatever it took to keep them fed and cared for.
Shelly was an organizer with Dallas Houseless Committee and Camp Rhonda, a militant, organized, political project and community of unhoused organizers and activists. She was there when Camp Rhonda got started and got organized. She was there when Camp Rhonda found a private location willing to provide space. Shelly was there when the city forced it to close with thousands in code compliance tickets. She was there when Camp Rhonda decided to set up next to city hall in protest, and resisted for almost 30 days.
Ultimately, the city destroyed Camp Rhonda with tickets, fines, sweeps, and police and FD harassment.
But long after Camp Rhonda, Shelly was still a rock for her community.
Shelly was always unloading trucks, distroing supplies, making sure people go what they needed. Shelly helped people move again, and again, and again. Always there with the duct tape and contractor bags to help people pack up, always ready to help someone push a cart or carry a couch. Shelly comforted her fellow refugees fleeing police violence and helped them establish new livable camps.
Shelly’s partner Turtle was her rock. The dynamic duo lit up each other’s world. And together they brightened all of ours. Turtle died 2 years ago under the constant attack and malicious neglect of the government.
Shelly was left devastated. But still Shelly always greeted us with a smile on her face and a laugh on her lips. And still she would jump into action with the energy of a true organizer.
Shelly carried on in her organizing and activism, and we carry on for her now. She was dedicated to her community and always honored the stories of those we lost, as we honor her story today.
Shelly died because of this government, this system, because of its neglect and aggression. Because it will chase you, threaten you, and harass you wherever you are until you die.
They know what they are doing when they take your shelter and destroy your possession, when they charge anyone trying to help thousands of dollars, when they constantly lie and mislead, when they stalk and harass. The harm is intentional. The policy is death. We are sick of seeing our friends die. We are sick of this hell-system. We are all closer to living unhoused than we will ever be to the ruling class. The ruling class who decides that our lives will be dangerous and short so that theirs can be comfortable and safe must be stopped. This is why we fight. This is why we will never stop.