The UP to US Campaign was spearheaded by Silver Lake local Neil Blakemore after witnessing his neighbors dox and dehumanize an unhoused woman in the midst of a mental health crisis. This experience made it abundantly clear to him that he needed to use his voice and position to speak up against the many injustices unhoused people face daily. Since January 2021, he has been meeting with other artists, activists, organizations, neighborhood councils and more to develop this campaign to challenge the ways people think about houselessness with the hope that if he can shift hearts and minds even slightly, he can open people up to ideas and solutions they may previously have rejected outright.

Neil is driven by the belief that houselessness is a manufactured crisis rooted in greed, manufactured by capitalism, and perpetuated by power. We can choose to create communities of care and support, but that’s #UPtoUS.

In the course of creating this campaign, Neil has enlisted the help of graphic designer Hannah Tyler and web designer Jason Corum both of whom have generously donated their skills to the project.

We also have to acknowledge and thank Theo Henderson, creator of We The Unhoused podcast for his gracious help and support. Please support Theo’s Patreon -

Also, thank you to Samantha Danner, Jillian Schultz, Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, and East Hollywood Neighborhood Councilfor their support.

We are seeking to grow our board! We are especially looking for people who have lived experience being unhoused and/or work with the unhoused

Neil Blakemore - President
Kimberly Christenson - Treasurer
Adam Mervis - Secretary