Nicolas Gutierrez III
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About Nicolas
Gutierrez’s research focuses on the intersection of homelessness, criminalization, and mutual aid in Los Angeles. His master’s thesis examined how organizers work with unsheltered neighbors to resist punitive encampment sweeps. His doctoral research builds upon his past work, exploring how mutual aid actors construct mutual aid as a civic action, distinct from traditional volunteering. Gutierrez is a research assistant at the Captive Money Lab, which investigates how states extract financial and material resources from incarcerated people, primarily through pay-to-stay fees. Gutierrez was born and raised in West Adams, where he continues to live and advocate for housing and mobility justice.
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Draws on interviews with mutual aid helpers and encampment residents in Los Angeles to present how private citizens, often organized as mutual aid groups, seek to redress the harms of encampment sweeps while supporting the basic needs of unsheltered neighbors. Finds that these mutual aid efforts are increasingly criminalized, revealing an expanding punishment regime that targets those who help unhoused communities.
Analyzes under what conditions will the public accept homeless-serving housing and social service facilities in their neighborhood. Answers this question through a basic descriptive statistical analysis of a brief survey (respondent n=251) and a thematic analysis of seven focus groups with residents of San Diego, California (participant n=34).
Examines racialized encounters with the police from the perspectives of people experiencing homelessness in San Diego, California in 2020. Conducts a survey of (n = 244) and interviews with (n = 57) homeless San Diegans during initial shelter-in-place orders, oversampling for Black respondents, whose voices are often under-represented despite high rates of homelessness nationally. Reflects on these findings and our framework for envisioning a system of public safety that supports and cares for—rather than punishes—the most vulnerable members of our society.