After being forced to close down its encampment earlier this year, Occupy Claremont is remaining resolute with plans to become a catalyst for change in the community.

Occupiers have renewed their focus on changing policy addressing homelessness, foreclosure and corruption in the banking industry. City officials and workers for the Service Center for Independent Living (SCIL) are answering their rally cry, by helping the group to explore options for city programs that address these issues.  

Their efforts include gaining status as a local nonprofit through SCIL in order to create and sustain effective programming, and provide a workplace for its committee volunteers. Despite the recent shift in the local movement’s goals to a new, more proactive strategy, Occupiers promise Claremont has not seen the last of their demonstrations.

“We are still going to protest, but with a new spirit of cooperation,” said Charles Bayer, a community liaison of Occupy Claremont.

The group approached the Claremont City Council last week seeking a letter of recommendation for grant funding to help with a homeless identification program.

Occupiers are applying for $10,000 in funding from Tri-City Mental Health’s Community Wellness Project grant program to further aid their continuing efforts to help the homeless. Occupy Claremont plans to use the funding to create the Claremont Homeless Identification Project, helping the homeless receive legal identification, such as a state-issued ID card. Many local agencies require a form of legal ID in order to provide social services like basic health care.

Complete story in our Wednesday edition.