Homelessness

Homeless America

October 9, 2018 Chris Hedges, Truthdig.com Educate! Homelessness, Journalism, Media, Oregon, Portland

PORTLAND, Ore.—It is 8 a.m. I am in the small offices of Street Roots, a weekly newspaper that prints 10,000 copies per edition. Those who sell the newspaper on the streets—all of them victims of extreme poverty and half of them homeless—have gathered before heading out with their bundles to spend hours in the cold and rain. “There is foot care on Mondays starting at 8 a.m. with the nurses,” Cole Merkel, the director of the vendor program, shouts above the chatter. “If you need to get your feet taken care of, come in for the nurses’ foot care. Just a really quick shout-out and thank you to Leo and Nettie Johnson, who called up to City Hall this week to testify about the criminalization of homelessness to City Council and the mayor. Super awesome.”

The Constitution And Homelessness

October 3, 2018 Steve Martinot, Counterpunch.org Educate! Constitution, Homelessness

When the police violate the US Constitution, are they criminal? In what court can their conduct be judged illegal? For recourse against crimes against the people for violation of the Constitution, to whom can we turn? We finally found out that it was illegal all along for the Berkeley PD to raid and disperse homeless encampments. It is a violation of the Constitution. So said the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Sept. 4, 2018. But it has been going on for years. All those former raids were illegal, and those former arrests and confiscations of property were also illegal. Now, the Court has made it official. Can this be turned into anything but a civil suit. Can past victimization be turned into anything but money? We suspect that Berkeley city government doesn’t care. On Sept. 5, 2018, the very next day after the Ninth Circuit Court decision, the Berkeley PD raided another homeless encampment.

Poor People On A Poor Planet

September 9, 2018 Tiny aka Lisa Gray Garcia, Poor Magazine. Educate! Climate Change, colonization, Homelessness, Poverty

i can’t exactly describe the sound of an aluminum walker being crushed by a Dept of Public Works (DPW) truck - but its a special sound of material violence unlike any other- with each crunch-clap - another unhoused disabled life is metaphorically and actually dismantled, while the truck continues to chew like a dog on a bone- our precious momentos, pictures, medicine and lives are now reduced to trash and our own bodies , no longer awarded the respect of being considered humans swept, cleaned up, removed.

Court Backs Activists Who Feed Homeless

August 26, 2018 David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel. Resist! First Amendment, Florida, Food Not Bombs, Homelessness

Florida - A group whose symbol is a clenched fist holding a carrot won a legal victory over the city of Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, when a federal appeals court found that its weekly events to feed homeless people were protected under the Constitution. Food Not Bombs, which grew out of an anti-nuclear protest in New England, now has chapters around the United States, which promote the shift of funding away from the military to address hunger, poverty and other problems. The Fort Lauderdale chapter’s weekly feeding events at Stranahan Park generated opposition downtown, where a growing homeless population had led to tensions with businesses owners and visitors.

The Homelessness Problem We Don’t Talk About

August 24, 2018 Tanvi Misra, Citylab.com Educate! Homelessness, Housing, Inequality, New Economy

The punishment for a crime doesn’t necessarily end when the person has been released from prison. Formerly incarcerated people face multiple barriers to securing housing (including public housing) and employment, which can lead to homelessness. And just by virtue of being homeless—by having to sleep on a bench or take shelter under a bridge—these people may then be targeted by the police. Thus starts an unrelenting cycle, through which people are tossed back and forth between jail and the street. A new report by the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) presents some troubling numbers on this phenomenon. Using a Bureau of Justice Statistics survey, for which the last available year of data comes from 2008, it found that among formerly incarcerated people, the rate of homelessness that year was 10 times that of the general public.

Poor-Led People’s Campaign Marches To Resurrect Resurrection City

June 10, 2018 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Clearing the FOG Radio. Podcast Homelessness, Poor People's Campaign, Poverty, Resurrection City

For the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign and Resurrection City, poor and houseless people marched from the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia to Washington, DC where they are setting up a Resurrection City in DuPont Circle. We speak with Tiny (aka Lisa Gray-Garcia), co-founder of POOR Magazine and a participant on the march, about the reality of poverty in the United States. Tiny describes the march and the intersections between poverty and many other areas such as mass incarceration, health and colonization. This is a poor-led people's campaign that is not only resisting the policies and systems that drive the current crises, but is also putting forth poor people-led solutions, such as the Bank of Community Reparations and Homefulness.

Cities, Volunteers Clash Over Feeding Homeless In Public

December 26, 2017 Kate Brumback, Theolympian.com Create! Atlanta, Cities, Homelessness

When Adele MacLean joined others in an Atlanta park to feed the hungry the Sunday before Thanksgiving, she left with a citation and a summons to appear in court. The case was dropped when she showed up in court earlier this month, but she and her lawyers say the citation for serving food without a permit was improper and demonstrates callousness toward the homeless. The city and some advocates say feeding people on the streets can hinder long-term solutions and raises sanitation concerns. "I'm still outraged this is happening," MacLean said after her court appearance Dec. 14. "I'm concerned that the city, whenever they want to crack down on the homeless, they're going to go after anyone that tries to help them."

Homelessness: One of Capitalism’s Many Inevitable Products

December 4, 2017 Gus Bagakis, truth-out.org Educate! Capitalism, Economic inequality, Homelessness

By Gus Bagakis for Truthout - Housing is the necessary precondition for security, identity, emotional well-being, work, leisure and community. There is no greater condemnation of capitalism than its inability to provide adequate housing for those who produce its wealth -- the working class. The high percentage of people of color who are homeless points to the wealth divide between the white and non-white working class, based on the historical legacy of racism and the building of capitalism out of slavery. The ruling class explanation relies on blaming the victims, arguing that people experiencing homelessness are in some way individually incompetent. Other, more perceptive, yet incomplete explanations point to shortages of affordable housing, privatization of civic services, investment speculation in housing, poorly planned urbanization, as well as poverty and unemployment. Actually, the fear of homelessness helps capitalism maintain its power. In the days of industrial capitalism, the unemployed were used by the ruling capitalist class to signal to the workers that they were lucky to have their jobs, and if they rebelled, they could be unemployed. Now, after the 2007-8 recession, as we move further into post-industrial capitalism, the homeless are a warning to those potentially rebellious workers unhappy with their loss of wages, lack of stability and benefits, and to students of the zero generation: zero jobs, zero hope, zero possibilities, zero employment, who are in debt for their schooling. The message is: Accept the declining status quo or end up homeless.

Community Members Defy El Cajon Ordinance Against Feeding Homeless

December 1, 2017 Bella Ross, thedailyaztec.com Resist! Community, Homelessness, Legislation, Texas

By Bella Ross for The Daily Aztec - “We call it ‘Break the Ban,’” said Mark Lane, a 1989 San Diego State alumnus and the primary organizer of the event. On Oct. 27, the city of El Cajon passed an ordinance prohibiting “food-sharing” events in public spaces, including city parks. Lane said members of anywhere between 30 and 40 organizations came out with the goal of standing against the ordinance. “The goal, number one, is to get them to overturn the ban because it’s a discriminatory ban and it’s a ridiculous ban,” Lane said. According to a news release from the city, the ban on food sharing was in response to the growing Hepatitis A outbreak — an outbreak that is concentrated among the homeless population. “With the trolley system, the homeless population is pretty transient, so it flows throughout the entire city area,” El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells said. “People that were homeless in San Diego today might be homeless in El Cajon tomorrow.” The mayor said there have been a concerning number of Hepatitis A cases in El Cajon. “All we’re saying is, if you have a feeding program that’s going on in the parks, we’d rather you did that in a kitchen and not in the parks because the people that feed people in the parks don’t have food handlers permits and they’re putting boxes of food on the ground.,” Wells said.

Arrested For Feeding Homeless Without Permit Before Thanksgiving

December 1, 2017 Aaron Kesel, activistpost.com Create! Activists, Atlanta, Homelessness, Protesters Arrested, Thanksgiving

By Aaron Kesel for Activist Post - The Sunday before Thanksgiving Atlanta police handed out tickets to activists feeding the homeless in a clear display of disregard for its hungry citizens simply because activists didn’t have a food distribution permit. Atlanta, which is in Fulton County, has long had a policy requiring organizers of such efforts to obtain a permit. Local authorities have in the past turned a blind eye to the ordinance, though, according to the activist groups including Food Not Bombs that feed the homeless. But last week that changed, of all times right before the American holiday where you are supposed to give thanks and share. Instead, those giving to others in need were arrested for not having a measly piece of paper that authorizes them to hold the food drives and pay the state to do so. These permits are often costly and are an outrage in that they violently coerce groups into applying for charity toward fellow citizens so they don’t starve to death. But, alas, the state has always used and abused the color of law to be sure they get their cut of whatever they deem to be “illegal.” When it comes to food, however, it is a practice that is particularly inhumane and insane to punish people’s natural inclination to help those in need. Two activists who were arrested, Adele Maclean and Marlon Kautz, spoke out on the matter to local CBS station WSB-TV in Atlanta. “I mean, outrageous, right? Of all the things to be punished for, giving free food to people who are hungry?” Maclean told CBS WSB-TV.

Protesters Take Over Seattle City Hall To Fight Homeless Sweeps

November 3, 2017 Kate Walters & Megan Farmrer, kuow.org Resist! Homelessness, Protests, Seattle

By Kate Walters & Megan Farmrer for KUOW - As the council considers the 2018 city budget, amendments have been proposed to achieve both goals. But whether the provisions will receive enough support to make it into the final budget is questionable. Emily McArthur is a member of the Housing for All coalition, one of the groups that organized Wednesday’s protest. She said there’s a lot at stake as council members decide what to include in the final budget. “It’s not just people sleeping outside, which you could wring your hands about and feel morally bad about, but 66 people have died just so far this year. So there’s a body count to 'business as usual politics,'” McArthur said. One after the other, dozens of people stood to tell council members that the city’s practice of evicting people from unauthorized tent camps is harmful. Travis Thompson said it’s traumatizing to see people pushed from place to place. “What little stability you have is ruined. And we put them closer to death by doing that,” Thompson said.

Tent City Leader Blasts Pugh As City Is Moving Homeless Group

November 2, 2017 Fern Shen, baltimorebrew.com Resist! Baltimore, Cities, Homelessness, Occupation

By Fern Shen for Baltimore Brew - For Samantha Smith, the last straw came at the gala fundraiser for the homeless that she attended Saturday at the invitation of Mayor Catherine Pugh. Seated near city officials and the $225-a-head VIP donors at the Lyric Theatre for the annual “Evening of Unexpected Delights” homeless benefit, Smith was shocked to hear her name called out from the stage. “I want to thank a good friend of mine, Samantha Smith, who’s with us this evening,” the mayor said. “Samantha is a homeless individual, but she’s also a leader in the homeless community.” Smith said she didn’t like Pugh identifying her as homeless (“belittling me”) to score points with the crowd. “She used me this weekend,” Smith fumed. “After all I’ve done to save your ass and cover your ass. . . We kept asking her for help and we got nothing.” Smith, the leader of the group that had staged a 10-day Tent City homeless protest action in front of City Hall in August, had previously defended Pugh. But she turned on the mayor yesterday, saying Pugh broke the promises she made when she persuaded the group to disband. Participants had agreed to move to a former school building in West Baltimore where, after a two-week assessment period, an appropriate housing plan would be developed for each person. Instead, after 65 days sleeping on cots in the dilapidated school gym, the group is going to be moved to separate men’s and women’s facilities run by Helping Up Mission, a “Christ-based” emergency shelter program in Jonestown.

Meeting Needs Of Homeless Youth: Public Schools vs. Government

July 1, 2017 Eleanor J. Bader, www.truth-out.org Create! Government, Homelessness, Public schools, Youth

By Eleanor J. Bader for Truthout - Dr. Art McCoy, superintendent of schools in Jennings, Missouri, is a humble man. But when he speaks of his school district as "a lighthouse for informed practices that respond to the needs of homeless and low-income kids," his pride is obvious. As a leader of the movement pushing public schools to address the overlapping emotional and material needs of impoverished students, Jennings is a model -- stepping in to provide food, shelter, health care and consolation to students who need it. Not surprisingly, school districts throughout the US are looking to Jennings for inspiration, especially since federal and state governments have done very little to assist this population. Jennings is adjacent to Ferguson, the small city that was catapulted to prominence in August 2014 after police murdered 18-year-old Michael Brown. Each of Jennings' eight public schools -- with an enrollment of 2,600 students, most of them poor and 160 of them homeless -- have "comfort rooms": private spaces where students can meet with counselors and address the obstacles they're facing. "The biggest issues for our students are domestic violence and the death of a loved one," McCoy states. "About 2,000 of our 2,600 enrolled students see school-based therapists each academic year to address the multiple traumas in their lives."

Hundreds Suffer As City Shuts Down Church For Helping The Homeless

May 3, 2017 Annabelle Bamforth, www.activistpost.com Resist! Homelessness, Iowa

By Annabelle Bamforth for Activist Post - A church in Davenport, Iowa, facing zoning restrictions related to its outreach program to feed the homeless, is appealing its local council and questioning the legality of the city’s regulations. This all stems from a cease and desist order they received — because feeding the homeless is not allowed when you’re zoned as a church. Pastor Jim Swope founded Timothy’s House of Hope in 2009 and is associated with Compassion Church, which was founded by Pastor Nick Cantwell. One of the primary missions of the church is focused on outreach to poor and homeless individuals, offering addiction resources, haircuts, a food pantry, clothing, and meals at no charge, according to the ministry’s website. Timothy’s House of Hope center has estimated thousands of meals served each month. Timothy’s House of Hope recently moved its operation from West 4th Street to Washington Street, which is where the Compassion Church is located. The center’s location change resulted in its closure just days later due to what has been described as “zoning issues.”

London NGOs Help Authorities Detain, Deport Homeless Migrants

March 10, 2017 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Educate! Deportations, Homelessness, Migrants, NGOs

By Staff of Tele Sur - The war on the homeless has turned into a war on migrants and non-profits are readily offering their services. London nonprofits are collaborating with immigration authorities that collect intelligence and conduct raids to detain and deport hundreds of homeless people, and are even lobbying for harsher policies, according to a report published Tuesday. At least three organizations with the shared goal of ending homelessness and connecting the vulnerable to appropriate resources — St. Mungo’s, Thames Reach, and Change, Grow, Live — regularly conduct joint operations with the Home Office “Immigration Compliance and Enforcement” and “through a creeping process of changes they are being turned into informers,” Corporate Watch found in its investigation.

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