Feeding bodies and souls (and exercising their constitutional rights)
Each Sunday, a picnic shelter in Orlando's Langford Park becomes the First Vagabonds Church of God, where homeless people receive food for their bodies and souls. Check it out in this nice little video from the Orlando Sentinel.
In 2006, the church and Orlando Food Not Bombs sued the city over rules that limited the number of times they could share food with homeless and hungry people in city parks. A federal judge ruled the city ordinance violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion.
Today's mail contained a wonderful surprise -- a birth certificate for one of my homeless clients.
You might think that ordering a birth certificate is no big deal. But most states require you to present a photo ID to get your birth certificate. And, of course, you need a birth certificate* to get a Florida ID card.
I first ordered Derrick's** birth certificate from the state of Illinois in January 2008. That's 14 months ago. I've lost count of how many times we've sent in different applications, with different supporting documentation. At this point, I'm not even exactly sure what worked.
What I do know is that on Thursday, we'll get Derrick a Florida ID card. And then he'll be able to get a real job. He's been working out of the labor pool for several years (he signed up there before he lost his ID) and has been offered a full-time job ... but he needs an ID be hired.
If you want to help, send us $10 to pay for an ID card for Derrick or someone else who needs help. (There's a donation button on the right-hand side of this page.) If you're in the Orlando area, volunteer for IDignity. The next event is Thursday, March 26. --------------- * Or a valid United States passport or a certificate of naturalization, for U.S. citizens, or a green card or other immigration documents, for non-citizens. ** Not his real name.
Spending up to $10,000 to hire 100 "fake" homeless people for an evening might sound to some like an odd use of tax dollars in a recession.
But city officials say the "decoys" are needed to ensure the statistical validity of Toronto's second-ever survey of its homeless population.
Between 50 and 100 people - including students, actors, formerly homeless people and social workers - will be given $100 prepaid Visa cards to pose as homeless on the city's streets as volunteer surveyors try to count Toronto's real homeless population on April 15.
Anna Richardson grew up in Santa Cruz and has been homeless off and on since leaving home at age 14. Now she and Miguel DeLeon are sleeping on the streets and accumulating tickets.
Taking the criminalization of homelessness to an unusual level, the city of Santa Cruz, California, is seeking an injunction against a couple with more than 60 unpaid citations they've received downtown related to their homelessness.
The injunction would make certain "nuisance behaviors" -- such as sleeping outside -- a violation of a court order, which would lead to a contempt charge. If the pair were to ignore the contempt charge, they could be arrested.
Miguel DeLeon, 35, and Anna Richardson, 27, are homeless musicians who have lived in the downtown area for several years. They have accumulated numerous tickets for camping, washing in a city fountain and other violations but habitually fail to appear in court or pay the fines.
During the hearing, Judge Paul Burdick said he was inclined to grant an injunction, upon better proof the offenses occurred. He said he did not believe it would violate their Constitutional rights.
"The defendants have choices; they are not involuntarily homeless," Burdick said. "They don't have to hang out downtown."
Defense attorney Jonathan Gettleman challenged the judge's assertion, saying there were 496 shelter beds and an estimated 5,000 homeless people in Santa Cruz. "So not everybody gets to sleep inside," he said.
Gettleman, who said he took the case pro bono after overhearing the couple talk about it in a courtroom hallway, said homeless people have the right to share public space.
"They are not harming anyone," he said. "The city has a matrix of ordinances that makes life untenable for homeless people, and civil contempt carries serious consequences."
Just in case you need to know: here's some advice on how to wash your entire body, one section at a time, in a public restroom without ever getting legally naked.
Mr. Toast knew many of he intricacies of life on the streets. No one knows how he got his name, but he lived in a late-model Hyundai Excel that he parked in a vacant lot next to the East River.
The New York Times takes a look at this Vietnam vet, and shares his knowledge of how to sleep in a car or stay clean when all you have is a public library restroom, here.
The population at Pinellas Hope, a "tent city" providing housing for homeless people, includes a growing number of people who have lost their jobs and their homes.
At first most of the clients at the seasonal camp in St. Petersburg were chronic homeless people with histories of mental or substance abuse, said Frank Murphy, spokesman for Catholic Charities. Now about 30 percent of new residents are "economic homeless" – people who recently have lost jobs and homes and have nowhere else to go.
Daniel Fore, a homeless man, speaks at a news conference after a Cook County judge ruled that he could not run for a suburban village board seat because he doesn't have an address. His attorney, Joseph Jacobi, watches.
A homeless man's name cannot appear on the April 7 ballot for a Chicago suburb because he did not list a home address on his nominating papers, a court has ruled.
Attorneys for Daniel Fore said they will appeal the decision. According to the judge and attorneys on both sides, the decision marked the first time in the United States that a court ruled on a homeless person's residency and eligibility to run for office.
State election laws require a candidate to put "the street and number thereof, if any" on his or her statement of candidacy. Fore's attorneys maintain that "if any" gives someone without an address -- such as a homeless person -- the ability to seek office without having a permanent abode.
The judge disagreed, saying "if any" more likely refers to the rural route address system for people who live far from metropolitan areas where a street address and number are commonplace
Read the Chicago Tribune report here. And see previous posts here and here.
Are you bothered by a homeless guy with a cell phone?
I was going to comment on the uproar over Michelle Obama’s surprise visit to a soup kitchen and the homeless guy who took her picture with his cell phone. But SLO Homeless has it nailed. Check out the post "Journalism (or the lack thereof)."
Over at LA2W, we've been getting a bunch of hits from people looking for the court ruling that sharing food with hungry and homeless people in public parks is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment.
It turns out that a couple of Food Not Bombs chapters are facing new legal challenges.
Middletown FNB in Connecticut is appealing a "legal order" which threatens "police action" if the group does not cease "dispensing" food. Albuquerque FNB is expecting a court summons and forced removal next week; the group has a lawyer on board to help.
And Northampton Food Not Bombs in Massachusetts has been told by police that the group can't dispense food without a health department permit; they're planning to is simply to tell the police that they're having a public potluck/picnic to which anyone and everyone is invited.
Isn't it interesting that all this is happening now when the issue of hunger in America is becoming so tragic for thousands of families?
Good luck, folks! Hope our work in court helps you. If we can do anything else to help, let us know.
A poverty lawyer (and, by the way, law professor) comments on social justice issues, news and court decisions ... with a few other random thoughts thrown in here and there
Help support IDignity! People without photo ID have difficulty accessing the critical services and benefits that help move people off the streets and out of poverty. Help us eliminate the barriers that are forcing people to live on the streets. Make a donation that will help one person – or 10 – get the photo ID that will enable them to access critical, life-sustaining services.
This blawg is a exercise in journalism, not legal advice. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for the advice of a qualified attorney, obtained in an attorney-client relationship, with respect to any actual legal issue or dispute.
Nothing on this web site should be construed as legal advice or perceived as creating an attorney-client relationship.
