Ursula Sheffel helps harvest an early crop of vegetables, planted in front of Baltimore City Hall, for delivery to a homeless resource center.
The vegetable gardens planted around Baltimore's War Memorial Plaza in front of City Hall have produced more than 1,500 pounds of vegetables for the kitchens of Our Daily Bread, which feeds the homeless.
"We have an opportunity to do something right here in front of City Hall," Mayor Sheila Dixon said. "We have a chance to lead by example and to inspire residents, to show that in an urban environment you can still maintain healthy eating."
This is something any city could do to inspire all its residents and to help its homeless residents. There are some raised garden beds and other green space at Orlando City Hall that could be used to grow vegetables. How about it, folks?
For most of her adult life, 48-year-old Marcia Powell was invisible. Then she died, and slowly came into view.
Powell had been in and out of jail for decades, unable to overcome mental illness, roamed the streets. After offering oral sex to an undercover police officer in exchange for a few dollars, Powell found herself in what has become one of Arizona's largest de facto mental-health facilities -- state prison. Then she was placed in a cage-like outdoor enclosure at the prison and left to cook for four hours.
There she fell into a coma and died.
The only family members that could be found were even less interested in her after death than they had been while she was alive.
Read E.J. Montini's eloquent column in the Arizona Republichere.
Police will no longer arrest, cite or harass people under state law for sleeping in public places in Laguna Beach, California, as long as there are no public health or safety concerns.
In settling a lawsuit, the city also agreed to “seal, expunge or destroy” citations that were written, and convictions obtained, under the city’s own “anti-sleeping” ordinance. Key portions of that ordinance were repealed after the lawsuit was filed December.
“This settlement agreement ... is one more important step toward decriminalizing homelessness in Laguna Beach,” said Hector Villagra of the ACLU.
The city denies criminalizing homelessness, said City Manager Ken Frank. “The settlement of the litigation will allow the community to move forward with its efforts to determine the appropriate approach to address homelessness in Laguna Beach,” he said.
Read the Laguna Beach Independent report here. And see previous posts here and here.
Update:LA's homeless blog says housing homeless people is a much better solution than suing cities to allow them to sleep on our streets. Read the post here.
A little breeze made tonight's dinner even better. It's been oh so hot lately.
On the Food Not Bombs menu at Orlando's Lake Eola Park: mango-raspberry dressing on spinach leaves, black bean soup, Mexican rice, roasted asparagus, green bean casserole and strawberries and blueberries for dessert. And then there were mangos to go.
Some other folks showed up to hand out packages of crackers and applesauce and bags of toiletries.
And the good people from Golden Rule Donations were there with a supply on clothes, shoes and much more.
Only someone who has never been seriously hungry could say that.
The quote comes from state representative Cynthia Davis, who serves as chairwoman of the Missouri House Special Standing Committee on Children and Families.
She was criticizing a summer program that will provide free breakfast and lunch to needy children because it costs money ("increased government spending"). She even thinks the program could be another tear in the fabric of family life.
Unbelievable idiocy.
Fear is a great motivator. So is pain. Maybe her next proposal will be shock collars to keep the kids in line.
Read the original newsletter, in its full idiotic glory, here.
My own comment about the summer food programs is that they don't reach enough kids. In Florida, only about 17% of the children who qualify for the lunch program during the school year get meals through the summer food program.
Forget about compassion. This makes economic sense!
Kelly Hall, a new shelter in Punta Gorda, embraces a controversial model of allowing residents to continue drinking and using drugs during their stay for up two years.
"It goes against conventional wisdom," said Jerry Thompson, president of Coastal Behavioral Health Care, the nonprofit group running the program. "But in the worst-case scenario, someone stays for two years and continues using, it's still cheaper to taxpayers than all the nights in jail and all the trips to the emergency room if they were out on the street."
Kelly Hall, a peach-colored ranch house that holds up to 52 people in rural southern Charlotte County, models a national strategy called "housing first" which is credited with driving down the nation's chronically homeless population by 30% between 2005 and 2007 -- the first significant drop in decades.
Studies have shown that the cost of housing-first rehabilitation can save taxpayers anywhere from $40,000 to $56,000 per homeless person annually, mostly by avoiding the cost of jail and emergency medical services. In New York, 11% of homeless residents left the housing first program without seeking help, compared with more than half of those in other types of rehabilitation programs. The study also showed that residents were three times more likely to abstain from heavy drinking.
In Florida, the majority of the 275 beds in housing first programs are in Miami.
Paulla Anderson lived for a year and a half in Gainesville's Tent City and is now looking for a place to live. "We've had to move three times this week, and we still have nowhere to go," she said.
The deadline for residents of Tent City to get out or be charged with trespassing was generally observed, Gainesville police said.
"Of course everyone got out -- we knew they (police) were serious about wanting everyone to get out," said one former Tent City resident who refused to give his name. "What nobody seems serious about is figuring where we are supposed to go now."
It appears that the 200 or so people who had been living in Tent City have been scattered to other places around Gainesville.
"We still need to remember that these are human beings -- broken for whatever reason -- but still somehow functioning human beings," said Gail Monahan, executive director of the Alachua County Housing Authority. "Scattering may not be a bad thing. Maybe a big concentration (of homeless people) creates a lot more dynamics, and with smaller groups there is not so much of a chance for excitement."
Dumpster diving for cardboard and other adventures on the street
Over at Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Alan is sharing the experiences of the folks doing a Street Retreat.
A group of men and women from different backgrounds and different walks of life set out for 72 hours on the streets with no food, water, telephones, credit cards, or cash. Alan describes the experience as "very powerful and transforming."
Two teenage boys have been arrested for posing as law enforcement officers and accosting two men -- one of them homeless.
The two and a third teen approached a 56-year-old homeless man and a 20-year-old man in Wichita, Kansas, claiming to be police. Two of the teens were dressed in dark pants and black T-shirts with the word "Sheriff" printed on them, the victims told police.
A 17-year-old showed the victims a badge while his 16-year-old accomplice began dumping their belongings onto the ground. The third teen stood back, resting his hand on his waistband as if he was armed.
The three teens then took off, but the duo in "Sheriff" T-shirts were arrested a short distance away. They had a police-issue expandable baton and two-way radios with them, and admitted to police they had already disposed of badges and handcuffs that they had brought with them. They told officers they bought the equipment at a surplus store.
Two homeless men charged with murder for allegedly setting a fire that resulted in the death of a veteran firefighter have pleaded not guilty.
Lawyers for Emilio Vasquez and Jose Flores say their clients did not intend to kill firefighter Gary Stephens, a 28-year veteran.
Police say Vasquez and Flores set fire to curtains in a vacant house in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to try to keep warm on Jan. 2. The fire spread and firefighters responded.
Stephens was standing behind a fire truck, directing it toward a hydrant, when he turned his head and was knocked down by the slow-moving vehicle. He died at a hospital a short time later.
Vasquez and Flores could face life in prison if convicted.
No action was taken against the driver of the truck that ran over Stephens.
"I’ve been without work for 3 years," writes Stephanie Ericsson. "Lost my house, my garden, my bank account of 30 years, and -- almost -- my self-respect. Lost a few friends and some family too (becoming homeless will re-write your address book for you) and discovered the extremes of, both, the lengths some people will go to in order to help and the depths some people will go to in order to take advantage of you. I have labeled them the angels and the jackals."
"In doorways of shops in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., one finds people sleeping and urinating amid piles of filthy blankets and empty bottles," the USA Today article begins.
The article looks at efforts in many cities throughout the country to get tough on people they describe not as homeless but as beggars. They're passing laws to clear city streets and make residents feel safe as they go about their business.
The laws are called heartless by some who say cities should instead pay for vagrants to have housing and other forms of help. "Many people are being forced to live out on the streets," said Tulin Ozdeger, civil rights director for the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. Penalizing them, she said, violates the U.S. Constitution and is inhumane.
The most notable part of the entire article is a quote from St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor David Metz, who said the city changed its laws because of an increase in complaints by businesses and residents about public drunkenness and public nuisances. He acknowledges there are not enough beds in shelters to accommodate all those who want them (the city says it has 2,200 people living on the streets), but says there's no reason for them to move onto a sidewalk.
"We are blessed to have (34) public parks in downtown St. Pete, and there's nothing to prevent any individuals from using those facilities," Metz said.
Is he really encouraging homeless people to sleep in St. Petersburg's parks?
Read the USA Today article here. And check out Alex Pickens' post here -- in fact, check out all of Alex's blog, Will Report for Food.
Former British tennis star Annabel Croft spent 10 days on the streets of London, living among alcoholics and drug addicts, sleeping in the doorways of haute-couture fashion shops and eating charity handouts.
She was stunned by the generosity and love shown by strangers willing to share what meager money or food they had. But she also faced the terror of a homeless man trying to stick a knife in her back and came to the conclusion that the world of Britain’s forgotten underclass doesn’t appear to have changed much since the days of Charles Dickens.
She did it for the forthcoming BBC series "Famous, Rich And Homeless," which she describes as a serious attempt to tackle a pressing social issue -– the plight of people living on the streets.
More of Gainesville's tent city to become off limits
Gainesville police will soon begin enforcing trespass laws on another, larger section of land that has been used as a homeless camp.
Police advised the owners of the property, which has become known as Tent City, about a stabbing at the camp and were asked to start enforcing trespass laws. That will leave fewer sections of land in the area where the homeless can camp without risking a trespass violation.
People staying on the land have a week to move.
Read the Gainesville Sun reports here and here. And see previous posts here, here, here and here.
No options for residents of Gainesville's tent city
Eleanor Briseno, an advocate for the Tent City residents, questions police on the decision to remove all the residents from the area.
The homeless people living in Gainesville's tent city will be forced to leave this morning or face arrest for trespassing, city officials say.
No alternative places to stay are being offered.
“We only had six days notice, and two were over the weekend. I can’t pull a miracle out of a hat,” said Jayne Moraski, director of the Gainesville/Alachua County Office on Homelessness. She wishes the city had worked on a short-term solution.
The city is working toward providing more beds to the homeless with the One-Stop Homeless Center project, which is an estimated 18 to 24 months away from completion.
Read the Independent Florida Alligator report here. And see previous posts here, here and here.
Another city limits feedings of homeless people in parks
Groups that frequently provide food to the homeless in city parks in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, will be limited to four in-park feedings a year.
The City Council voted 6-1 for the new law after some heated debate. Dozens of residents spoke on the matter, and most said they think the feedings bring more crime.
Those who feed the homeless say it's not them causing the problem. Once a month, Debbie Beaver helps lead her church's youth group to a park, where they hand out bag lunches. "We just walk up to them and ask them if they want a bag lunch," she said. "Whether we feed them or not, they're still there."
Councilman Mike Chestnut agreed. "I think the city is overreacting here," Chestnut said. "I don't see how the problems in the parks are from the feedings."
Other council members said they support the feeding efforts -- but not in city parks.
"The city of Myrtle Beach isn't limiting the feeding of the homeless. We think that's a great thing," Councilman Chuck Martino said. "We're just worried about the location where it's done."
Yet another update: clevelandhomeless suggests that cities target homeless people with laws in order to hide a visible sign of failed leadership. (And mentions the legal battle over Orlando's ordinance.)
Palm Beach County not violating church's religious freedom by denying homeless shelter, appeals court says
Palm Beach County did not violate the religious freedom of Westgate Tabernacle Church's leaders by refusing to let them operate a homeless shelter without a permit, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.
The church has been in a prolonged legal battle with the county for housing homeless people. The church is the only place in Palm Beach County where a person can walk in off the street and seek shelter for the same night.
The Rev. Avis Hill has said in the past that he doesn't believe his church is violating the law. He says the assistance his church gives to the homeless is a mission from God.
A jury sided with the county in 2007, but Westgate appealed and continued to operate without county permission, putting up a tent where dozens of homeless men sleep.
Westgate failed to prove to running a homeless shelter at that specific location was fundamental to its exercise of religion, judges wrote.
Read the court's decision here. And read the Palm Beach Post report here.
An unemployed woman gave $5. Another woman sold her belongings at a yard sale and donated the $200 profit. Churches pitched in, too.
As word spread that Holy Ground Homeless Shelter was facing eviction, scores of people dropped by Pasco County's only all-inclusive homeless shelter to give whatever they could to keep the doors open.
Their generosity saved the day.
Not only did shelter founder Lisa Barabas-Henry raise the $7,900 needed to halt the eviction, but she said she'll even have enough money to pay July's rent of $2,300.
"I feel so overwhelmed," Barabas-Henry said. "The love I've felt from people is priceless."
The shelter opened in 1992. It helps provide food and lodging to families in need, in addition to church services and drug and alcohol treatment.
The oddly attractive and seductive part of being homeless
Car Camper tells us about a "typical" day in the life of a homeless man.
And he observes:
One of the oddly attractive and seductive parts of being homeless is that you are, within financial means, "master of your fate, the captain of your soul." Less poetically, but more practically, you are free to follow your whims far more than when you are lashed to a desk or other job container all day long.
Homeless people told to leave Gainesville tent city
People living on private property in a section of the Gainesville homeless encampment known as Tent City will have to move by next week.
The decision came just after police arrested a man twice convicted of homicide and released last year from a Florida prison, who they allege stabbed two men at the camp. Both were critically injured.
Fliers were being distributed to people living on privately owned land near the area where the stabbings occurred. The fliers report that the land's owners have asked police to enforce trespass laws on the property. Enforcement will begin Thursday at 9 a.m.
Read the Gainesville Sun article here and the Independent Florida Alligator report here. And see previous posts about Gainesville's tent city here and here.
Tampa cops take a closer look at hit and run that killed a homeless woman
Sticks of Fire comments on the Tampa Police Department's decision to work a little harder on the case of the hit-and-run crash that killed Melissa Sjostrom, a homeless woman. Read the post here. And see the 13th juror's previous post here.
A new blog called Car Camper is written by a guy who lost his job without warning and found himself homeless. The experiences he shares may change your life, too.
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.
