March on Gainesville City Hall protests
limit on meals for the homeless
About 25 marchers walk toward Gainesville City Hall, chanting "People need to eat" and carrying signs to protest limits on how many people can be fed at St. Francis House.About 25 people marched to City Hall in hopes of spurring the city to lift the 130-meals-a-day restriction on the
St. Francis House homeless shelter.
Although the limit has been part of the St. Francis House permit since it was established in 1980, it wasn't strictly enforced until March of this year -- after a downtown developer told the City Planning Board that significantly more meals were distributed.
As a result, the homeless people who depend on the shelter's services line up at the doors earlier in the day, in greater numbers. Shelter staffers turn away those who arrive too late, said executive director Kent Vann.
Read the
Gainesville Sun report
here.
Would health-care reform reduce homelessness?
The Obama Administration says yes, extending publicly-funded programs such as Medicaid and Medicare is essential to combating homelessness in America.
"We already know that simply having 46 million uninsured people in this country clearly contributes to persistent and widespread homelessness," said HUD Secretary
Shaun Donovan, speaking in Washington at the annual conference of the
National Alliance to End Homelessness. "Health-care costs are the leading cause of personal bankruptcies."
Read the
Washington Post report
here.
Another convert to Housing First
The number of homeless families housed in motels across Massachusetts is at a peak. This unfortunate statistic has prompted the state to admit that the approach it has used over the years to address homelessness has not solved the problem.
Massachusetts has shifted its approach on homelessness from a sheltering model to a
"housing first" model. The state has overhauled its existing emergency shelter system and reorganized the state agencies that provide homelessness services.
Read more (by Lt. Gov. Timothy Murphy)
here.
15-year-old arrested in homeless man's murder
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in the murder of a homeless man whose body was found at an encampment in downtown Reno, Nevada.
An autopsy determined that Eric Burkart, 55, suffered violent, traumatic injuries before he died.
The teen was taken into custody on a charge of murder. A police spokesman said the boy is being charged as an adult.
The teen's name has not been released, and he is being held without bail at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office.
Read the
Reno Gazette-Journal report
here.
Return of the Gilded Age*
"Here's a truism: The wealthiest 1 percent have never had it so good.
"According to government figures, 1 percenters' share of America's total income is the highest it's been since 1929, and their tax rates are the lowest they've faced in two decades."
Read David Sirota's column
here.
---------------
* The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their 1873 book, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. It refers to a time known for extravagant displays of wealth and excess of America's upper-class
Teen charged stabbing death
of homeless man in Ocoee
A homeless man was stabbed 15 times by a teen using a 6-inch pocket knife after a confrontation at a camp site, Ocoee police said.
Joel David Boner, 32, collapsed a short time later near the site west of Orlando.
John Hawthorne, 19, was charged with first-degree murder. Police said Hawthorne has since voiced remorse that Boner died and for the confrontation.
Police said he and a friend, riding an ATV near Lake Bennett, found the camp site where some homeless people live about 6:45 a.m. The site is on land once owned by Hawthorne's family, police said.
The two young men told police they were up all night, at times drinking beer and playing lottery games. Police said Hawthorn knew Boner, and their past may have aggravated the circumstances.
Read the
Orlando Sentinel report
here.
Teens charged with killing a homeless man
over $7 and a case of beer
Two teenagers have been arrested in the slaying of a homeless man found dead at his camp in Anchorage, Alaska.
The two robbed James Gordon Lockery of $7 and a case of beer,
charging documents say. They kicked and punched the him several times then left, drank the beer and later came back to Lockery's campsite and beat him to death.
Lawrence Lobdell and Marc Ewing, both 18, have been charged with murder.
Read the
Anchorage Daily News report
here.
Foreclosure Survival Guide (free online)
Nolo is making its
Foreclosure Survival Guide available for free online. In addition to a wealth of information on bankruptcy and foreclosure, the guide also contains tips on nonprofit housing counselors, finding a lawyer, bankruptcy petition preparers and researching the law.
Why? Nolo says it wants as many people as possible to know how they may be able to stay in their houses —- or if they can’t, how they can save money during the foreclosure process and move out with a nest egg that will help them get a fresh start.
Right now, new federal programs that can help you refinance or modify your mortgage are just being implemented. The Foreclosure Survival Guide explains how to find out whether or not you qualify and how to get valuable free help from federally approved housing counselors.
Here's a Number 1 ranking!
Orlando Food Not Bombs was voted Best Local Charitable Group in the
Orlando Weekly's Best of Orlando! See the rankings
here (scroll down to the readers' poll results for Food Not Bombs' listing).
4 Florida cities listed
among the 'meanest' to homeless people
St. Petersburg, Orlando, Gainesville and Bradenton are ranked among the "meanest" in the nation to homeless people.
The report comes from the
National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the
National Coalition for the Homeless.
It tracks what it calls a growing trend in U.S. cities - the criminalization of homelessness. The report focuses on laws and ordinances from 2007 and 2008 targeting homeless persons, including those that make it illegal to sleep, eat, or sit in public spaces.
The top 10 U.S. cities with the worst practices in relation to criminalizing homelessness according to the report:
1. Los Angeles
2. St. Petersburg
3. Orlando
4. Atlanta
5. Gainesville, Florida
6. Kalamazoo, Michigan
7. San Francisco
8. Honolulu
9. Bradenton
10. Berkeley, California
Read the entire report, entitled "Homes Not Handcuffs,"
here.
Update: Over at
Will Report for Food, Alex is amazed that St. Pete beat out Orlando, "considering their
ridiculous, mean-spirited campaign against bums." Check out his post
here.
Another update: The
Orlando Weekly points out that the city’s defense against allegations of meanness is that it is funding a renovation that will reduce the number of beds for homeless people. Read the comments
here (scroll down to the second item).
Businessman offers to pay
panhandler's debt to Tom Brady
Dennis Paiva can retire his begging cup, thanks to a businessman who has offered to pay the $4,000 in restitution that the ex-con owes for walking off with Tom Brady’s pricey Belgian flower boxes.
“For them to come forward and do this for me, it’s like a dream come true. I appreciate it very much,” Paiva said.
Read the
Boston Herald story
here. And see previous post
here.
Teen surrenders at jail in homeless hit-and-run case
Five months after a fatal hit-and-run, 17-year-old Jordan Valdez surrendered for booking into the county jail. She faces one count of leaving the scene of an accident with death, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison.
Prosecutors decided to charge Valdez as an adult "based on the nature of the crime," Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi said. She would not comment further.
Prosecutors have offered Valdez a plea deal that doesn't include prison time, said her attorney, Ty Trayner.
Melissa Sjostrom, the 33-year-old homeless woman who died in the crash, had been walking across a Tampa street about 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 when she was hit by the vehicle Valdez now admits was was driving.
Detectives matched a red paint chip from the scene to a vehicle with front-end damage in front of the Valdez home.
Read the
St. Petersburg Times reports
here and
here. And check out the
Times' story of how
a life of promise collided with a life in ruins.
Buddy, can you spare a dime for Tom Brady?
Dennis Paiva, who lifted -- he says mistakenly -- two flower boxes worth $8,000 from Tom Brady, panhandles on a Boston street in order to repay the football star.A 61-year-old ex-con, who was arrested for taking two Belgian flower boxes worth $8,000 from Tom Brady, is now on the street panhandling to repay the New England Patriots quarterback.
Dennis Paiva of Malden, who claims the whole thing is a big misunderstanding, spends his days begging on the street after a Boston Municipal Court judge ordered him to pay $4,000 restitution to Brady’s realty trust.
The QB, by the way, will earn some $30 million this year in salary and endorsements.
Paiva, who worked as a trash picker, found two stainless steel metal containers behind a garage next to the trash in the ritzy Back Bay neighborhoods. He took the planters to a scrapyard and collected $450. Then he got a call from a Boston police detective.
He accepted a plea deal, including $4,000 restitution, that would dismiss the charges if he stayed out of trouble for a year. Paiva, with a prior conviction for bank robbery, didn’t want to take his chances at a trial.
Read the
Boston Herald story
here.
Hey, Tom, why don't you give the guy a break?
Should attacks on the homeless be added
to Florida's hate crimes law?
A bill that would add crimes committed with malice against the homeless to Florida's list of hate crimes has been filed.
"Homeless men and women are often sought out as easy targets," said state Rep.
Ari Porth, who's a prosecutor in the Broward State Attorney's Office when the Legislature isn't in session.
Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti said the enhanced penalty of the hate-crimes law would serve as a deterrent. "You shouldn't be targeted because of who you are or what you are. That's just wrong."
Under the legislation, a finding that an incident was motivated by hate could enhance a crime's punishment. Porth said a misdemeanor battery punishable by up to a year in jail could get the punishment for a third-degree felony, up to five years in prison.
Florida sorely needs such a law, said Michael Stoops, executive director of the
National Coalition for the Homeless. The state is No. 4 in population but
No. 1 in attacks on homeless people for 2005, 2006, and 2007, with a total of 111 reported incidents during those three years, he said. Numbers for 2008 are still being compiled.
Read the
South Florida Sun-Sentinel story
here.
Only one state -- Maryland -- has such a law on the books. See previous post
here.
Another voice for the homeless
joins the blogosphere
The
National Alliance to End Homelessness has launched a blog which will cover some broad themes of homelessness, including different subpopulations, federal legislation, data and reports, and other similar topics. The blog will also cover topics related to developing issues in homelessness, including specific demographics, new information, the relationship between homelessness and poverty, as well as different advocacy groups and agencies.
Check it out
here.
Homeless sex offenders don't have to register,
state court rules
Convicted sexual offenders cannot be held subject to
Megan's Law registration requirements if they are homeless, a Pennsylvania court has ruled.
Because he could not find a home after being released from prison in 2007 on sexual assault charges, William H. Wilgus should not have been prosecuted for violating the requirements to register his address with state police, the court said.
Wilgus unsuccessfully tried to find housing at several shelters and ended up living in alleys near the county courthouse.
The court said the definition of residence in the law and its purpose to inform neighbors makes it clear that the law cannot apply to transients. The three-judge panel suggested the state Legislature could amend the law to address the situation.
Read the court's decision
here.
Teen gets life in prison for killing homeless man
A Texas teenager has been sentenced to life in prison for beating a homeless man to death in a trash bin.
Sixteen-year-old Michael Martinez Jr. of Abilene was tried as an adult in the 2007 death of 48-year-old Eric McMahon.
Martinez received the maximum sentence and will be eligible for parole in 30 years.
Martinez testified during his trial that he was drunk and had left a party when he saw the homeless man in a trash container. He said an unknown man with a gun told him to kick and throw brick pieces at the homeless man.
But his confession to police didn't mention the man with a gun. And a witness testified that the then 15-year-old Martinez laughed as he kicked and hit McMahon.
Read the
Abilene Reporter-News report
here. And see previous post
here.
Police officer quits after he slashed
homeless man's bike tires
A police officer resigned this morning from the Tarpon Springs Police Department after an internal investigation determined that he slashed the bicycle tires of a homeless man.
Officer Jeffrey Robinson had retaliated for the homeless man's use of racial slurs Jan. 28 as Robinson was taking him to the Pinellas County Jail, the internal report said.
A video captures Robinson, who is black, going into a police storage room and rolling the bicycle out on Feb. 8. Moments later, it shows him wheeling a wobbly bicycle back into the storage room.
Robinson, 52, admitted to slashing the tires in retaliation for the use of racial slurs, the report said.
"This is very serious misconduct," said acting police Chief Robert Kochen. "I was going to fire him if he had not resigned."
The homeless man, John Bilawsky, 46, who is white, was arrested on trespassing charges at a Tarpon Springs business Jan. 28. He used the n-word repeatedly while he was being transported to the local jail, according to the report.
Read the
St. Petersburg Times report
here.
Update: The
St. Petersburg Times applauds the Tarpon Springs Police Department for sending "an unmistakable and necessary message ... that serious transgressions will not be ignored." Read the editorial
here.
Teen convicted of killing homeless man
A jury took less than two hours to convict an Abilene teenager of murder in the beating death of a homeless man in 2007.
Sixteen-year-old Michael Martinez Jr. could face up to life in prison.
Eric McMahon, 48, was killed when he was hit by cinder blocks and kicked.
Defense attorney David Thedford told the jury that Martinez acted out of fear of another man who he said threatened him and had a gun.
Prosecutor Joel Wilks told the jury that no one else saw a gun and said a witness testified that Martinez laughed as he kicked and hit McMahon.
Read the
Abilene Reporter-News article
here.
