Senator Robert Byrd: Remember him as a homeless advocate
Senator Robert Byrd, who died today at the age of 92, was a homeless advocate.
Because of Byrd’s leadership, the first major federal program to provide funds for people experiencing homeless became law. His support ensured enough votes to override a Presidential veto, and President Reagan reluctantly signed the bill into law on July 22, 1987.
The current McKinney-Vento Act remains a tribute to Byrd's work. He will be remembered for many things -- including the Ku Klux Klan membership he came to regret -- but he should be remembered for his appreciation of the potential and fallibility of humans, and the need for the government to look after its poorest residents.
Read the post at the National Coalition for the Homeless blog here.
Take an in-depth look (actually, a listen) at St. Pete's panhandling ban
If you’re asking for donations for charity, selling a Sunday newspaper or just looking for a few bucks for yourself, you can’t do it anymore along the major roads in St. Petersburg. The city has enacted a ban on all kinds of transactions along busy roads in an effort to keep drivers and panhandlers safe.
Meet some of the people you see on the roadside and find out why the St. Petersburg ordinance already has survived a legal challenge.
The guests on WUSF's "Florida Matters" include my friend and colleague, G.W. Rolle, who thinks the ban on panhandling and roadside solicitations takes away some of the panhandlers' humanity. A former roadside newspaper vendor himself, Rolle admits he probably would have turned to crime when he was homeless if he hadn't been able to sell newspapers and find other temporary work opportunities.
Another friend and colleague, Tulin Ozdeger of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, worries about criminalizing homelessness when it comes to bans on panhandling.
Three fired Grand Junction police officers claim the use of knives to cut tents at a homeless camp was consistent with their law enforcement training, while insisting May 3 wasn’t the first time local officers have used such tactics at a transient camp.
“Had I known I’d lose my job for looking for a felony suspect, I’d have never gone down there,” said Joseph Mulcahy, 28, among the three officers fired earlier this month by Police Chief John Camper.
“Cutting the tents was not consistent with professional law enforcement training standards or any training provided by the Grand Junction Police Department,” Camper said in an e-mail, while declining further comment because of the officers’ active appeals.
Read the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel report here. And see previous posts here and here.
Church settles dispute with city over pancake service to homeless
Anthony Vaitkus, 53, (left) and Jason Skinner, 31, eat breakfast at CrossRoads United Methodist Church in Phoenix.
The Saturday morning service includes songs, prayers and a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs, pancakes and bacon.
CrossRoads United Methodist Church in Phoenix has reached a deal with the city that ends an upcoming federal-court battle over the church's Saturday pancake-breakfast service. As a result, the church will drop its federal suit against the city.
The church's Prodigal's Home ministry will continue the Saturday morning service inside the church. The service had been outside. The ministry hopes to relocate the pancake service within the next six months, said Mike Ricker, executive director of Prodigal's Home.
Last summer, some neighbors of the church complained that by feeding homeless and hungry people on its campus, the church was operating a charity dining hall in violation of the city's residential zoning. The city ordered the church to stop. The church defended its weekly worship service, citing the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the First Amendment and statutes protecting freedom of religion.
A hearing officer ruled that feeding the homeless at a place of worship can be banned by city ordinance. A few months later, the city's Board of Adjustment ruled in the city's favor, prompting legal action from the church in U.S. District Court.
Read the Arizona Republic report here. And see previous post here.
What happens when a county runs out of money for homeless services?
One county in California may be about to find out.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, who are staring at a $122 million budget deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1, may have to make dramatic cuts proposed for health and human services programs serving the county's most vulnerable citizens, including the homeless.
Program administrators and members of the public warned that the consequences would be dire. "We're being reduced to Third World standards of care," said Scott Seamons of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California.
The proposed budget provides enough money from the general fund to support homeless programs for two months. After that, unless money is found elsewhere, more than 3,000 beds for homeless people could disappear, resulting in more men, women and children living on the streets.
Appeal filed in homeless lawsuit against St. Petersburg
Four homeless people have appealed a federal judge's decision to dismiss nine allegations in a lawsuit that accuses St. Petersburg of violating the rights of homeless people by enforcing a series of punitive ordinances.
On March 11, Judge Steven Merryday upheld the city's right to arrest people for sleeping during the day on sidewalks and for storing personal property on public land. He also supported the city's right to ban people from public property if they had committed crimes there before.
The case -- filed on behalf of Anthony Catron, Jo Anne Reynolds, William Shumate and Raymond Young -- is now pending in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Read the St. Petersburg Times report here. And see previous post here.
St. Pete and the Times negotiating end to legal challenge of solicitation ban
The city of St. Petersburg and Times Publishing Co. are negotiating an end to the newspaper's federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the city's ban on street solicitation.
Times Publishing Co., the parent company of the St. Petersburg Times, will drop its suit if the city agrees not to pursue legal fees, which the city attorney estimates to be in the "low" five figures for staff time and surveillance work.
In exchange, the Times would agree not to seek to overturn the ordinance in the future.
"After the judge's ruling last week, we examined all our options and decided against a legal challenge," said Times communications director Jounice Nealy-Brown. "We're still very concerned about the city ordinance but we had our day in court. We'll turn our efforts elsewhere."
Three months ago, Danny and Maggie got off the streets of Austin. With the help of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, they moved from a tent into a mobile home.
But they are still panhandling.
Why?
Take a look at the thought-provoking post by Mobile Loaves and Fishes founder Alan Graham.
Did homeless murder victim simply fall on the knife? Or was he stabbed?
A forensics expert will testify at trial that a homeless man who died from a knife wound simply fell on the knife.
The expert had previously testified that he could not tell how victim Joel Boner's knife wound occurred — that is, whether he was stabbed or fell on the knife.
"This was a change," Assistant State Attorney Jim Altman said after the hearing. "This came as a surprise that now he was saying this."
The state has added Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia as a witness to rebut the defense expert's testimony.
John Hawthorne is charged with second-degree murder in the July 22, 2009, death of Boner. He is free on $25,000 bond, but must remain in his parents' Ocoee home for all but an hour a day.
Hawthorne was arrested the day of the killing after he and a friend, Cameron Milner, spent a night drinking and riding an ATV around Lake Bennett. They went to Boner's camp early that morning.
Hawthorne ordered Boner to leave and slashed his tent with a knife. They then started to fight. Hawthorne testified that Boner attacked him first.
Read the Orlando Sentinel report here. And see previous posts here, here, here and here. For more detail on the case, check out the Orlando Weekly's "An inauspicious death: When a gay homeless man is murdered, does anyone care?" here. And don't miss Justice for Joel Boner
Liberty City tenants protest against evictions; 2 arrested
Activists from Take Back the Land staged a protest today as a family was being evicted from an apartment building in Liberty City neighborhood of Miami.
Although the tenants said they had been paying the rent to a previous landlord, the new owner, a subsidiary of the bank which had foreclosed on the property, filed eviction notices on them for non-payment. The protestors identified three demands: 1) Stop the evictions; 2) Allow residents to remain; and 3) Elevate housing to the level of a human right through public policy changes.
Two people were arrested as the evictions were carried out. Max Rameau was charged with disobeying a lawful order and Ashaundra Young was charged with starting a riot when they refused to move so that the Miami-Dade County Sheriff could execute the eviction.
After about 30 to 40 people were served and with about 50 people still waiting in line, a Food Not Bombs sharing was stopped by authorities in Concord, California.
The Contra Costa Health Department, with the assistance of the Concord police, ordered the group to cease operations and confiscated all of the remaining food and supplies.
As hungry people walked away with plates full of food, the police took their plates and ordered them to leave.
Before the serving began at the Concord farmers market in the Todos Santos plaza, the newly formed chapter of Food Not Bombs was confronted by the health department and the police and told not to serve the meal. But the group decided to set up and begin serving anyway because so many people were waiting for the meal.
The authorities used lack of permits and violations of health codes to justify their actions. The cookware and supplies were later returned to Food Not Bombs.
Read the San Francisco Bay Area Indymedia report here.
The end may be in sight for legal battle over food-sharing (in Las Vegas)
Gail Sacco dishes up a plate of food in this August 2007 photo. "Hopefully the park marshals won't try to find other ways to harass the homeless," she said.
A four-year legal battle that pitted homeless advocates against the city of Las Vegas in a rancorous debate about personal rights versus public safety is on the verge of ending.
Homeless advocates and the city have signed an agreement that would dismiss a federal lawsuit against the city and change codes about how marshals can treat the homeless in parks.
The City Council will review the proposed agreement at a date yet to be determined.
At the heart of the legal skirmish is Gail Sacco, who was cited for feeding more than 25 homeless people in a park without a permit for a gathering that size.
The revised codes would allow up to 75 people to congregate, including to be fed, before a permit is required.
Marshals couldn't ban a homeless person from a park without evidence of unlawful activity, and they would have to justify charging a person with trespassing.
Read the Las Vegas Review-Journal report here. And see previous post here.
A federal judge has refused to block St. Petersburg's new ban on street solicitation, clearing the way for officials to begin enforcing it this weekend.
Starting Sunday, panhandlers, charity fundraisers and street vendors on the city's major streets could face arrest if they don't leave after a warning, St. Petersburg City Attorney John Wolfe said.
St. Petersburg Times attorney George Rahdert argued that city officials claimed the ordinance was aimed at improving public safety to disguise its real intention: getting beggars off the streets.
"This is a panhandling ordinance, pure and simple," he said.
Praying won’t get you a free meal if you’re the 131st person in line
A Gainesville ordinance which caps the number of free meals at homeless shelters was criticized again by residents at a City Commission meeting.
The city threatened on April 2, 2009, to shut down St. Francis House, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in downtown Gainesville, if it did not begin complying with the ordinance, which limits the number of daily meals to 130. This made social workers and local church members question the reasoning behind the strict enforcement of the ordinance.
The meal limits have been debated since early 2009 when the city began enforcing the 1993 city code amendment, which limits the number of daily meals a shelter could provide, restricts certain areas from providing meals or shelter and caps the number of people who could stay the night at a shelter.
Read the Independent Florida Alligator report here.
Newspaper sues St. Pete over its new street solicitation ban
Calling a new ban on street solicitation a violation of its constitutional right to free speech, the St. Petersburg Times has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of St. Petersburg.
"The right of access to public streets and sidewalks to distribute the news is essential to the exercise of the press' First Amendment freedoms," the suit states.
By a unanimous vote Thursday, the City Council approved banning all street solicitation, making no distinction between panhandling, roadside fundraising and street vending. The surge in panhandlers has troubled neighborhood leaders, and this ban was considered one way to put tighter restrictions on begging.
Council members said the inclusion of those activities is unfortunate, but necessary. They were following the advice of City Attorney John Wolfe, who said making exceptions would make the ban vulnerable to a legal challenge.
"The ordinance is a content-based restriction on speech that targets panhandlers and the homeless," the suit states. "In an attempt to appear content-neutral, the ordinance bans all 'street vending,' not for traffic safety but as a facade to disguise its content-based intentions."
The paper sells about 7,000 newspapers each Sunday, providing part-time work for many individuals. The ban would rob the vendors of income while threatening them with arrest for disseminating news to the public, a constitutional right, the suit states.
Enforcement of the ban is set for Sunday, but Judge Richard A. Lazzara will consider a motion to impose a restraining order on the city that would stop enforcement until the legal challenge is resolved.
I've now checked the website of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals 99 times* to see if the court has handed down a decision in the Orlando food-sharing case.
Nothing yet. Maybe the 100th try will be the charm.
Keep a good thought for us. --------------- * Since the oral argument on December 17.
A British couple was shocked to discover a homeless man was living on their roof.
Pregnant mother of two Steph Wallace noticed the foot of a sleeping man sticking out over the edge of the roof on her home in southern England when she was taking out the trash.
It turned out the foot belonged to a homeless man who had set up camp on the roof.
"We think he was up there for at least a few days, but who knows. He could have been up there for weeks," said homeowner Peter Wallace.
The man ran away when Peter Wallace confronted him, leaving behind a tarp and pile of cardboard, a jug of orange juice and a decorative garden rabbit taken from the Wallace's yard that he was apparently using to weigh down his makeshift tent.
In a meeting that lasted five hours, St. Petersburg city council members voted to ban panhandlers from begging on street corners.
While some are overjoyed to see them go, a great number of people are disappointed and say the ban goes too far. The ordinance not only affects the poor and homeless; non-profit organizations, charities and newspaper hawkers will all be banned. Charities such as firefighters’ “Fill the Boot” fundraiser that raises money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association are included in the ban.
Before the vote, the Times took a stand against the ordinance.
The city has made advances in dealing with homelessness in recent years. But elected officials who want real solutions should not embrace simplistic but politically popular ordinances that fail to address the reasons there are so many panhandlers. It is a complex problem that requires a more thoughtful response.
Daniel Case played football in high school and served his country in the Army in Vietnam. After years on the street, he was finally starting to piece his life back together when two selfish teenagers ripped that away from him.
A teenage gang member has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally beating a homeless Vietnam veteran.
Luis A. Rincon pleaded guilty in Bradenton to second-degree murder for killing 59-year-old Daniel Case with a golf club in February 2009.
Rincon apologized to Case's family.
Rincon and 19-year-old Robert Ramirez, both documented members of a gang known as SUR-13, bludgeoned Case to death. Police say the pair attacked Case because they wanted to burglarize a nearby tire store and wanted to knock him out.
His niece, Holly Case, offers some answers to the questions her family faced, like "How could you not help him get off the streets?" (with lots of pictures of her Uncle Dan`and his family).
Three police officers have been fired as a result of their intrusion into a homeless camp in May.
No criminal charges will be filed. “There are no eyewitnesses to the alleged criminal acts, there is no forensic evidence, the property was left unattended for several hours in an open field accessible by the general public and a significant number of the victims declined to cooperate,” District Attorney Pete Hautzinger wrote in letter on his decision.
The three officers were searching for a man suspected in the theft of copper wiring. They found the camp empty.
“During their search, however, we have confirmed that the officers cut several tents open with their pocket knives, and sliced one or more bicycle tires as well,” Police Chief John Camper said.
The actions, “had no useful law enforcement purpose,” Camper said.
Camper last week approved the purchase of 11 news tents, at a cost of $390, to replace the damaged property. The chief said the purchase was “the right thing to do.”
Read the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel report here. And see previous post here.
A Daytona Beach man was found guilty today of attempted voluntary manslaughter for setting a homeless man on fire in dispute over money.
A jury deliberated for about four hours before finding John R. Harper, 46, guilty. He faces up to 10 years in prison as a habitual felony offender. He will be sentenced July 13.
Harper argued about money with Dean Fultz last September. Fultz, who lived in a homeless camp, was hit in the head and knocked to the ground before he agreed to take Harper to the camp to get the money they were arguing about.
Harper was seen with a fuel can in his hand as they walked to the camp and Fultz was then seen running with his clothes on fire.
Fultz suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns over 30% of his body.
The Wednesday evening food-sharing is usually a happy* picnic in the park, with lots of good talk, laughs and -- of course -- great food.
But last night there was a somber note, as word spread that one of the regulars had been killed by a drunk driver.
We all knew him as Stacey, but it turns out his real name was Keith Hess. He was riding his bike when a drunk driver plowed into him from behind and ran him over.
This morning I sadly added his name to the list of people to be remembered on Homeless Persons' Memorial Day. --------------- * It's been a pleasant, tension-free event since the city has been prohibited from enforcing its ordinance restricting the food-sharings. A federal judge ruled the ordinance violated people's constitutional rights. We're still waiting for a decision from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Police officers slashed tents, punctured bicycle tires and wrecked other property in a homeless camp along the banks of the Colorado River.
Now that the allegations of vandalism have surfaced, three officers have been suspended from the Grand Junction police department.
Jacob Richards, co-founder of Housing First! No More Deaths!, first learned of the incident when people who lived there told him a group of police officers blocked them from entering their campsite.
Once they got in, they discovered eight tents had been cut open and bicycle tires slashed. The officers also cut rope that held clothes and supported structures.
The Grand Junction police have provided 11 new tents to replace the damaged ones, a step Richards believes is a good first step toward resolution.
Officers involved in the incident face criminal and internal investigations.
Read the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel report here.
Will the new homeless hate-crime law be used against the homeless?
A new Florida law aimed at curbing attacks on the homeless may be considered in charging the suspects in a brutal attack on a 68-year-old man in Lauderhill.
Both the victim and at least one of the suspects may be homeless. Police think victim Johnny Warden might be homeless is because he was arrested last month on a trespassing charge in nearby Plantation. A witness thought suspect Neil Wilson was homeless because he often asked for money and toted belongings in a bag.
"If that is the case, the suspects would be charged accordingly," said Lauderhill Police Capt. Constance Stanley.
Warden was beaten and robbed by two men who kicked him and jumped on his head. The men took his ID card, credit cards and Social Security card and then fled.
“They stomped him, kicked him and punched him several times and basically left him for dead," said Stanley.
Warden is in the hospital in critical condition. Police said Warden's last known address in New York is a dead end and no family has come forward in South Florida.
Wilson, 25, and Roberto Rodriguez, 31, have been charged with attempted murder but could be facing even more charges, police said.
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
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