Soup kitchen refuses to sign
'Anti-Terrorism Compliance Measures' form
Brendan Walsh estimates that more than 1 million people have shared meals at the Viva House soup kitchen.A soup kitchen is refusing to certify that it does not use United Way funds to support terrorism, saying the request smacks of McCarthyism.
Brendan Walsh and Willa Bickham, who since 1968 have operated Viva House soup kitchen and food pantry on Baltimore’s west side, say they were surprised to receive a letter from the United Way of Central Maryland asking them to sign and return an “Anti-Terrorism Compliance Measures” form or risk losing money that was pledged to them.
“It’s tantamount to signing a loyalty oath,” Walsh says.
For many years Viva House has gotten small amounts through United Way, the couple says. The most recent check, for $625, came in June. But never before has the United Way sent any correspondence like this.
“We continue to ‘do the works of mercy and resist the works of war,’” the couple wrote in a letter addressed to the United Way, quoting from Viva House’s mission statement. “Loyalty oaths don’t bring about unity or good health. Instead, they break us apart as a people.”
Viva House is part of the
Catholic Worker Movement, co-founded in 1933 by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin and dedicated to peace, justice, and social equality.
Read the
Baltimore City Paper report
here.
A State of the Union address
without the words "poor" or "poverty"?
"A good first step would be for us -- all of us, not just those of us who deliver State of the Union messages -- to acknowledge the poor, to use the word poverty, to accept it as part of who we are," writes my colleague Benjamin Kirby over at
The Spencerian. "Then we can work together
to fix it."
Read the whole post
here (it's worth the click, I promise).
More Orlando tax money going to fight
against sharing food with the homeless
The City of Orlando will spend another $25,000 on an outside lawyer to argue over its "large-group feeding" ordinance in court.
The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 15 before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
The Fox35 story is full of errors,
* but you can read it
here. The
Orlando Weekly report (which I like better, of course) is harder to link to, but it's
here if you just scroll down a little.
Just think about the positive things that could be done with the money.
---------------
* For example, the ordinance applies to groups of 25 (not 35) people and the required permits are limited to two per park per year (not two per group).
City permit rule stops
couple's effort to feed the homeless
Bobby and Amanda Herring spent more than a year providing food to homeless people in downtown Houston every day. They fed them, left behind no trash and doled out warm meals peacefully without a single crime being committed, Bobby Herring said.
That ended when the city shut down their "Feed a Friend" effort for lack of a permit. And city officials say the couple most likely will not be able to obtain one.
"We don't really know what they want, we just think that they don't want us down there feeding people," said Bobby Herring, a Christian rapper who goes by the stage name
Tre9.
Anyone serving food for public consumption, whether for the homeless or for sale, must have a permit, said Kathy Barton, a spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Department. To get that permit, the food must be prepared in a certified kitchen with a certified food manager.
Bobby Herring said those rules would preclude them from continuing to feed the 60 to 120 people they assisted nightly for more than a year. The food had been donated from area businesses and prepared in various kitchens by volunteers or by his wife.
He and his wife became involved in the effort several years ago, when she would take leftover food from work to the homeless downtown. From there, it expanded into a full-time effort for her working through Eyes on Me, the Herrings' nonprofit organization that focuses on Christian-themed youth outreach efforts.
Read the
Houston Chronicle report
here.
Homeless pitch tents in public lot;
city says it's legal
Some of the homeless have pitched tents in a vacant public lot in Lubbock, Texas, and the city says as long as the people don't break any laws or pose a threat to public safety, they can stay.
"It is not against the law for those people to be there. It is only a violation of the law when they start violating the laws already on the books in Lubbock," said city councilman Paul Beane.
Clifford Van Loan, who has been homeless since May, says he hopes those who join him on the lot will act responsibly so this will be a place the homeless are welcome. "If you're out on the street, you should not be a wild animal. That's one of the problems we had at the library and we don't want that to happen here," he said.
The
Carpenter's Church is loaning the tents, in exchange for signing a sheet stating there will be no alcohol or drug use and the area will be kept clean.
Read the KCBD report
here.
Central Florida food-stamp growth 'staggering'
-- now 1 in 6 relies on help
About one in every six Central Floridians now relies on food stamps to subsist -- a rate that has ballooned by nearly 185% since the start of the recession.
The Florida Department of Children and Families called the increase "staggering."
In Orange County, the number is even higher, up 198%.
"And what's most shocking is that these are largely people who haven't applied for food stamps in the past," said John Cooper, director of DCF's 16-county central region. "This is the new face of public assistance."
Read the
Orlando Sentinel report
here.
Teens plead guilty in fatal beating of homeless man;
they had planned to “kick a bum’s ass”
With their heads bowed at times and one fighting back tears, two teen-agers accused of beating a homeless man to death in 2009 pleaded guilty Friday to voluntary manslaughter and other charges.
John Hadley Thompson, 17, and Jared Cory Voss, 18, face 20-year, eight-month prison sentences.
The two teens, and their former co-defendant, Albert Curtis Sanchez, 20, were due to begin standing trial next week for murder and other criminal charges in the April 18, 2009, beating death of Timothy Lee Alcorn in Redding, California.
Alcorn bled to death after he was struck on the head about 15 times with a wooden table leg and two metal bars the three teens found in a wooded area.
Police allege Sanchez told investigators the trio had planned to “kick a bum’s ass” during a robbery attempt.
Read
The Record-Searchlight report
here. See photos from the memorial service
here.
Panhandling becomes an issue in Tampa elections
Mayoral candidate Bob Buckhorn says if elected one of his first actions would be to submit a proposed panhandling ban to the city council for approval.
“While I am sympathetic to the needy, we cannot allow this to continue any longer,” he said in a
statement on his campaign website. “Panhandling at any intersection puts the driver, the passengers and the needy person in harm’s way.”
Candidate and city council chairman Tom Scott opposes a complete ban but says he is working his own proposal to identify roadways where solicitation might be prohibited during peak hours.
Read the
Tampa Tribune report
here.
Homeless man who lives in doghouse told to move on
Billy Craig has lived in a doghouse for nearly a year.William Craig, 52, is homeless. He has lived in a doghouse behind a beauty salon in Madison, Tennessee, for nearly a year. "It's tough being homeless in Nashville," Craig said. "It's rough out here in the street." Craig has no family. "They are all dead, and I am all alone."
Craig will have to move his doghouse soon. The beauty parlor changed owners, and the new owner wants him to move on.
"I can't believe that in America people like Billy are living in a doghouse," said Dennis Huey, who works for Operation Stand Down, a group that helps homeless vets, in Nashville. "It's just unbelievable."
Read the
Tennessean report
here.
Mayor says city should have
2 homeless "feeding centers"
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler is suggesting two "feeding centers" should be opened near downtown to help reduce the number of homeless hanging out in the city center.
Seiler’s suggestion comes after months of struggle to find a location for one feeding center.
One reason for two sites is that the city could face a federal court challenge if any one site is too inconvenient for the homeless. Two sites would guarantee a feeding center would be within reach of all those downtown.
Downtown business owners and residents have put increasing pressure on the city to do something about the use of Stranahan Park next to the main library as a gathering place for the homeless. They say the throngs discourage people from coming downtown.
Read the
South Florida Sun-Sentinel report
here.
Pinellas shelter sprang from brainstorm
to reality in less than 90 days
A new homeless facility near the Pinellas County jail has opened its doors for the first 25 people in what officials call a "soft opening."
Called Pinellas Safe Harbor, the annex building is expected to become the area's busiest homeless shelter, housing as many as 500 people at a time.
The first residents are volunteers, but eventually the jail will divert those who were arrested for ordinance violations or other crimes that typically involve the homeless.
Read
The St. Petersburg Times report
here. There's also an
editorial praising the cooperation among the criminal justice system, the county, St. Petersburg and other cities.
Son of Sanford cop accused of attacking homeless man
turns himself in at jail
The 21-year-old son of a Sanford police lieutenant accused of sucker-punching a homeless man and breaking his nose -- an attack that was captured on video -- turned himself in this morning.
Justin Collison was wanted on a charge of aggravated battery. He is being held without bail.
A video shot by a witness in downtown Sanford on Dec. 4 shows Justin Collison attacking Sherman Ware, and then walking away and punching another man.
Capt. Jerry Hargrett, the acting police chief, said last week that officers made "blatant" policy violations that night, including not handcuffing Collison or patting him down. The Police Department launched an internal investigation into four officers, including a sergeant, who were associated with the case.
Read the
Orlando Sentinel report
here. And see previous post (with video)
here.
8 homeless youth die in New Orleans fire
-- what does it say about us?
Eight young people, who were squatting in an abandoned warehouse, perished in a raging fire during a cold night in New Orleans. Bill Quigley (one of my heroes) asks:
Will we look into our abandoned buildings and look into the eyes of our abandoned daughters and sons and sisters and brothers? Will our nation address unemployment, high housing costs and low wages? Will we address the abuse, neglect and family conflict that create homelessness for millions of youth, especially gay and transgender youth? Or will the fires continue and the lives end?
Read his commentary
here.
