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Indybay Feature
No Penalty for Poverty - Housing For All
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Date:
Tuesday, May 09, 2017
Time:
3:30 PM
-
3:30 PM
Event Type:
Protest
Organizer/Author:
Keith McHenry (posting by Norse)
Email:
Phone:
575-770--3377
Location Details:
3:30 PM County Building
4 PM Main Post Office Forbidden Fence
5 PM City Hall
Throughout the Night: Inside and Outside City Hall
4 PM Main Post Office Forbidden Fence
5 PM City Hall
Throughout the Night: Inside and Outside City Hall
While the federal government continues its efforts to eradicate the social safety net, the cost of housing in Santa Cruz continues to rise, creating an unstable situation locally, and leaving many of our poorest residents without homes. Local action to reduce the cost of housing and provide homes for all is long overdue.
A protest and march calling for a commitment to house all residents will begin on the steps of the County Building at 3:30PM on Tuesday May 9th, continue to the Post Office (which recently fenced its grounds to prevent people without homes from having access) and arrive at City Hall at 5PM in time for oral communication. The County Building is at 701 Ocean Street in downtown Santa Cruz. The City Hall is 809 Center Street.
Activists are calling for local government to take steps to insure that housing is available at a reasonable rate, to provide emergency shelter for the houseless, and to decriminalize sleeping, among other measures.
Sherry (last name withheld to avoid persecution by City officials) has been sleeping at City Hall for a week since the winter shelter closed and left her without a place to be. “At least here,” she says, “I feel a little bit safer. It’s public and there are people around. Plus I like supporting other people who are in the same situation as me.”
Since Max doesn’t have another place to sleep anyway, his choice to sleep at City Hall is tactical, “I want them to see me here in the morning. I want them to see homeless people here until they do something about it.”
Rabbi Philip Posner was a freedom rider who spent 39 days in jail in Mississippi in 1961 as part of the civil rights movement. He views the treatment of the homeless as this generation’s call to conscience “A legal place to sleep is a human right. Criminalizing the homeless amounts to penalizing people for being poor.” Posner and his son Micah plan to sleep out at City Hall after the demonstration in solidarity. They are inviting people with and without homes to bring sleeping bags and join them in the unsanctioned act of sleeping on public property.
For more information contact:
Audrey Simmons: audreysimmons1995 [at] gmail.com. 805 540 8109
Steve Pleich: spleich [at] gmail.com. 831 466 6078
Keith McHenry: keith [at] foodnotbombs.net. 575-770-3377
Press Release by Micah Posner; Posting by Robert Norse
A protest and march calling for a commitment to house all residents will begin on the steps of the County Building at 3:30PM on Tuesday May 9th, continue to the Post Office (which recently fenced its grounds to prevent people without homes from having access) and arrive at City Hall at 5PM in time for oral communication. The County Building is at 701 Ocean Street in downtown Santa Cruz. The City Hall is 809 Center Street.
Activists are calling for local government to take steps to insure that housing is available at a reasonable rate, to provide emergency shelter for the houseless, and to decriminalize sleeping, among other measures.
Sherry (last name withheld to avoid persecution by City officials) has been sleeping at City Hall for a week since the winter shelter closed and left her without a place to be. “At least here,” she says, “I feel a little bit safer. It’s public and there are people around. Plus I like supporting other people who are in the same situation as me.”
Since Max doesn’t have another place to sleep anyway, his choice to sleep at City Hall is tactical, “I want them to see me here in the morning. I want them to see homeless people here until they do something about it.”
Rabbi Philip Posner was a freedom rider who spent 39 days in jail in Mississippi in 1961 as part of the civil rights movement. He views the treatment of the homeless as this generation’s call to conscience “A legal place to sleep is a human right. Criminalizing the homeless amounts to penalizing people for being poor.” Posner and his son Micah plan to sleep out at City Hall after the demonstration in solidarity. They are inviting people with and without homes to bring sleeping bags and join them in the unsanctioned act of sleeping on public property.
For more information contact:
Audrey Simmons: audreysimmons1995 [at] gmail.com. 805 540 8109
Steve Pleich: spleich [at] gmail.com. 831 466 6078
Keith McHenry: keith [at] foodnotbombs.net. 575-770-3377
Press Release by Micah Posner; Posting by Robert Norse
For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/freedomsle...
Added to the calendar on Mon, Apr 24, 2017 12:01PM
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...is no 'right' worth having. Thanks to a DOJ Statement of interest in re Bell v. City of Boise et al. (see link for details and statement) it is no longer a crime to simply sleep in public when no, or inadequate 'shelter' space is available. The apparent net effect of that action was to reinforce the federal government's notion it no longer has to fund general homeless services... That "targeted services'" for certain at-risk groups was adequate.
In light of that result it's IMPERATIVE the city and county of Santa Cruz develop a SUBSTANTIAL AND OPERATIONAL PLAN to INTEGRATE it's homeless workers into the community instead of disenfranchising them. As with a healthy 'middle class', a community cannot survive without low-pay, minimal skill workers either. For far too long the city has allowed Santa Cruz businesses to fill those jobs with UCSC students. It's time to declare an ECONOMIC EMERGENCY and cap how many UCSC students can work downtown and give working people and perhaps more imperatively, local kids, Santa Cruz' potential future homeless and escapist substance abusers, a chance to survive as well.
IMHO, the city WILL NOT go along willingly. It will claim "It's not our job to create jobs', even as their own social and legal policies created a burgeoning business for CCTV camera installer, security guards, "Rangers" and other totalitarian-state-like jobs. It crows that it's relatively good bond ratings are due to a "Flexible Labor Market". In other words 'cheap disposable labor'. College students are that. A person who lives and works in a community for life is NOT going to be as 'cheap", or as easily 'disposable'.
In light of that result it's IMPERATIVE the city and county of Santa Cruz develop a SUBSTANTIAL AND OPERATIONAL PLAN to INTEGRATE it's homeless workers into the community instead of disenfranchising them. As with a healthy 'middle class', a community cannot survive without low-pay, minimal skill workers either. For far too long the city has allowed Santa Cruz businesses to fill those jobs with UCSC students. It's time to declare an ECONOMIC EMERGENCY and cap how many UCSC students can work downtown and give working people and perhaps more imperatively, local kids, Santa Cruz' potential future homeless and escapist substance abusers, a chance to survive as well.
IMHO, the city WILL NOT go along willingly. It will claim "It's not our job to create jobs', even as their own social and legal policies created a burgeoning business for CCTV camera installer, security guards, "Rangers" and other totalitarian-state-like jobs. It crows that it's relatively good bond ratings are due to a "Flexible Labor Market". In other words 'cheap disposable labor'. College students are that. A person who lives and works in a community for life is NOT going to be as 'cheap", or as easily 'disposable'.
For more information:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-dep...
Razor Ray -
In 2011 I was fortunate to have crossed paths with you; our/my street life sure was and remains sobering. The houseless population I met during my own street days were as I think you are stating clearly, a high percentage are indeed "FEDERAL CHECKS". There is some obvious, tricky, (secret) cash flow for the mentally ill & those houseless drug addicts. Our local government seems to recruit/invite the out of town eye sore, mentally ill and their "needle mania." The skilled - low skilled population, of the "roofless", are being set out as prey for the drug addicts & those houseless dealing with psychiatric challenges. The prey "victims" with physical handicaps (those in wheelchairs, the OBVIOUS) they are another houseless "scene" our local politicians, the district attorneys, city attorneys, board of supervisors, are careless to address or would that be expense? Is this sour/sore topic a reflection of the elected leadership, the few who govern the many and the "ahhhh daaaa" tax paying commuters? Those houseless who want to work, contribute, provide for their families, cash a paycheck, have nearly ground zero support; there is and will to be no rent control for those poor SOB's. Got a vacation rental?
Yes UCSC students are the low paying work forces in this high demographic, tourist, college town. My daughter, born in Santa Cruz 1996, a 3rd yr UCSC student, she has 2 jobs. Her UC tuition has placed her in debt for probably the next 20 yrs of her aspiring (career) life.
** Might be no better spot than here to thank you for "treating" me to those Callahans cold brews & games of pool.
Gloating,
Kate
In 2011 I was fortunate to have crossed paths with you; our/my street life sure was and remains sobering. The houseless population I met during my own street days were as I think you are stating clearly, a high percentage are indeed "FEDERAL CHECKS". There is some obvious, tricky, (secret) cash flow for the mentally ill & those houseless drug addicts. Our local government seems to recruit/invite the out of town eye sore, mentally ill and their "needle mania." The skilled - low skilled population, of the "roofless", are being set out as prey for the drug addicts & those houseless dealing with psychiatric challenges. The prey "victims" with physical handicaps (those in wheelchairs, the OBVIOUS) they are another houseless "scene" our local politicians, the district attorneys, city attorneys, board of supervisors, are careless to address or would that be expense? Is this sour/sore topic a reflection of the elected leadership, the few who govern the many and the "ahhhh daaaa" tax paying commuters? Those houseless who want to work, contribute, provide for their families, cash a paycheck, have nearly ground zero support; there is and will to be no rent control for those poor SOB's. Got a vacation rental?
Yes UCSC students are the low paying work forces in this high demographic, tourist, college town. My daughter, born in Santa Cruz 1996, a 3rd yr UCSC student, she has 2 jobs. Her UC tuition has placed her in debt for probably the next 20 yrs of her aspiring (career) life.
** Might be no better spot than here to thank you for "treating" me to those Callahans cold brews & games of pool.
Gloating,
Kate
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