Sidewalk Coffee Speakout

This will be the third in a series of weekly protests in downtown Santa Cruz, encouraging businesses to abandon anti-homeless polices and educating the public on the absurdity and abusiveness of the Downtown Ordinances.

Specifically, Coffee Roasting Company, Starbucks, Peets, and Lulu Carpenters have explicitly stated they have "no backpacks allowed" policies (though one can often find backpacks there).

HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) has received reports of discrimination from other cafes such as Pergolesi, Verve, The Abby Cafe, and Firefly, but nothing specific as to backpacks.

HUFF activists took a poll last Wednesday & we'll post those results once they're clarified.

There were concerns expressed by those polled about SC coffee roasting, LL carpenter's, Pergolesis, Hoffman's, Starbuck's and El Palomar Taco Bar.

We will be serving free coffee as usual at the protest and encouraging folks to tell what has happened to them. The protest is also going to take in Starbucks, which also recently declared a "no backpacks" policy and recently turned away a homeless customer in the courtyard because of his backpacks.

The same man later received a $200 citation for chalking with erasable sidewalk chalk on the public sidewalk, the word "boycott". CSO Barnett, recently infamous for harassment of scarflady Kate Winzell and other street folks, insisted on giving him a citation. Video of the incident may be available soon.

Come on down. Bring your own cup if you've got one, or use one of ours.

Post your experiences on Yelp and here on indybay.

More info and more links: "Busting Backpack Bigotry and Bad Laws Downtown " at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/03/03/18751864.php