Rage Against City Council Bigotry--Freedom SleepOut #36

A week after City Council enraged and disappointed a room full of activists, Freedom Sleepers resume their regular weekly protest and invite the disenfranchised to join them. If supporters hold fast, there will be coffee in the morning.

Homeless folks at the Red Church and on Pacific Avenue Monday night continued to report citations for sleeping, being driven out into the rain, and regular harassment.


RELATED SANTA CRUZ ACTIONS
Meanwhile "Dogwood", a homeless activist seeking to generate a more visible and public response, has announced a protest to begin at the Town Clock at 3 PM with a march down Pacific Avenue to City Hall to join the Freedom Sleepers. See "Speak Out Against the Sleeping Ban " at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2016/03/14/18784050.php

"Push Back" Pat Colby has announced she'll be at the police station Thursday March 17 at 12:30 PM to help folks reclaim their property from the police. At present, police only allow folks to pick up their seized property 12:30 -2:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This restriction severely impacts unhoused people whose survival gear is confiscated--still a grim occurrence here.

HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) will be present at the Project Pollinate day-long event on Saturday the 19th at San Lorenzo park between 11 and 1 PM to help organize resistance to the criminalization of the homeless.

HUFF hopes to organize a caravan to Salinas on March 22nd to support the Salinas Union of the Homeless resisting the planned destruction of the Chinatown encampment (see below).
We'll be signing up people and looking for vehicles.

HUFF will also be assisting people to call the River St. Shelter at 459-6644 to get on the Waiting List, which immunizes those on the list for three days from camping ticket prosecution.

Insider, Silver-Tongued Steve Pleich's predictions of higher City Council support for the right to sleep proved overly optimistic. He notes that City Councilmember Micah Posner may be introducing a call for City staff to find legal places to park RV's in town. Several months ago, City Council, under the leadership of Councilmember Richelle Niroyan criminalized homeless RV parking at night.


SIGNS OF EARLY SPRING IN THE STRUGGLE
Sacramento activists, after weeks of protest, seem much closer to forcing its local politicians to legalize if not support encampments. See "Let Sacramento’s homeless have their tent city"--an editorial by the conservative Sacramento Bee at http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article65032512.html

In addition, Sacramento housing activist Paula Lomazzi notes on her facebook page that the Justice Department is moving to block local and state fines for poor people in actions arising out of the Ferguson struggle:
See http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/14/politics/court-fines-poor-people-doj/index.html

In Salinas, National Lawyers Guild attorney Anthony Prince has filed a second lawsuit demanding police leave homeless property alone. He has called for making Salinas "the Selma of 2016" recalling the civil rights struggles of the 60's.

Specifically, he wants folks to stand up to a scheduled police raid on the long-standing homeless encampment in Salinas's Chinatown on March 23, by having a mass rally on the 22nd and sleepout there. See http://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/my-safety/2016/03/11/salinas-homeless-urged-stand-their-ground/81679316/ .

For more information, contact Wes White at 831-296-0042 . See the flier below for additional details.