Help Request for DU researchers: Pushing out the homeless. Is there a trend?

[agent46]

Over the past year or so, I've noticed some random news items on DU about different municipalities in the U.S. gathering up the homeless and pushing them outside city limits or relocating and dumping them in other cities. I'm interested in any statistics or evidence of a trend toward new local laws criminalizing homelessness and making it unlawful for citizens to feed them. I know such laws are on the books in some cities already.

The questions: Is there any evidence of a trend here? Is there any evidence of an ALEC style coordination of legislatures involved? Which cities or local governments in the U.S. have already enacted these types of laws. Which cities don't have such laws but have been using police actions to push out the homeless anyway?

I am not much of a researcher but I know a lot of DUers here have great skills along this line. I'd appreciate any information or news items relating in any way to this topic that you may have access to.

In some population centers, we may be heading deeper into reviving depression era tactics against the very poor. I invite you to post links here for everyone to share. Many thanks in advance.

~46

[agent46]

1. Kick

[OneGrassRoot]

2. I don't know....

but I DEFINITELY would like to work with you and others to find out and compile the info.

I'll try to do some research later today myself. Surely there's a definitive study out there about this but maybe not?

Thanks, agent46.

Always good to see you.

[agent46]

3. Hey OGR! Thanks!

I'm just trying to pull back on this and get a bigger picture of the issue.

I appreciate any input you can post here. Thanks Again!

[Lee-Lee]

4. It has been happening forever

The local police departments used to do that quite often- homeless person commits a minor infraction or is causing them problems, offer them a bus ticket instead of a trip to jail, or when they get out.

Columbia SC, Orlando FL, Knoxville TN and one city up north, memory fails me, were the popular ones. Usually Columbia because it was the cheapest ticket that got them out of state. They gave them a ticket, a box lunch, and a list of shelters and relief agencies wherever they were headed.

It was cheaper and easier to move them down the road than deal with the real issues of homelessness and its causes.

[agent46]

5. Interesting, Lee-Lee

Thanks.

Do you know if this is an unofficial PD policy or if it was enacted as part of the local code in any of these cities?

~46

[pinboy3niner]

6. This just happened: Columbia, South Carolina Criminalizes Homelessness In Unanimous Vote

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/22/columbia-south-carolina-criminalizes-homelessness_n_3795397.html

[agent46]

10. Yep. I got this on Columbia too

http://freakoutnation.com/2013/08/20/south-carolina-city-unanimously-approves-plan-to-make-being-homeless-illegal/

Here’s how the initiative, which was spearheaded by Councilman Cameron Runyan (D), will work.


Police officers will now be assigned to patrol the city center and keep homeless people out. They will also be instructed to strictly enforce the city’s “quality of life” laws, including bans on loitering, public urination, and other violations.

And just to ensure that no one slips through, the city will set up a hotline so local businesses and residents can report the presence of a homeless person to police.

In order to accommodate all the homeless people who will now be banned from downtown, the city will partner with a local charity to keep an emergency shelter on the outskirts of town open 24 hours a day. However, it’s unlikely the shelter, which can handle 240 guests, will be enough to handle the local homeless population, which numbers more than six times the available beds.

Homeless people can stay at the shelter, but they’re not permitted to walk off the premises. In fact, Columbia will even post a police officer on the road leading to the shelter to ensure that homeless people don’t walk towards downtown. If they want to leave, they need to set up an appointment and be shuttled by a van.

[reddread]

12. incredible

in Fresno, to assist in their latest plans, they have assembled a team of 5 LEO's to form a
"task force" to make sure homeless people do not attempt daytime camping or find a stable location.
this harkens back to some very dark moments in our history as Okies and dust bowl migrants were
discriminated against much like every other group of immigrant labor that took their beatings approaching the
American dream.
South Carolina obviously has a bigger heart as Fresno distinguishes itself by being the largest city to NOT have emergency overnight shelter space available to ANYONE. This is one of the hallmarks of their anti-constitutional, assault on the poor. They are abominably determined to make the homeless unwelcome, even though they are predominantly lifelong citizens of Fresno and nearby small towns.
All this, despite MILLIONS of dollars being acrued to assist with their numerous "Ten Year Plan(s) to End Homelesness in Fresno".
Much of that money being funneled to the PD, apparently and the local mayor forming a privitized front group called Fresno First Steps, which solicits donations from concerned citizens and fails to report their expenditures of those same donations.
That being the advantage of the organization, and the push to deprive homeless solicitors from any small change direct relief.
The more you look at it, the uglier it is.
And the Mayor started her own church as well.
So Christian.
to be fair, the City says it will allow campers to use sidewalks at night, but not during the day.
This keeps the thousands in need on the move and unreachable for the services they need.
Simultaneously, the pressure to persecute shopping cart possession will of course deprive these people of the
ability to keep their important possessions, to haul recycling and whatever other benefits they derive from a wheeled cart.
This issue is being used to drive public opinion, while ignoring the actual facts of their needs.
pure, extreme cruelty, and it could not exist without some form of approval from above.
Jerry Brown wouldnt hurt a fly, though. Ask Occupy and those bystanding longshoreman who were shot in the face back when.
We need real Democrats to replace these heartless power tools.
Please give it some thought.

[Lee-Lee]

8. Unspoken policy

I think they actually labeled the small fund used for tickets as "assistance for stranded travelers" or some such harmless sounding name.

[reddread]

7. Appears to be

This topic encouraged me to register rather than lurk as I have on occasion.
I hope everyone here is safe and warm somewhere.
In my hometown of Fresno there has been a long ordeal of homeless people being
abused and the situation has deteriorated recently to where they have cleared off the
sidewalk campers who accumulated around the Poverello House and Rescue Mission in a downtown area.
It is a long and involved story, which is mistold by the local McClatchy paper as they transcribe the City of Fresno's
explanations rather than explore the facts through journalistic investigation. As a retired photojournalist, I regret
the decline and disgrace of a paper who in years past were something to appreciate. Those days are gone.
My son, who still lives there is involved with the struggle for decency towards the poor and homeless living in ever larger numbers outdoors. He feels very strongly that this recent trend is an implementation of broader policies, either statewide or nationally.
It is a very fair question you ask, and well worth investigating, but the modern media does no such thing.
IF we cannot provide for the elderly who constitute a large percentage of the homeless, how can we look at ourselves with anything but contempt? We used to be proud of our country and our community, our democracy and our sense of fairness.
Things have deteriorated to such a degree it breaks my heart to hear what is happening to these people.
Please look closely at the reporting of Mike Rhodes and the Community Alliance for details of the outrageous behavior of the city of
Fresno, and feel free to support improved conditions for the poorest of the poor.
They are decent people who have gone down on their luck just like many during the depression.
We need to be realistic in assessing and portraying the reality, and recognize that the modern media is beholden and complicit
in horrific policy decisions intended only to benefit a few individuals at the cost of ever so many.
thank you for listening, and giving this some thought.
Hello DU!

[OneGrassRoot]

9. A hearty welcome, reddread!!!

And thank you for the information.

[PotatoChip]

11. Hello to you too reddread!

Great first post.

Welcome to DU!

[G_j]

13. great post

glad you shared it. Welcome!

[reddread]

28. thanks, all of you

It is a pleasure to discuss and share info about such an important domestic issue!

[agent46]

14. Welcome Reddread

Thank you so much for you thoughtful first post. I've heard about the situation in Fresno. It bears more scrutiny and deserves a spotlight here on DU. I also agree that the news media has largely turned its back on its responsibilities to the citizens of this country, both locally and nationally. Any more specifics or links you can contribute here regarding the implementation of Fresno city's policies would be enormously helpful, I think.

Also, I'm curious why you suspect there may be a more general coordination going on to enact these policies in other cities.

Again, welcome to DU.



~46

[reddread]

17. Coordinated assaults on other campers like Occupy

and the numerous reports from various parts of the nation regarding similar programs, but Fresno seems to hold a leading position here. Considering the legal risks of violating these citizens constitutional protections, it would seem either the city is happy to pay off lawsuits down the road with taxpayer funds for the short term goals, or they are under the aegis of something bigger.
It would seem we have enough information about how things are coordinated when the local governments turn against citizens
to make very educated guesses. good luck out there!

[agent46]

26. Yeah. DHS.

After 9/11 the USSC-installed Bush administration brought us the so called Patriot Act and almost overnight with nary a whisper of public discussion, the installation of the USDHS.

Today the DHS remains almost unacknowledged in the public's awareness or in the media, yet has been directly involved in the militarization and coordination of local Police Departments throughout the country using Federal funds.

The simultaneous take-down of the Occupy protest movement over the course of a single week in 2011 was coordinated by the FBI, DHS, local city police departments and the major banks working together as a police state apparatus.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/29/fbi-coordinated-crackdown-occupy

Reason enough to be concerned that a network of cooperation and information sharing remained in place and is still engaged in some way.

However, there doesn't seem to be much evidence of coordination regarding policy toward the homeless - yet. I think this might require a little digging.

[reddread]

27. yes, digging and/or whistleblowing

The actions in Fresno can certainly be explained in other terms, ie the financial interests of (in and) out of town property investors who seem to have their investments tied to various aspects of the deteriorated downtown where the homeless have been encouraged to stay. Complicated schemes involving properties in the line of High Speed Rail plans, plots of land that the homeless previously camped on had some remarkable histories, that neither the city nor the daily paper cared to discuss. They went to great lengths, in fact, to disguise the truth of who owned an interest in one lot, still undeveloped, but now fenced off to prevent the homeless from reestabishing the cleanest campground you ever saw.
That chapter was fairly mind boggling to observe.
I see the parallels between disparate communities who choose to do the wrong thing by their poor, but I would be very surprised to find that the crooked hearts in Fresno politics were taking their cues from above.
It has been a long ten years watching the numerous developments and many needless deaths, some much more than suspicious, others much more than shameful.
A woman who had resided in a city sanctioned camp (that is to say, a toxic waste site that they installed toilets, trash bins and a do nothing (literally) security guard to the tune of thousands of dollars a week) died on the sidewalk outside the Poverello House last year.
The city closed their campsite almost as quickly as they opened it, and left her and others to find other quarters, as they bulldozed camps, condemned fleabag hotels and tore down low income housing projects.
Many of the homeless are refused access to these centers by hostile management. You need only speak to a few to find out how they are treated, as the stories are numerous and consistent.
Meanwhile resources are concentrated in the hands of these discriminators, and society shrugs and pretends that something is being done. The most common lie being told is that shelter is available "to those who want it" (poor people must be sober before being ok)
The local paper makes it harder and harder to rebut their fairy tales, and a number of conservative spin doctors and hostile individulas work feverishly to deny the color of the Fresno sky.
It is a morass of irresponsible, uncivilized disregard for human life, coming from those who would gladly pass the collection plate your way.
"trust us"

[gopiscrap]

19. Welcome to DU!!!

[agent46]

15. Orlando Activists Arrested For Feeding Homeless In Defiance Of City Ordinance

Over the past week, twelve members of food activist group Food Not Bombs have been arrested in Orlando for giving free food to groups of homeless people in a downtown park. They were acting in defiance of a controversial city ordinance that mandates permits for groups distributing food to large groups in parks within two miles of City Hall. Each group is allowed only two permits per park per year; Food Not Bombs has already exceeded their limit. They set up their meatless buffet in Lake Eola knowing that they would likely be arrested as a result.

The law was first passed in 2006, after local residents claimed that Orlando Food Not Bomb's twice-daily homeless feeding was becoming disruptive. A federal court ruled the ordinance unconstitutional in 2008, deciding that Food Not Bomb's activities are a protected form of free speech. But in April, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the earlier ruling. They agreed that feeding the homeless constitutes free speech, but argued that the Orlando ordinance does not infringe unreasonably on the group's rights. (An editorial in the Orlando Sentinel supported with the court's decision this morning. They note that "at least 10 organizations regularly serve food to the hungry downtown" without defying the law.)

Orlando Food Not Bombs maintains that the restrictions are unconstitutional and unjust. They have said that they plan to continue feeding the homeless despite the arrests.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/10/orlando-food-not-bombs-arrests_n_874840.html

[agent46]

16. I'm heading out to work, folks

Will check back in a bit.

Power to the People.

~46

[AngryAmish]

18. Go watch "Emperor of the North"

[KamaAina]

20. Some places give homeless people one-way tickets to Hawai'i.

Nevada is notorious for this. California used to do it, too.

[agent46]

21. Now Hawaii's Doing It Back

Hawaii Offers Homeless One-Way Tickets Out of State

A homeless man collects cans on Waikiki Beach in 2010 in Honolulu. Under a new pilot program, some homeless people will get help from the state to reunite with relatives on the mainland.

A new homeless initiative in Hawaii is raising some eyebrows, and the department in charge of implementing it has concerns of its own.

As part of a larger housing bill in July, the state Legislature approved $100,000 per year for a three-year pilot project that would help get some homeless people off the island and back to their families on the mainland. Participants must leave voluntarily.

"This portion of the bill was designed specifically to help individuals and not to tackle the overall problem of homelessness in the state of Hawaii," says Hawaii News Now reporter Chris Tanaka.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/01/207937294/hawaii-homeless-initiative-would-send-some-back-to-mainland

They dress it up as helping the homeless reunite with family, but it's more likely many of these people are in poverty, without family or mentally ill with families unable to care for them.

This is just another way of making the homeless someone else's problem instead of dealing with the economic and public health issues that create homelessness to begin with.

[agent46]

22. City To Ban Street-Corner Feedings of Homeless

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has announced a ban on the feeding of large numbers of homeless and hungry people at sites on and near the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Mayor Nutter is imposing the ban on all outdoor feedings of large numbers of people on city parkland, including Love Park and the Ben Franklin Parkway, where it is not uncommon for outreach groups to offer free food.

Nutter says the feedings lack both sanitary conditions and dignity.

“Providing to those who are hungry must not be about opening the car trunk, handing out a bunch of sandwiches, and then driving off into the dark and rainy night,” Nutter said.

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/03/14/nutter-announces-ban-on-outdoor-feeding-of-homeless/

[agent46]

23. Dallas Restrictions on Feeding the Homeless

A Dallas-area ministry is suing the city over a food ordinance that restricts the group from giving meals to the homeless.

Courts dismissed Dallas’ request for a summary judgment last week, saying the case, brought up by pastor Don Hart (in video above) may indeed be a violation of free exercise of religion, as protected by the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the blog Religion Clause reported.

In the court filing, the ministry leaders argue that their Christian faith requires them to share meals with the homeless (Jesus did!) and that the requirement that even churches and charities provide toilets, sinks, trained staff and consent of the city keeps them from doing so.

A similar controversy came up in Houston last year, involving Feed a Friend, a ministry led by Christian rapper Tre9, Bobby Herring, that weekly distributes meals to homeless people. Herring appeared before City Council to defend their program, and the city ultimately agreed to consider drafting an ordinance that would make special accommodations for small-scale outreach.

http://blog.chron.com/believeitornot/2011/11/homeless-ministry-says-dallas-food-ordinance-restricts-their-religious-freedom/

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. Not new, just more coverage.

Nevada has even sent them on a one way trip to Hawaii. They prefer San Fran.

Locally my county board of supers refuses to even admit we have a problem in the East County. It's just a San Diego city issue (and we all laugh)

On a serious matter admitting it means doing something about it and that, *gasp I know* costs a lot of money

[reddread]

25. feeding the homeless

I am not certain, but strongly suspect all or most of those cases of persecuting those who would feed the homeless did not end up
successfuly for those municipalities. While they certainly did start the problems and attempt to restrict the public feedings,
something tells me they did not pan out in the long run. That would take more research than I can immediately manage,
but judging by the dates cited, I believe the conclusion of those events were unsucessful for the would be authorities.
But, that was then (within the last several years) and this is now.
If we are seeing a coordinated approach towards abusing and neglecting the homeless, we may well see public feedings successfully prohibited in various localities.
Just suggesting that the whole story on those examples might be a little different at the end, and yet again, that may change in the immediate future.
It is important to focus on the real problems faced today, and not get overwhelmed or discouraged by the many attempts at
prohibiting public service by volunteers. Trying to force those policies past a jury composed of humans, or an honest judge is no mean trick. I hope I am right about that.
If there are current examples of groups being interfered with, I would like to know about it.
Sadly, it seems there are not that many active Food Not Bombs groups around the country.
Two meals a day? HEROIC.

[agent46]

30. I think that's a good point, reddread

This post is meaty and I need a couple days to digest it. We're having relatives from China this week and preparations have been a kind of stressful fun. I will definitely get back to you about this.

Thanks,
~46

[agent46]

29. Long Beach Anual Grand Prix Homeless Roundup

“They lined us up and told us we were all criminals,” Wilson said. “Raids. That’s what they call them…It’s happening more frequently.”

Her and about 20 fellow homeless slept by the Long Beach courthouse to cover from last night’s rain. Police told her that next time instead of citations, they would be arrested and put in the jailhouse.

It was the day before the Grand Prix and many of Long Beach’s homeless say that’s not a coincidence.

This looks like a good site
http://www.coppinc.com/making-the-homeless-disappear/

[reddread]

31. YES! the answer is very clear, as it has been for those involved.

Glad to know I can be silenced so easily.
Many there are that wish they knew how.