[HPN] Inequality of Life Demo

[Coalition on Homelessness, SF]

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HOMELESS PEOPLE'S VIEWS, News, Alerts, Actions & Research
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PRESS RELEASE
COALITION ON HOMELESSNESS, S.F.
468 TURK STREET  SAN FRANCISCO, CA  94102
Contact persons:  Adam Arms, Mara Raider, Coalition on Homelessness 
(415) 346-3740

Homeless People "Cite" City Attorney for
"Quality of Government" Violations

SAN FRANCISCO --  On Thursday, February 10, at 12:00 p.m., homeless 
people, with the support of the Coalition on Homelessness, will meet 
on the Polk-side steps of City Hall and proceed to "cite" the City 
Attorney's Office for "Quality of Government" violations in response 
to the City Attorney's Infraction Prosecution Program targeted at 
homeless people.

Mayor Willie Brown ensured last year's budget allocated $250,000 to 
the City Attorney's Office to prosecute homeless people for so-called 
"quality of life" infractions.  The City Attorney's Office has now 
placed two full-time lawyers to sit in San Francisco Traffic Court 
and target homeless people for fierce prosecution of such "crimes" as 
sleeping in a doorway or on the sidewalk.

"I've gotten about 10 tickets for sleeping in the park even though I 
couldn't find housing," says Jessie Z.  "This is just another way to 
harass and criminalize homeless people.  Tickets don't solve my 
housing problem."

The City Attorney's plan, which does not include defense 
representation, is part of a larger, long-running battle between 
successive San Francisco Mayors and homeless people who are forced to 
live in the City's public spaces.  Former Mayor Jordan's Matrix 
program resulted in tens of thousands of citations.  Despite Mayor 
Willie Brown's promises to end Matrix, the number of citations 
written that criminalize homelessness has risen steadily every year 
of Mayor Brown's administration and has outpaced Jordan's by 
thousands.  In 1999 the SFPD issued a record high of 23,871 "quality 
of life" tickets.  This was also the year that a record number of 183 
people died homeless in our City.

The Coalition believes the program is ill-conceived and will simply 
escalate the criminalization of homelessness.  The Coalition on 
Homelessness is challenging the City Attorney's prosecution scheme. 
On February 3, the Coalition filed a motion objecting to the City 
Attorney's prosecution program on myriad legal grounds.

  "The City Attorney cannot legally prosecute infractions in traffic 
court," says Mara Raider of the Coalition on Homelessness.  "But more 
importantly, this money and energy could be spent on real solutions 
to homelessness such as low-income housing, treatment on demand 
healthcare, affordable child care, and living-wage jobs."
##30##

The Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco, was organized in 1987 
to garner the active participation of poor people on both the design 
and critique of public policy and non-profit services that result in 
permanent solutions to poverty.  It is a unique organization in that 
the driving force is low-income and homeless people, working in every 
aspect of the organization, from the volunteers to the staff and 
leadership body.

END FORWARD

**In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without charge or profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only.**

*******************************************************
6,000+ POSTS by or via homeless & ex-homeless people
Nothing About Us Without Us - Democratize Public Policy
*******************************************************

Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco
468 Turk St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
vox: (415) 346.3740
Fax: (415) 775.5639
coh@sfo.com
http://www.sfo.com/~coh
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HOMELESS PEOPLE'S VIEWS, News, Alerts, Actions & Research

6,000+ ONLINE POSTS by or via homeless & ex-homeless people


***********************************************************

<bold><fontfamily><param>Palatino</param>PRESS RELEASE

COALITION ON HOMELESSNESS, S.F.

</fontfamily></bold><fontfamily><param>Palatino</param>468 TURK STREET 
SAN FRANCISCO, CA  94102

<italic>Contact persons:  Adam Arms, Mara Raider, Coalition on
Homelessness (415) 346-3740 


</italic><bold>Homeless People "Cite" City Attorney for 

"Quality of Government" Violations


</bold><smaller>SAN FRANCISCO --  <bold>On Thursday, February 10, at
12:00 p.m., homeless people, with the support of the Coalition on
Homelessness, will meet on the Polk-side steps of City Hall and proceed
to "cite" the City Attorney's Office for "Quality of Government"
violations in response to the City Attorney's Infraction Prosecution
Program targeted at homeless people.


</bold>Mayor Willie Brown ensured last year's budget allocated $250,000
to the City Attorney's Office to prosecute homeless people for
so-called "quality of life" infractions.  The City Attorney's Office
has now placed two full-time lawyers to sit in San Francisco Traffic
Court and target homeless people for fierce prosecution of such
"crimes" as sleeping in a doorway or on the sidewalk.


"I've gotten about 10 tickets for sleeping in the park even though I
couldn't find housing," says Jessie Z.  "This is just another way to
harass and criminalize homeless people.  Tickets don't solve my housing
problem."


The City Attorney's plan, which does not include defense
representation, is part of a larger, long-running battle between
successive San Francisco Mayors and homeless people who are forced to
live in the City's public spaces.  Former Mayor Jordan's Matrix program
resulted in tens of thousands of citations.  Despite Mayor Willie
Brown's promises to end Matrix, the number of citations written that
criminalize homelessness has risen steadily every year of Mayor Brown's
administration and has outpaced Jordan's by thousands.  In 1999 the
SFPD issued a record high of 23,871 "quality of life" tickets.  This
was also the year that a record number of 183 people died homeless in
our City.


The Coalition believes the program is ill-conceived and will simply
escalate the criminalization of homelessness.  The Coalition on
Homelessness is challenging the City Attorney's prosecution scheme.  On
February 3, the Coalition filed a motion objecting to the City
Attorney's prosecution program on myriad legal grounds. 


 "The City Attorney cannot legally prosecute infractions in traffic
court," says Mara Raider of the Coalition on Homelessness.  "But more
importantly, this money and energy could be spent on real solutions to
homelessness such as low-income housing, treatment on demand
healthcare, affordable child care, and living-wage jobs."

</smaller>##30##


<italic>The Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco, was organized in
1987 to garner the active participation of poor people on both the
design and critique of public policy and non-profit services that
result in permanent solutions to poverty.  It is a unique organization
in that the driving force is low-income and homeless people, working in
every aspect of the organization, from the volunteers to the staff and
leadership body.


</italic></fontfamily>END FORWARD


**In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material

is distributed without charge or profit to those who have

expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information

for non-profit research and educational purposes only.**


*******************************************************


6,000+ POSTS by or via homeless & ex-homeless people

Nothing About Us Without Us - Democratize Public Policy

*******************************************************

Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco

468 Turk St.

San Francisco, CA 94102

vox: (415) 346.3740

Fax: (415) 775.5639

coh@sfo.com

http://www.sfo.com/~coh

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