Re: Homeless Right to Sleep campaign to nix anti-camping laws
Wandering Bear (wandering_bear@hotmail.com)
Tue, 20 Jan 1998 13:30:19 PST
despite Rubans inflamitory actions to his fellow homeless advocates I
am willing to support this cause on the merit of its nessesity.
Wandering Bear
>
>NATIONAL CALL TO ACTION: HOMELESS RIGHT TO SLEEP fwd
>
>*REPUBLISH AND REPOST FREELY
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>JANUARY 16, 1998
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
>
>The American Homeless Society (AHS) has joined
>Burnside Cadillac's Portland, Oregon campaign, to
>repeal the city's inhumane no "camping" ordinance
>that outlaws homeless men, women and children from
>sleeping in city limits, despite their being turned
>away from local shelters, due to lack of room and beds.
>
>Santa Claus and the "peace and goodwill" spirit of
>the holiday season are gone, as America must once again return to
>reality. El Nino is unmercifully lashing out at the homeless
throughout
>the country, local and state politicians are returning to their
>anti-homeless rhetoric and proposals, and the White House is now
>referring concerned citizen requests for homeless assistance back to
the
>states.
>
>The rich and well-to-do continue to complain about the visibility of
the
>homeless in their cities and counties throughout the nation, while
>well-funded "homeless agencies" do little or nothing, to stop these
grave
>injustices. If anyone is going to do something, it is those of us
reading
>this NATIONAL CALL TO ACTION here and now.
>
>The American Homeless Society calls on concerned citizens throughout
the
>United States, to research city and county laws negatively affecting
>local homeless in your respective areas, and to organize to amend or
>repeal these unjust laws.
>
>Persons interested in organizing a local drive, to amend or repeal
these
>discriminatory ordinances in your area may contact AHS, at:
>sananda@hotmail.com
>
>To establish a chapter of the American Homeless Society for your state
>or area, today, visit:
>
>http://members.tripod.com/~sananda/homeless/ahs1.html
>
>Dr. Ruben Botello
>GLOBAL HOMELESS NETWORK
>
>*****************************************
>FROM PORTLAND, OREGON
>
>Campaign for Legal Places to Sleep (CLPS)
>By Sharon Pearson <bcad@teleport.com>
>
>The woman is sleeping, sitting up while her partner
>keeps a tired but watchful eye. She is fortunate to
>have someone to look out for her because
>she has no housing and no bed in which to sleep.
>
>She is also in danger of receiving a ticket by
>Portland police who act to enforce Portland's
>Anti-Camping Ordinance, even when shelters are full.
>This attitude, that homeless people should sleep
>sitting up, be kept moving around the city and not
>allowed to stay in one spot, is common: the city of
>Portland has criminalized homelessness.
>
>The anti-camping ordinance makes it illegal to "set
>up, and to remain in or at a campsite." A campsite
>is defined as "any place where bedding, sleeping
>bag, or other sleeping matter, or stove or fire, is
>placed, established or maintained, whether or not
>such place incorporates the use of any tent,
>lean-to, shack or any other structure of any
>vehicle."
>
>It is illegal in the city of Portland "For any
>person to camp in or upon any sidewalk, street,
>alley, lane, public right of way, or any other place
>to which the general public has access, or under any
>bridgeway or viaduct." The city's got it covered.
> For doing any of the above, upon conviction, a
>homeless camper could be fined up to $100, jailed
>for up to 30 days, or both.
>
>Since the anti-camping ordinance was passed by the
>city council in l981, the Portland Police have made
>numerous sweeps of homeless campsites to drive
>homeless people from Portland. There certainly
>aren't enough shelter beds for people living in
>camps.
>
>People would have to leave their mates to use the
>shelters and people with dogs and cats would have to
>get rid of their pets. Shelters are temporary,
>dirty, over-crowded and sometimes people are forced
>to sleep on the bare concrete floor of the shelter.
>
>People living in shelters have to take their
>possessions with them during the day. You are
>probably familiar with many of these and other
>problems.
>
>Still, the city continues to pursue the
>money-wasting and futile attempts to move people
>from camps. After a sweep, campers move back;
>sometimes that very day.
>
>We are looking for people to help us with our
>Campaign for Legal Places to Sleep that begins
>December 23, l997. Phone us to
>volunteer:503-228-5657.
>
>We need strong leaders since the lives of homeless
>people are at stake. If you are a reader of the
>Burnside Cadillac, you may be aware that we have
>reported the deaths of two people crushed to death
>in dumpsters and we speculate the people were in the
>dumpsters to avoid being ticketed by Portland
>police.
>
>If you can help with making copies of documents and
>mailing them out, that would be wonderful! Our
>staff is already over-worked. The following
>represents what we hope to accomplish:
>
>1. Repeal the Anti-Camping Ordinance.
>
>2. Establish public campgrounds with sliding scale,
>fees; the higher fees to help cover the costs for
>low-income and homeless individuals and
>families.
>
>3. Establish year-round camp grounds for homeless
>people; large enough for all who need them, with
>tenant input on decisions, adequate sanitary
>facilities, utilities, community buildings, child
>care facilities and playgrounds.
>
>4. Establish immediate "safe zones" on certain
>streets and/or in certain public places that would
>be exempt from the Camping Ban, prior to its ban.
>
>5. Obtain zoning changes so property owners could
>invite homeless people to camp on their property.
>
>Repealing the Anti-Camping Ban and making safe
>zones and campgrounds are only stop-gap measures to
>protect our homeless citizens now. Affordable
>housing is an ultimate goal that will not be
>accomplished in time to save lives; if it is ever
>accomplished.
>
>We hope to gather ten thousand signatures by March
>1, 1998. At such time we will appeal to our local
>government to act and if such action is not
>forthcoming, we will reluctantly initiate a campaign of civil
>disobedience with camp-ins and/or sit-ins.
>
>Two local organizations have already committed to
>assist this campaign and we hope for many more.
> Please contact Sharon Pearson with the Burnside
>Cadillac at 503-228-5657 and leave a message. We
>only have one phone for both the newspaper and The
>Bridge School, so we hope you will be patient!
>We'll get back to you as soon as possible.
>
>Remember, your help with this campaign could save
>one life, and if one life is saved, that life is
>enough reward for all of our efforts.
>
>Sharon Pearson
>BURNSIDE CADILLAC
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>GLOBAL HOMELESS NETWORK
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
><http://members.tripod.com/~sananda/homeless/welcome.html>
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>TITLE 17 USC 107: "Spread the News!"
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
><http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml>
>
>END FORWARD
>
>
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com