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Two Meals a Week Cut for Santa Cruz Homeless
Suppose you could only eat one meal a day that had any nutritious value? And then suppose that in a round of budget cuts (that don't affect police, fire, or Parks and Rec Rangers) your meals were cut to FIVE days a week instead? No need to imagine such a scenario. The Homeless Services Center in Santa Cruz has done just that. And more.
May 3 2007
Santa Cruz, Ca. -- In the latest rounds of budget woes, the Santa Cruz Homeless Services Center, in order to balance out the loss of some hoped for grant money, and a food service budget which has caused a deficit for 2 years in a row, the Saturday and Sunday afternoon dinners will be cut along with staffing cuts, and fewer hours of service.
"They are taking the cuts right out of the homeless," said James Sherman, who is homeless himself, but volunteers at the center. "They used to have three mental health counselors. But now they only have one, and she works exclusively at the family shelter." The Rowland Rebele Family Homeless Shelter which opened 2 years ago, and currently houses only 20 people, has been the centerpiece of tangible proof that Mayor Emily Reilly's cares about the needs of homeless people to sleep, eat, or live. The Family shelter cost $5 million to build, and due to strict federal requirements, has failed to fill completely, despite record need.
Meanwhile the heavily used HSC's hygiene bay includes 2 washing machines, 4 dryers, 3 showers, and toilets for 2500 homeless clients. Hours will be cut to 5 days a week instead of seven. But the biggest loss are those two, weekend meals which feed between 65 and 160 each afternoon. Without these meals, people will go hungry.
Sherman is skeptical that anyone really cares about the survival of homeless people. Shelter which is chronically inadequate, is especially so since the National Guard Armory closed its doors on April 15th. The same people which the City and County sheltered on April 15th, are now being cited with $90 sleeping ban tickets as of April 16th by Santa Cruz Park Ranger Rick Wallace. As soon as the Armory closed, he began issuing a rash of citations to homeless campers in the Pogonip and other greenbelt areas in the area. The City of Santa Cruz (population 54,000) has over 2000 acres of parkland, greenbelt or watershed within the City limits alone, but not even one acre is set aside for legal camping.
Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom (HUFF) has long held that the City needs to open a homeless campground for legal camping options, or stop writing citations under MC 6.35.010 which outlaws the act of sleeping out of doors between 11PM and 8:30 AM.
Human Rights Organization member, Bob Patton has called for the public to contact 17th district Rep.Sam Farr to facilitate budget help that the HSC needs to restore vital, life-saving services, and prevent starvation.
Sherman is also concerned with winning back the right to camp somewhere legally. "I am putting out the call to the general public to take the kids and come down to the river and go camping overnight or over the weekend. Camp out to help the homeless." HUFF member, Robert Norse, who supports a public campout to protest the double-bind homeless people are in, with no place to go and a sleeping ban crackdown in force, also supports using the courts to fight the Sleeping Ban. "Since April of 2006 and the Jones decision in Los Angeles, issuing tickets to homeless people for sleeping at night in a situation in which inadequate shelter exists constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
City Council point man, Vice-Mayor Ryan Coonerty disagrees. He steadfastly supports enforcing the Sleeping Ban despite the 9th circuit court ruling. Mayor Reilly and the council have been briefed by City Attorney John Barisone regarding city liability for continued enforcement of the ban in a post the Jones decision world. But Reilly refuses to divulge the contents of the Barisone's memo citing "confidentiality of a client with legal counsel."
Photo by HUFF
Mayor Emily Reilly can be contacted at: (831) 420-5020 and press 2
Or write the entire council at: citycouncil [at] ci.santa-cruzca.us
See also: http://www.huffsantacruz.org (831)423-HUFF
Congressman Sam Farr can be reached at (831)429-1976 and at: samfarr [at] mail.house.gov
Santa Cruz, Ca. -- In the latest rounds of budget woes, the Santa Cruz Homeless Services Center, in order to balance out the loss of some hoped for grant money, and a food service budget which has caused a deficit for 2 years in a row, the Saturday and Sunday afternoon dinners will be cut along with staffing cuts, and fewer hours of service.
"They are taking the cuts right out of the homeless," said James Sherman, who is homeless himself, but volunteers at the center. "They used to have three mental health counselors. But now they only have one, and she works exclusively at the family shelter." The Rowland Rebele Family Homeless Shelter which opened 2 years ago, and currently houses only 20 people, has been the centerpiece of tangible proof that Mayor Emily Reilly's cares about the needs of homeless people to sleep, eat, or live. The Family shelter cost $5 million to build, and due to strict federal requirements, has failed to fill completely, despite record need.
Meanwhile the heavily used HSC's hygiene bay includes 2 washing machines, 4 dryers, 3 showers, and toilets for 2500 homeless clients. Hours will be cut to 5 days a week instead of seven. But the biggest loss are those two, weekend meals which feed between 65 and 160 each afternoon. Without these meals, people will go hungry.
Sherman is skeptical that anyone really cares about the survival of homeless people. Shelter which is chronically inadequate, is especially so since the National Guard Armory closed its doors on April 15th. The same people which the City and County sheltered on April 15th, are now being cited with $90 sleeping ban tickets as of April 16th by Santa Cruz Park Ranger Rick Wallace. As soon as the Armory closed, he began issuing a rash of citations to homeless campers in the Pogonip and other greenbelt areas in the area. The City of Santa Cruz (population 54,000) has over 2000 acres of parkland, greenbelt or watershed within the City limits alone, but not even one acre is set aside for legal camping.
Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom (HUFF) has long held that the City needs to open a homeless campground for legal camping options, or stop writing citations under MC 6.35.010 which outlaws the act of sleeping out of doors between 11PM and 8:30 AM.
Human Rights Organization member, Bob Patton has called for the public to contact 17th district Rep.Sam Farr to facilitate budget help that the HSC needs to restore vital, life-saving services, and prevent starvation.
Sherman is also concerned with winning back the right to camp somewhere legally. "I am putting out the call to the general public to take the kids and come down to the river and go camping overnight or over the weekend. Camp out to help the homeless." HUFF member, Robert Norse, who supports a public campout to protest the double-bind homeless people are in, with no place to go and a sleeping ban crackdown in force, also supports using the courts to fight the Sleeping Ban. "Since April of 2006 and the Jones decision in Los Angeles, issuing tickets to homeless people for sleeping at night in a situation in which inadequate shelter exists constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
City Council point man, Vice-Mayor Ryan Coonerty disagrees. He steadfastly supports enforcing the Sleeping Ban despite the 9th circuit court ruling. Mayor Reilly and the council have been briefed by City Attorney John Barisone regarding city liability for continued enforcement of the ban in a post the Jones decision world. But Reilly refuses to divulge the contents of the Barisone's memo citing "confidentiality of a client with legal counsel."
Photo by HUFF
Mayor Emily Reilly can be contacted at: (831) 420-5020 and press 2
Or write the entire council at: citycouncil [at] ci.santa-cruzca.us
See also: http://www.huffsantacruz.org (831)423-HUFF
Congressman Sam Farr can be reached at (831)429-1976 and at: samfarr [at] mail.house.gov
Add Your Comments
Comments (Hide Comments)
Saturday May 5th, 2007 1:15 PM
He helped the homeless help themselves, and didn't cost taxpayers a dime doing it.
The Homeless Service Center has been a financial boondoggle since Larry was forced out off that same property and the old home demolished to make way for this phat construction contract paid to a local builder.
The only time City Council does anything, it's to make one of their friends rich(er).
The Homeless Service Center has been a financial boondoggle since Larry was forced out off that same property and the old home demolished to make way for this phat construction contract paid to a local builder.
The only time City Council does anything, it's to make one of their friends rich(er).
Saturday May 5th, 2007 4:32 PM
Where Will New York’s Working Poor Live?
http://nyc.indymedia.org/or/2007/05/85738.html
State of the Homeless 2007
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/advocacy/StateoftheHomeless2007.html
http://nyc.indymedia.org/or/2007/05/85738.html
State of the Homeless 2007
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/advocacy/StateoftheHomeless2007.html
Saturday May 5th, 2007 11:55 PM
The interview with James Sherman and Bob Patton (of the Human Rights Organization) on which this article was based is archived at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb070503.mp3 . Mr. Sherman is interested in starting a homeless newspaper and perhaps a homeless encampment. Leave your comments hear or leave a message for him at 831-423-4833.
Sunday May 6th, 2007 8:07 AM
I wonder if this is retaliation to Ken Cole for speaking out at City Council about the sleeping ban. I wouldn't put that past that bunch of petty little vindictive fucks on the City Council.
Money for food, not for enforcement of anti-homeless laws!
Money for food, not for enforcement of anti-homeless laws!
Sunday May 6th, 2007 10:19 AM
To refresh reader's minds, here are HSC Ex. Dir. Ken Cole's comments at a City Council meeting in response to Councilmember Ed Porter's point that in cases in which the National Guard Armory winter shelter is full, the City's camping ordinance allows for any citations issued that night to be dismissed, once they show up in court.
Cole said this:
"Thank you for your very solid support of homelessness, housing, and anti-poverty all that our City values and stands for. I am not here to talk generally about homelessness in our community. Unfortunately its a very divisive issue in this City--it shouldn't be. I just want to weigh in on the situation. I have a lot of very strong feeling from the heart on this issue. I just want to clarify the issue. Sometimes its unpleasant to have to look at the reality. But I really feel compelled to make one clarification.
The connection between the armory capacity and enforcement of camping ticketing. its simply not a good connection. If you looked at it sociologically, psychologically, by any measure, there is no connection between whether the army is full tonight and whether you should enforce the camping tickets.
People...(I dislike the word "Homeless") ....People in our community are forced into bizarre choices, and they are forced at the beginning of the winter season. They have to decide, am I going to camp out in miserable conditions, dangerous conditions, and potential illegal conditions, or must I compete to get into the armory? They make a choice. It isn't a light switch situation in which they can choose one minute to camp or to get into a shelter. At 50 or 60 people the National Guard Armory which we run is safe, it's a good place to sleep. It's not a snake pit situation. Its full at 50 or 60. You and I would not want to sleep there. There are simply not enough toilets. We wouldn't get a good night's sleep.
I just want to say to the people who are sleeping out tonight "Thank-you." because
if all those who needed shelter tonight showed up demanding a mat at the armory, or demanding a place at a local church, we'd have a riot."
BECKY: For years Mike Rotkin claimed the armory was full at 200. However, the armory has never held even close to 200 people. When I was on the Board of Directors of the Citizens Committee for the Homeless which, at that time, ran the ISSP or Interfaith Satelite Shelter Project, I regularly checked the census at the Armory. The highest number I ever saw was 137 people. Those who were there that night said it was "packed to the rafters".
Ken Cole, shortly after taking over at the HSC, officially reduced the official capacity of the Armory to 75, due to the number of toilets, showers, and sinks there, not necessarily the floor space. During a normal winter, the armory will accomodate up to around a 100 people on a late-in-the-month night.
Regarding Steve Argue's suggestion that the funding cuts are due to Cole's comments at City Council, I don't think so. The main problem is that the HSC failed to garner two federal grants it has depended on for years. This is not the council's culpability. Likewise, poor management of funding in the food services dept for two years in a row reflects either a. poor management or b. chronically underestimating the need for the past two years
However, should the ocuncil refuse to step in to restore that funding, Argue may indeed be accurate.
Cole said this:
"Thank you for your very solid support of homelessness, housing, and anti-poverty all that our City values and stands for. I am not here to talk generally about homelessness in our community. Unfortunately its a very divisive issue in this City--it shouldn't be. I just want to weigh in on the situation. I have a lot of very strong feeling from the heart on this issue. I just want to clarify the issue. Sometimes its unpleasant to have to look at the reality. But I really feel compelled to make one clarification.
The connection between the armory capacity and enforcement of camping ticketing. its simply not a good connection. If you looked at it sociologically, psychologically, by any measure, there is no connection between whether the army is full tonight and whether you should enforce the camping tickets.
People...(I dislike the word "Homeless") ....People in our community are forced into bizarre choices, and they are forced at the beginning of the winter season. They have to decide, am I going to camp out in miserable conditions, dangerous conditions, and potential illegal conditions, or must I compete to get into the armory? They make a choice. It isn't a light switch situation in which they can choose one minute to camp or to get into a shelter. At 50 or 60 people the National Guard Armory which we run is safe, it's a good place to sleep. It's not a snake pit situation. Its full at 50 or 60. You and I would not want to sleep there. There are simply not enough toilets. We wouldn't get a good night's sleep.
I just want to say to the people who are sleeping out tonight "Thank-you." because
if all those who needed shelter tonight showed up demanding a mat at the armory, or demanding a place at a local church, we'd have a riot."
BECKY: For years Mike Rotkin claimed the armory was full at 200. However, the armory has never held even close to 200 people. When I was on the Board of Directors of the Citizens Committee for the Homeless which, at that time, ran the ISSP or Interfaith Satelite Shelter Project, I regularly checked the census at the Armory. The highest number I ever saw was 137 people. Those who were there that night said it was "packed to the rafters".
Ken Cole, shortly after taking over at the HSC, officially reduced the official capacity of the Armory to 75, due to the number of toilets, showers, and sinks there, not necessarily the floor space. During a normal winter, the armory will accomodate up to around a 100 people on a late-in-the-month night.
Regarding Steve Argue's suggestion that the funding cuts are due to Cole's comments at City Council, I don't think so. The main problem is that the HSC failed to garner two federal grants it has depended on for years. This is not the council's culpability. Likewise, poor management of funding in the food services dept for two years in a row reflects either a. poor management or b. chronically underestimating the need for the past two years
However, should the ocuncil refuse to step in to restore that funding, Argue may indeed be accurate.
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