Return of the Stubborn Sleepers: Sunday July 19 6:30 PM Main Post Office

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Title: Community SleepOut Will Slumber Again This Sunday
START DATE: Sunday July 19
TIME: 6:30 PM – 6:30 AM
Location Details:
Beginning at the Main Post Office after the Sunday night meal, activists from Food Not Bombs, the Camp of Last Resort, HUFF, the Homeless Persons Legal Assistance Project and independent supporters will gather on the steps in front of the main Post Office, choose a Safe Sleeping Spot and make their way to that place for the night.
Event Type: Protest
SERVICE SHUTDOWN
Services for showers, bathrooms, laundry, and food have now been cut off for half a month with no chance of immediate restoration.

There is no indication of a reduction of the harassment and citing of Santa Cruz’s 1500+ homeless people outside for the “crime” of sleeping at night.

NO SHELTER
There is emergency walk-in shelter for less than a dozen people at best with waiting lists of weeks or months for the unhoused.

While there is lots of talk about providing “a path to housing” and fund-seeking for social service programs that do not provide the actual housing, there has been a cutback in real emergency services for food and shelter.

LOTS OF UNUSED SPACE AT NIGHT
Santa Cruz has more than a hundred acres of parkland, including two reserved for dogs. These parks are all closed to the public at night. Authorities are issuing stay-away orders and tickets for those who fall asleep in the parks.

Nine were given costly citations two weeks ago for simply being at City Hall at night petitioning the government for a redress of these grievances.

MOONLIGHT MEAL
We will be providing sandwiches at our first stop at City Hall at 9:30 PM on the night of the march. All are invited–even those who may be apprehensive of confrontations with police (on July 5th, 22 officers came to disperse more than 25 sleepers).

RESOURCES AVAILABLE
Some sleeping bags and light tarps will be available for uses for those who want to join the protest.

PETITIONS
We will also have petitions to circulate and sign to document the needs of those being abused under the current laws and show community support.

We hope city authorities, recognizing the emergency, will allow folks to sleep without harassment and invite the community to join us as participants or witnesses.

Folks are also invited to bring their vehicles if they have them. Caution: MC 6.36.010 makes it “illegal” to sleep after 11 PM at night anywhere on public property in Santa Cruz.

MORNING FEED
Oatmeal, coffee, and perhaps a few extras will be on the menu for breakfast. The location of the meal will be announced at City Hall at 6:30 PM, depending on where the Survival Sleepers spend the night.

FUTURE PROSPECTS
We are looking forward in the next few weeks to daytime sleepouts in the park and at City Hall as well as other as-yet undisclosed locations around town. During the day, sleeping (and petitioning) in parks and at City Hall is “legal”.

We will also be scheduling events at City Hall itself urging the restoration of constitutional rights for those outside.

More info: “Community Campout Ends with Citations” at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/07/05/18774529.php