After the mega-Council meeting of 10-13 and the Freedom Sleepers Declaration of a [Relatively] Safe Sleeping Zone on the City Hall Sidewalks, it’s time to plan for upcoming anticipated El Nino weather and the harder choices that face houseless and houseless supporters alike. If Sub Rosa at 703 Pacific isn’t available, we’ll likey move to Cafe Pergolesi, but the new location will be posted on the Sub Rosa gate. New strategies for supporting restoration of space and security for performers, vendors, loungers, residents, you name it…
Tag Archives: HUFF meetings
HUFFling and snuffling: Wednesday 10-7 at ye olde Sub Rosa Cafe 11 AM
Weary HUFFsters, straggling in from Freedom SleepOut #13 will find a dose of coffee and cantankerousness at the weekly HUFF-orama. Rumors that Cal Tran or other badged bozos are giving “littering” tickets along the tracks (but not for litter, rather–clean up and move or have your stuff confiscated) , city attorney seems to confirm that zero camping tickets are being dismissed under the ‘on the waiting list’ exemption, new informational flier on getting your name on the River St. Waiting List by phone to avoid tickets, and, possibly a more restive than usual SleepOut #14 coming up on October 20th. Sleep out and then force your eyes open for the HUFF meet…!
HUFF putters and sputters–11 am today Sub Rosa 9-30-15
In the wake of Freedom SleepOut #12 and the Blue Box Arraignment/Festival of the Streets this morning of Abbi Samuels and Keith McHenry, HUFF will be brooding on the latest Bell v. Boise court decision turning back the homeless lawsuit, upcoming Broken Windows forum in S.F. Thursday, the Exodus from the Jungle and homeless forum in San Jose Friday–and other coffee-drenched topics…
HUFFies to HUFF again Wednesday at Sub Rosa 11 AM, awake or asleep
HUFFsters will slurp coffee and trade stories of Freedom SleepOut #11 at the usual time and place (703 Pacific) as well as review recent tallies of Park and Recreation Citations (thank you, Avian and Laura!). Coming up also–the “End the Violence Against Freedom Sleepers and the Homeless” Press Conference Thursday 5:30 PM in front of the Rio Theater, the River St. Shelter Waiting List–Hoax or Delusion?, Vancouver’s Decision to End the Sleeping Ban, and other stuff as well!
HUFFing Again After A Tense Night 11 AM Sub Rosa 703 Pacific 9-16
HUFFsters, some of us anyway, will be dragging our weary butts to the Sub Rosa Cafe today to ponder on the outcome of Freedom Sleep #10, brood on the likely upcoming RV bans at City Council either next Tuesday or the one two weeks later, and seek solidarity perhaps with We Copwatch and Black Lives Matter to encourage some direct action in Santa Cruz. A sleep-in inside City Hall chambers itself has been suggested. We’ve got the coffee if you drink it.
City Rejects Homeless Compromise; HUFF to meet 11 AM 9-9 at Sub Rosa
HUFF will be meeting as usual–hopefully out of the hot sun–at 703 Pacific with perhaps some cold coffee (does any one have any ice?). Up for discussion: Freedom SleepOut #9 and #10 Next Week; Invisible Blue Boxes on Pacific Avenue; Report from the Monthly Monterey Sitting Ban Protest, & Campaign Zero in Santa Cruz–the Black Lives Matter suggestions for police reform.
> Subject: City Manager Martín Bernal rejects Freedom Sleeper’s compromise and plans to continue ticketing homeless
> From: keith@foodnotbombs.ne
> Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2015 13:37
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> September 8, 2015
>
> CONTACT:
> The Santa Cruz Freedom Sleepers.
> 1-800-884-1136
> Email Rabi Phil Posner at Chatrabbi@aol.com
> freedomsleepers.org
>
> FREEDOM SLEEPERS PLAN TO SLEEP OUT AT CITY HALL ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8,
> 2015
>
> City Manager Martín Bernal rejects Freedom Sleeper’s compromise and
> plans to continue ticketing homeless
>
> Emergency services for homeless people in Santa Cruz have been
> eliminated at the Homeless Services Center. Police continue to issue
> sleeping tickets.
>
> PRESS CONFERENCE AT 6:00 PM OUTSIDE SANTA CRUZ CITY HALL
>
>
> Local activists in Santa Cruz, California announce a protest that will
> take place this coming Tuesday, September 8, starting at 5pm in front of
> Santa Cruz City Hall. Santa Cruz has a law in place which bans camping
> within the city limits, but is used most often to harass and displace
> houseless people of the community who have nowhere to sleep but outdoors.
>
> The Freedom Sleepers call on the community to join them in defending the
> rights of the homeless by sleeping out at Santa Cruz City Hall the night
> of the City Council meeting. City officials are seeking to drive the
> weekly sleep-outs away from City Hall. The sleepers will announce that
> they will move the sleep out away from City Hall if the city manager
> agrees to make the ticketing and arrest of the homeless for camping and
> sleeping related infractions the police departments lowest priority.
> City Manager Martín Bernal rejected the Freedom Sleeper’s compromise and
> plans to continue ticketing homeless
>
> On Tuesday, September 1, 2015 The Santa Cruz Police wrote 15 citations
> for being in “the park” at City Hall, arrested two Freedom Sleepers for
> being in the park after hours and issued one 24 hour stay away order.
> Police also erected spot lights around the east side of City Hall and
> blocked off parking.
>
> The Freedom Sleepers feel that the ban is cruel and unusual, in keeping
> with the recent Justice Department the 2015 statement of interest on the
> 2009 case of Bell v. City of Boise. The Justice Department stated, that
> it “should be uncontroversial that punishing conduct that is a universal
> and unavoidable consequence of being human violates the Eighth Amendment
> … Sleeping is a life-sustaining activity—i.e., it must occur at some
> time in some place. If a person literally has nowhere else to go, then
> enforcement of the anti-camping ordinance against that person
> criminalizes her for being homeless.”
>
> The 2-15 Grand Jury Report claims that Santa Cruz county has 3,500
> unhoused community members. That number is not conclusive, having been
> counted over a period of 4 hours in one day by a group of volunteer
> researchers. There are not nearly enough shelter beds in the county to
> house all the unhoused people here, therefore to criminalize people for
> sleeping outdoors is to criminalize them for engaging in a survival
> activity for which they have no legal alternative. For this reason, we
> the group of activists known as the Freedom Sleepers are engaging in
> civil disobedience, defying the camping ban in order to draw attention
> to its cruel, unusual, and inhumane character. We and the homeless
> community present at the protest have been harassed by police, prevented
> from sleeping by enormous lights rented by the police department,
> ticketed, and arrested.
> From: keith@foodnotbombs.ne
> Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2015 13:37
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> September 8, 2015
>
> CONTACT:
> The Santa Cruz Freedom Sleepers.
> 1-800-884-1136
> Email Rabi Phil Posner at Chatrabbi@aol.com
> freedomsleepers.org
>
> FREEDOM SLEEPERS PLAN TO SLEEP OUT AT CITY HALL ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8,
> 2015
>
> City Manager Martín Bernal rejects Freedom Sleeper’s compromise and
> plans to continue ticketing homeless
>
> Emergency services for homeless people in Santa Cruz have been
> eliminated at the Homeless Services Center. Police continue to issue
> sleeping tickets.
>
> PRESS CONFERENCE AT 6:00 PM OUTSIDE SANTA CRUZ CITY HALL
>
>
> Local activists in Santa Cruz, California announce a protest that will
> take place this coming Tuesday, September 8, starting at 5pm in front of
> Santa Cruz City Hall. Santa Cruz has a law in place which bans camping
> within the city limits, but is used most often to harass and displace
> houseless people of the community who have nowhere to sleep but outdoors.
>
> The Freedom Sleepers call on the community to join them in defending the
> rights of the homeless by sleeping out at Santa Cruz City Hall the night
> of the City Council meeting. City officials are seeking to drive the
> weekly sleep-outs away from City Hall. The sleepers will announce that
> they will move the sleep out away from City Hall if the city manager
> agrees to make the ticketing and arrest of the homeless for camping and
> sleeping related infractions the police departments lowest priority.
> City Manager Martín Bernal rejected the Freedom Sleeper’s compromise and
> plans to continue ticketing homeless
>
> On Tuesday, September 1, 2015 The Santa Cruz Police wrote 15 citations
> for being in “the park” at City Hall, arrested two Freedom Sleepers for
> being in the park after hours and issued one 24 hour stay away order.
> Police also erected spot lights around the east side of City Hall and
> blocked off parking.
>
> The Freedom Sleepers feel that the ban is cruel and unusual, in keeping
> with the recent Justice Department the 2015 statement of interest on the
> 2009 case of Bell v. City of Boise. The Justice Department stated, that
> it “should be uncontroversial that punishing conduct that is a universal
> and unavoidable consequence of being human violates the Eighth Amendment
> … Sleeping is a life-sustaining activity—i.e., it must occur at some
> time in some place. If a person literally has nowhere else to go, then
> enforcement of the anti-camping ordinance against that person
> criminalizes her for being homeless.”
>
> The 2-15 Grand Jury Report claims that Santa Cruz county has 3,500
> unhoused community members. That number is not conclusive, having been
> counted over a period of 4 hours in one day by a group of volunteer
> researchers. There are not nearly enough shelter beds in the county to
> house all the unhoused people here, therefore to criminalize people for
> sleeping outdoors is to criminalize them for engaging in a survival
> activity for which they have no legal alternative. For this reason, we
> the group of activists known as the Freedom Sleepers are engaging in
> civil disobedience, defying the camping ban in order to draw attention
> to its cruel, unusual, and inhumane character. We and the homeless
> community present at the protest have been harassed by police, prevented
> from sleeping by enormous lights rented by the police department,
> ticketed, and arrested.
HUFF sleepwalks to yet another meet today 11 AM
Sleepy HUFFsters: On the tail of the latest round of tickets and two artists, HUFF will be trying to meet at the Sub Rosa Cafe today at 11 AM , but if that’s closed, we’ll migrate to the Cafe Pergolesi.
Talkin about Daytime Protest Strategies, Countering Mayor Lane’s Laughable Litany of Catastrophic Camping, the Laguna Beach lawsuit, the S.F. Crackdown–and more, all soaked with coffee. For those who show!
HUFF moves from Sleep-Out to Talk-In, Meets 8-26 Wednesday Sub Rosa 11 AM
Sleepy HUFFsters: Survivors of the 7th Freedom Sleepers Event at City Hall tonight and any others interested are invited to staggerover to the Sub Rosa at 11 AM at 703 Pacific Ave. I have been assured the Cafe will be open for business (unlike last week when we had to have a coffee-less meeting).
On the agenda: City Council’s Silence on Emergency Shelter…Proposed Actions Targeting Upcoming New City Staff Horrors (RV Crackdown)…Hopeful Federal Signs in the Wind?…and more as long as we can stay awake…
HUFFin’ Down the Road: Sub Rosa 8-19 11 AM
Agenda Likelies: Cafe HUFF and/or HUFF at the Heavies visit sometime in the next week to P & R Director Dannette Shoemaker to clarify whether a Stay-Away Order is now a mandatory part of every in fraction; the Proposed RV parking ban city-wide at night likely to be on the next City Council agenda; Support for the Freedom Sleepers; liaison with the ongoing Sacramento struggle to ban harassment of RV resters…and all this over cup after cup of free coffee!
Cautionary Note: Our membership may be reduced if police choose to use stern measures to abrogate our basic right to peaceful protest near City Hall. In theory arrests could prevent some members from attending. In this case, I encourage folks to proceed with those items on the agenda they fancy.
I also encourage folks to visit the Freedom Sleepers Sleep-Out tonight, even if you choose not to stay. It will be going from 5 PM through 7 AM tomorrow (Wednesday) morning
HUFF Stumbles On–Sub Rosa 8-12 11 AM
In the aftermath of the latest SleepOut at City Hall (and SpeakOut to City Council), we’ll consider HUFFish next steps to hold particular departments accountable for their latest attacks on the homeless–either with 24 Hour Parking Ban near the Homeless Way Lack of Services Center, the proposed RV parking ban city-wide, the missing 24 hour bathroom (Locust St. remains closed at night), national solidarity with police abuse in Ferguson (Black Lives Still Matter…as do Homeless Lives).
If Sub Rosa is closed, retire to the Cafe Pergolesi–but wait until at least 11:15 p.m. before giving up on Sub Rosa.
Coffee is likely to be there and drinkable as usual.