{"id":1012,"date":"2013-05-18T03:07:44","date_gmt":"2013-05-18T03:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/?p=1012"},"modified":"2013-07-04T19:49:41","modified_gmt":"2013-07-04T19:49:41","slug":"homeless-protest-in-concord-disturbing-silence-in-santa-cruz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/homeless-protest-in-concord-disturbing-silence-in-santa-cruz\/","title":{"rendered":"Homeless Protest in Concord; Disturbing Silence in Santa Cruz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NOTES BY NORSE:\u00a0 The obvious basic question &#8220;where are we to live?&#8221; is pointedly being ignored by the &#8220;Public Safety Citizen Task Force&#8221;, the City Council&#8217;s &#8220;Public Safety&#8221; Committee, the City Council, City Manager <!--more-->Martin Bernal, and the SCPD.\u00a0 Instead the issue is darkly transformed and flipped into one of &#8220;crime&#8221;, &#8220;needles&#8221;, &#8220;environmental degradation&#8221;, &#8220;undue tolerance&#8221;, and other undocumented inflammatory pretexts to justify simply running homeless people out of sight and out of town.<br \/>\nAnd, of course, the ever popular &#8220;poo poo&#8221;, &#8220;pee pee&#8221;, and &#8220;trash&#8221; accusations, so convenient in a city with no 24-hour bathrooms or low-income campgrounds.\u00a0 A rising neo-fascist movement that has sparked a climate of violence against homeless victims (now recast as &#8220;transients&#8221;) flames community fears.<br \/>\nWhen documentary evidence is presented of that violence, mob cries from reactionary groups like <em>Take Back Santa Cruz<\/em> &amp;<em>The Clean Team<\/em> frighten journalists into suppressing their own documentary evidence (See &#8220;<strong>[Video<\/strong>] <strong>Forced Off Internet<\/strong> &#8221; at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.indybay.org\/newsitems\/2013\/05\/15\/18736901.php\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.indybay.org\/<wbr>newsitems\/2013\/05\/15\/18736901.<wbr>php<\/wbr><\/wbr><\/a> ).<br \/>\nThe real villains here are not well-intended and misguided community members who see a growing unhoused population being ignored or criminalized by long-standing City policies (mainly complaint with short-sighted ideologically-based SCPD recommendations).\u00a0 They are the politicians and bureaucrats who feed off of and manage this repressive system&#8211;and, of course, the system itself.<\/p>\n<h1>Homeless protest evictions from Concord campsites<\/h1>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Standing on a parked car, 'Bic,' who asked that his real name not be used, stands holding a sign as people gathered in front of the State House in Concord on Tuesday afternoon, May 14, 2013, to rally against the dismantling of homeless camps and the lack of housing options for homeless people. 'Bic' said he is under the age of 21 and this is the second time he has been homeless. Later in the rally, a man driving a green jeep on Main Street yelled obscenities at the group about getting a job. &quot;People legitimately don't understand what it's like to be in this situation,&quot; he said.&lt;br\/&gt;&lt;br\/&gt;(JOHN TULLY \/ Monitor staff)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.concordmonitor.com\/csp\/mediapool\/sites\/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=dmQQlO1J7DShUsiyvYCPoc$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYv6kiqLun0wgeUVKlYONeQgWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&amp;CONTENTTYPE=image\/jpeg\" rel=\"lightbox[photos]\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.concordmonitor.com\/csp\/mediapool\/sites\/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=dYkJheEmnX1yXSwptiT5bs$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYv_GQQr$pp2fcQpDxCJO_kRWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&amp;CONTENTTYPE=image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Standing on a parked car, 'Bic,' who asked that his real name not be used, stands holding a sign as people gathered in front of the State House in Concord on Tuesday afternoon, May 14, 2013, to rally against the dismantling of homeless camps and the lack of housing options for homeless people. 'Bic' said he is under the age of 21 and this is the second time he has been homeless. Later in the rally, a man driving a green jeep on Main Street yelled obscenities at the group about getting a job. &quot;People legitimately don't understand what it's like to be in this situation,&quot; he said.&lt;br\/&gt;&lt;br\/&gt;(JOHN TULLY \/ Monitor staff)\" \/><\/a>Standing on a parked car, &#8216;Bic,&#8217; who asked that his real name not be used, stands holding a sign as people gathered in front of the State House in Concord on Tuesday afternoon, May 14, 2013, to rally against the dismantling of homeless camps and the lack of housing options for homeless people. &#8216;Bic&#8217; said he is under the age of 21 and this is the second time he has been homeless. Later in the rally, a man driving a green jeep on Main Street yelled obscenities at the group about getting a job. &#8220;People legitimately don&#8217;t understand what it&#8217;s like to be in this situation,&#8221; he said.(JOHN TULLY \/ Monitor staff)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.concordmonitor.com\/home\/6203768-95\/homeless-protest-evictions-from-concord-campsites#photofull1\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.concordmonitor.com\/csp\/mediapool\/sites\/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=6JAfyk8CpCKperAF_zvnHc$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYumrz$ruU3F9kwF89qksLRgWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&amp;CONTENTTYPE=image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Standing on a parked car, 'Bic,' who asked that his real name not be used, stands holding a sign as people gathered in front of the State House in Concord on Tuesday afternoon, May 14, 2013, to rally against the dismantling of homeless camps and the lack of housing options for homeless people. 'Bic' said he is under the age of 21 and this is the second time he has been homeless. Later in the rally, a man driving a green jeep on Main Street yelled obscenities at the group about getting a job. &quot;People legitimately don't understand what it's like to be in this situation,&quot; he said.&lt;br\/&gt;&lt;br\/&gt;(JOHN TULLY \/ Monitor staff)\" width=\"75\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.concordmonitor.com\/home\/6203768-95\/homeless-protest-evictions-from-concord-campsites#photofull2\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.concordmonitor.com\/csp\/mediapool\/sites\/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=bRz13veawzZXCLh0trFy$8$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYvlwBMRagRgcyA9SPQiyyACWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&amp;CONTENTTYPE=image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Steve Mann and his fianc? Leona Hunt, center, listen to speakers in front of the State House on Tuesday afternoon, May 14, 2013, during a rally against the dismantling of the homeless camps and a lack of housing options for homeless people. Mann has been homeless since August, he said. &quot;We're stuck between a rock and a hard place,&quot; Mann said. When he moved to Concord in 1985, Mann said he owned a condo and is now living out of his car.&lt;br\/&gt;&lt;br\/&gt;(JOHN TULLY \/ Monitor staff)\" width=\"75\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>By LAURA McCRYSTAL<br \/>\nMonitor staff<br \/>\nTuesday, May 14, 2013<br \/>\n(Published in print: Wednesday, May 15, 2013)<\/p>\n<p>As camps on private property and state land in Concord are cleared for trespassing, Concord\u2019s homeless population and their advocates have one question.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are they supposed to live?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Marcia Sprague, director of the Concord Homeless Resource Center, asked that question at a rally in front of the State House yesterday afternoon. More than 60 people attended to hold signs, raise awareness and speak about their experiences.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe cannot take away a campground without offering an alternative,\u201d said Maggie Fogarty, a board member of the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Fogarty and others said the homeless population has been left without an alternative this spring, as the police clear camps on private property and the state forbids camping on its land around Concord.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Many homeless individuals and advocates held signs yesterday: \u201cStop illegalizing homelessness,\u201d \u201cWe have a right to a home,\u201d \u201cOut of sight out of mind? Don\u2019t look the other way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sprague said she understands that the Concord police are enforcing the rights of private property owners, and that state officials chose to clear homeless camps on their property after a number of incidents last year. But that doesn\u2019t change the plight of people living on that land.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe big picture is everyone has to be off at the same time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan Hopkins said he\u2019s camping on state land off Loudon Road, but it was recently posted with \u201cno camping\u201d signs. He said he plans to stay there because he has nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI shall keep out of sight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Wendell Ford, who is homeless, said yesterday that it\u2019s difficult to find new camps, and available options are far from the Friendly Kitchen and other resources.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sean Lambert, a 20-year-old who stayed at the camp behind Everett Arena last summer, asked for an end to stereotypes about the homeless. Lambert said he doesn\u2019t drink or do drugs and he has a job, but he still needs somewhere to stay. He stressed that incidents involving relatively few people caused state officials to clear camps.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople simply don\u2019t understand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Action to clear homeless camps began last year. The police said the camp on state land behind Everett Arena became a serious safety concern after a number of incidents, including the disappearance of a man whose body was later found nearby in the Merrimack River, the drowning of another homeless man who was swimming in the river and an ax attack on one man by another man at the camp.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As state land was posted for trespassing this spring, private property owners asked the Concord police to clear campers from their land between Stickney Avenue and North Main Street. The police began by giving campers notice to leave and then began pressing charges. On a single Sunday, the police issued 18 court summonses for alcohol and trespassing violations.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Barbara Keshen, an attorney for the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, spoke yesterday to explain the lawsuit she filed against the state on behalf of three homeless men. She encouraged yesterday\u2019s crowd to attend a court hearing Monday.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople deserve to be treated with respect, decency and humanity,\u201d Keshen said. \u201cPeople deserve a place where they can feel safe and they can feel secure and they can live in peace, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do, is to go into court and to see if the court will listen to the voice of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit is one hope to reverse the evictions from state property, and advocates said their other option was raising awareness at yesterday\u2019s rally.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Fogarty said the idea for the rally came from a Concord Coalition to End Homelessness board meeting Friday. It grew support Monday when they gathered homeless individuals and religious leaders at the Friendly Kitchen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The protest lasted for about an hour, and few passing pedestrians paused to listen. Some motorists shouted obscenities or honked as they passed on Main Street.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reasons people become homeless are myriad, the solutions are complex,\u201d said Ellen Fries, one of the coalition\u2019s board members. \u201cBut today, our message is simple: Until we have other solutions, please allow those who are without other options an appropriate place to camp where they will not be harassed as long as they are peaceful and law-abiding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>(Laura McCrystal can be reached at 369-3312 or <a href=\"mailto:lmccrystal@cmonitor.com\" target=\"_blank\">lmccrystal@cmonitor.com<\/a> or on Twitter @lmccrystal.)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>MORE COMMENTS AT <a href=\"http:\/\/www.concordmonitor.com\/home\/6203768-95\/homeless-protest-evictions-from-concord-campsites\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.concordmonitor.com\/<wbr>home\/6203768-95\/homeless-<wbr>protest-evictions-from-<wbr>concord-campsites<\/wbr><\/wbr><\/wbr><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NOTES BY NORSE:\u00a0 The obvious basic question &#8220;where are we to live?&#8221; is pointedly being ignored by the &#8220;Public Safety Citizen Task Force&#8221;, the City Council&#8217;s &#8220;Public Safety&#8221; Committee, the City Council, City Manager<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[58],"tags":[100,3,4,66],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1012"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1108,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012\/revisions\/1108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}