{"id":3600,"date":"2019-02-18T19:02:23","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T19:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/?p=3600"},"modified":"2019-02-18T19:02:23","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T19:02:23","slug":"broken-promises-buses-to-nowhere-the-city-councils-homeless-solution-the-nationwide-homeless-bound-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/broken-promises-buses-to-nowhere-the-city-councils-homeless-solution-the-nationwide-homeless-bound-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"Broken Promises, Buses to Nowhere: the City Council’s Homeless Solution–the Nationwide “Homeless Bound” Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NOTES BY NORSE:\u00a0\u00a0 “Liberal” SCPD Chief Andy Mills showed up at the Ross Encampment last week around the time “Abatement” notices were being posted, to give warnings.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you live in distant towns, you will be given (one-way) tickets; if you live in outside Santa Cruz City Limits, you will be forced to leave; if you live in here, you will be evicted by March 15th.\u00a0 You will never be allowed to form another Ross Camp style survival encampment again.\u00a0\u00a0 These were his words as remembered by Mama Shannon, a long-time homeless activist and resident of Ross Camp and as reported to me last night<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thanks to the key vote that killed a proposal to restore last year’s rent freeze and just eviction protection law, hundreds of Ross camp residents are facing loss of their lodging, belongings, privacy, and safety.\u00a0 New Councilmember Justin Cummings voted with the Mathews-Watkins majority\u00a0 to back a slippery City-County plan to offers phantom floor spaces and uncertain prospects of future shelter.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 A cosmetic cover for the joint City-County “eliminate the eyesore” Ross Camp which prompts anxiety from nearby housed residents and tourist-seeking businesses at the Gateway Plaza.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cummings made an apparent promise on February 12th that the announced “abatement” might be altered at the February 26th or March 12th Council meetings if it became (even more) obvious that there was insufficient shelter to meet the needs of the Ross residents.\u00a0 However he also voted for the provision that allowed for closure notices to be posted immediately and has not responded to repeated requests tostop the forced eviction until real guarantees can be provided.
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Santa Cruz also uses the deceptively-termed “Homeward Bound” as part of its one-way-trip-to-nowhere plan to lawlessly deport homeless folks, often in collusion with law enforcement authorities, social service “providers”, business interests, and courts.\u00a0 This provides the charade with both humanitarian and legal cover.\u00a0 Last year’s Boise v. Martin<\/i> decision makes laws that enable arresting homeless folks for sleeping, resting, sitting or lying likely unconstitutional here.<\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The makeshift Ross Camp Community was created largely by the unhoused themselves. This was prompted in part by the shameless reduction in even token winter shelter space.\u00a0 In part by city staff betraying promises to keep open\u00a0the small and cramped River St. Camp until next April (while actually closing it in October=–thank you\u00a0 City Manager Martin Bernal, Susie O-Hara and Tina Shull).\u00a0 And partly by the inevitable explosion of the local homeless population as rents escalate, jobs disappear, and services shrink.
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Police and rangers may have had a plan to use the camp as a concentrating device.\u00a0 Numerous survival sleepers report being (illegally) driven to the camp under (false) threat of arrest and property seizure.\u00a0 However, once there, saner and more compassionate heads in the community began to provide food and shelter support.\u00a0 The City and County were forced by the numbers to provide minimal portapotty, trash, and needle disposal services.
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Keith McHenry of Food Not Bombs announced a nonviolent direct action campaign to establish temporary survival campgrounds in downtown parking garages\u00a0 (See “This is a Homeless Emergency<\/strong>” at https:\/\/www.indybay.org\/newsitems\/2019\/02\/15\/18821195.php<\/a> )
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tomorrow (Tuesday February 19th) is a Special City Council meeting behind held at the Harvey West Clubhouse\u00a0 326 Evergreen St. at 9 AM where there will be a brief public comment period (http:\/\/scsire.cityofsantacruz.com\/sirepub\/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=1230&doctype=AGENDA<\/a>).
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wednesday Conscience and Action meets at 11 AM at the Sub Rosa Cafe followed by HUFF at noon to firm up strategies.\u00a0 Councilmember Glover is reportedly going to be going to an open meeting that night at the Felton Community Hall\u00a0 6191 Highway 9 in\u00a0 Felton (6:30 – 8 PM)
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Guardian article below documents how widespread the homeless-dumping practice is throughout the U.S.\u00a0 For more details, video, and commentary, go to https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/ng-interactive\/2017\/dec\/20\/bussed-out-america-moves-homeless-people-country-study<\/a> .<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NOTES BY NORSE:\u00a0\u00a0 “Liberal” SCPD Chief Andy Mills showed up at the Ross Encampment last week around the time “Abatement” notices were being posted, to give warnings. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you live in distant towns, you will be given (one-way) tickets; … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[4,66,87],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3600"}],"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=3600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3601,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3600\/revisions\/3601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}