{"id":4546,"date":"2020-05-13T16:41:53","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T16:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/?p=4546"},"modified":"2020-05-13T16:41:53","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T16:41:53","slug":"huff-call-for-phone-connections-a-huffster-or-two-may-be-lingering-at-the-food-not-bombs-meal-today-5-13-at-1-pm-at-laurel-and-front-st-to-gather-reports-distribute-some-supplies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/huff-call-for-phone-connections-a-huffster-or-two-may-be-lingering-at-the-food-not-bombs-meal-today-5-13-at-1-pm-at-laurel-and-front-st-to-gather-reports-distribute-some-supplies\/","title":{"rendered":"HUFF Call for Phone Connections: A HUFFster or two may be lingering at the Food Not Bombs meal today (5-13) at 1 PM at Laurel and Front St. to gather reports, distribute some supplies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>HUFF Contact for Reports:&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp; There may be a rep to gather any street reports and check-in&#8217;s today at 1 PM at the Food Not\n Bombs meal at Laurel and Front Sts.&nbsp; No coffee (sigh).&nbsp; Nopaper <em>Street Spirits<\/em> yet nor \nfinancial assistance for vendors. Otherwise and at other times if you \nhave reports, questions, or complaints, please contact me by phone at \n831-423-4833.&nbsp; I will continue netcast reports on\n Thursday and Sunday as long as information comes in.&nbsp; Keep it coming!<br><br>\n\n\nUPDATES ON ONGOING ISSUES<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Linking Up with &#8220;Motels Not Hospital Beds&#8221; Movement of the Bay Area\n<\/strong><strong>&amp; Other Local Groups&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Report on Local Motel\n Room Accessibility:&nbsp; <\/strong>Mayor\n &#8220;NoJustice&#8221; Justin Cummings deflected my questions\n yesterday at the City Council asking for the numbers of vulnerable and \ndisabled folks in Motel rooms and how much money had been spent of Gov. \nNewsom&#8217;s Project Roomkey.&nbsp; He and other authorities have not volunteered\n info on whether all who&#8217;d requested COVID-19\n tests in the group shelters specifically not recommended by the CDC has\n gotten them, and how many have been given access to the safer Project \nRoomkey hotel rooms.&nbsp; County worker Jessica Scheider has also not \nresponded to follow-up questions.\n<br>\n<strong><\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Possible Direct Action\n to Expose City Manager Dithering on Motel Room Access: Caravaning to Politician Lairs\n<\/strong>No direct action from HUFF, Food Not Bombs, SC Homeless Union, or any other\n organized groups that I know of.<br>\n<strong><\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Prep for Any 5-12 Council\n Meeting &#8220;Action&#8221;&nbsp; <\/strong>I barely nerved myself up to call in for Oral Communications.&nbsp;\n Likely the 2nd reading of extended police powers to many city agencies passed and will become official law in a month.<br>\n<strong><\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Support for Possible\n City&nbsp;Action Against <em>Food Not Bombs&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong>Keith\n reported a temporary move yesterday across the street as well as \nextended services to the Benchlands fenced-in group, but a plan to \nreturn to Laurel and Front St. today.<br>\n<strong><\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Reports from Other\n Homeless Activists Elsewhere (Salinas, Berkeley, Marysville, Monterey)&nbsp; <\/strong>Go\n to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/Lostshows.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/Lostshows.html<\/a> for the latest shows.&nbsp; Check\n<a href=\"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/<\/a> for the content of the shows.&nbsp; The 5-3-20 show has reports from other cities.<br>\n<\/li><li><strong>Tracking\n Those in Power:&nbsp; Who are our Key Powerbrokers to Petition and Protest for Opening Motel Rooms under Project Roomkey?&nbsp;\n<\/strong>Any\n volunteers to research these issues so we can &#8220;lobby distantly&#8221; or maybe carpool for some &#8220;protected protest&#8221;?<br>\n<\/li><li><strong>Progress\n Reports on the 99%: on Encampments outside including San Lorenzo Park, Coral St., the Pogonip:\n<\/strong><strong>What\n they need, how they&#8217;re faring, new contacts&nbsp; <\/strong>I&#8217;m\n gathering contacts.&nbsp; If you have &#8217;em, phone me at 423-4833 or e-mail me at <a href=\"mailto:rnorse3@hotmail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rnorse3@hotmail.com<\/a>\n<strong><\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Rumors\n of Legal Action to Fight Sweeps, Motel Room Denial, Police Abuse, and Fund Mismanagement&nbsp;\n<\/strong>Nothing\n on the lawsuit front in spite of rumored promises, a vehicle dweller \nreported his home and business vehicle both stolen by police.&nbsp; Call in \nreports.<br>\n<strong><\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Coronavirus\n Copwatch: <\/strong><strong>Reports\n on Police, Ranger, Security Thug, and Business Behavior Towards Those Outside<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; Food provider denied access to the new Tent Village across from Coral Street&#8217;s Housing Mutters<br>\n<\/li><li><strong>Activists\n in Other Cities Under Fire:&nbsp; <\/strong>Lucero Luna back!&nbsp; And here!<br>\n<strong><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Still Relevant and Telling<\/strong>:\n<em>SF Coalition on Homelessness<\/em> panel of medical experts demands testing now, and immediate movement of crowded shelter residents into individual\n motel rooms. Still relevant is the press conference &amp; discussion at <a href=\"https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FCoalitionOnHomelessness%2Fvideos%2F2954977444559143%2F%3F&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7Ca71401d67377452a78bf08d7f1bed34e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637243674193825904&amp;sdata=7tHvDkI9sDvm0B%2B8d5e1pC011b%2BHCqP9zQiOIRriR8w%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CoalitionOnHomelessness\/videos\/2954977444559143\/?<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;\n<br>\n<br>\n<\/li><li><strong>SC Homeless Union Looking:<\/strong>&nbsp; &#8230;for blankets, tents, and other survival gear.&nbsp; Leave them at the\n<em>Food Not Bombs<\/em> meal (see below) or \ncall Alicia at 431-7766.&nbsp;&nbsp; &#8230;for medical professionals working in \nrespiratory therapy, nursing, other life-saving professions willing to \nwrite, e-mail, or call city, county, and state officials\n to open up the motel rooms.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><li><em><strong>Food Not Bombs [FNB]\n<\/strong><\/em>meal and clothes distribution is still&nbsp; daily 1-6 PM at the \nparking lot next to the Santa Cruz Community Credit Union at Laurel \n&amp; Front.&nbsp; Weekends the meal will be 4-6 PM.&nbsp;&nbsp; Food preppers wanted at Vet&#8217;s Hall weekends noon.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Still unanswered questions:<\/strong><br>\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Why\n is Mayor Cummings allowing Police Chief Mills to Eliminate the Coral \nSt. Encampment and Constrict the Benchlands without offering Motel Rooms\n to the Vulnerable?<br>\n<\/li><li>How\n many of those crammed into unhealthy shelters have been offered the \noption of motel rooms rather than the dangerous conditions in the Vet\u2019s \nHall, the Armory, the Laurel St.\n shelter, Page Smith Community House, and the Paul Lee Loft?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><li>Why are no City Council members demanding these figures from the City Managers Bernal &amp; O&#8217;Hara?<\/li><li>Of those in the unhealthy shelters, how many have been tested for COVID-19?&nbsp;\nHow many are sick?&nbsp;&nbsp; How many have recovered?&nbsp;<\/li><li>Where\u2019s the FEMA and Governor\u2019s funding specifically for those motel rooms?&nbsp;\nHow much is left?&nbsp; How was it spent?<br>\n<\/li><li>Why\n isn&#8217;t Santa Cruz doing what San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other \nCounties are doing: Immediately Housing Vulnerable Folks Now!<br>\n<\/li><li>What\n are the priorities&#8211;are the most vulnerable but not yet ill or COVID-19\n infected&#8211;to be last while waiting for the sickness to hit?<br>\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Metro Bathrooms Still Closed<\/strong>?:&nbsp;\n Haven&#8217;t heard different.&nbsp; Even during the day?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; While conditions are \nimproving, some portapotties and washing stations are reportedly \ninsufficiently cleaned and lack water, toilet paper, and paper towels&nbsp; \nHUFF IS SEEKING VOLUNTEERS TO DO A DAILY CHECK AND\n REPORT IN ON THE VARIOUS PORTAPOTTIES AND PRIMITIVE GARAGE BATHROOMS \n(often lacking privacy) throughout the City.. We checked a few during \nthe Tour of Shame last Sunday, but need to do so more thoroughly and \nregularly.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Rent strike reports?<\/strong>:\n FNB reports folks reporting illegal evictions continue.&nbsp; And vacant \nbuildings remain vacant as the virus spreads.&nbsp;&nbsp; Distress\n grows while the banks and big boys get the bail-out&#8217;s with unemployment\n skyrocketing.&nbsp; Contact Tenant Sanctuary with reports of illegal \nevictions at&nbsp;(831)200-0740 .\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>HUFF<\/strong>\n<strong>MAY BE ORGANIZING<\/strong> BY PHONE to support \nthe demand for Motel rooms before the only option&nbsp; is quarantine areas.&nbsp;\n CONTACT US AT 831-423-4833 OR RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL IF YOU&#8217;D LIKE TO \nHELP OR WANT TO PROVIDE REPORTS.\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Frequent local updates<\/strong>\n can still be found on Facebook under Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs,\n Santa Cruz County Homeless Advocates, Homeless Outside in Santa Cruz, \nSCCCP (Santa Cruz and Central Coast Politics), Monterey County Homeless \nAdvocates, The Santa Cruz Community, (SF) Coalition on Homelessness.&nbsp; \nMore distant updates:&nbsp; <a href=\"http:\/\/homelesstimes.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">homelesstimes.com<\/a>,\n<a href=\"https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhomelessperspective.com%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7Ca71401d67377452a78bf08d7f1bed34e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637243674193825904&amp;sdata=GkQ7QH3FvueLQsdpJBwDWLIyoCURTUkdjU2ag06uNFI%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http:\/\/homelessperspective.com<\/a>,\n<a href=\"https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwraphome.org%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7Ca71401d67377452a78bf08d7f1bed34e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637243674193825904&amp;sdata=yE5i5decNWcX6H1fi8iA3j8N%2BDo4c5LF%2BGzhTaEbfA0%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/wraphome.org\/<\/a>,\n<br>\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>HISTORICAL REMINDERS from a HUFFster&#8217;s perspective<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Check at <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffsantacruz.org%2FLostshows.html&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7Ca71401d67377452a78bf08d7f1bed34e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637243674193835898&amp;sdata=%2FIDEX9%2FATP1GcXztopUNX3cG9so0h7D4fqQNznYsfZ4%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.huffsantacruz.org\/Lostshows.html<\/a>  to hear a series of phoned-in reports from different activists and  workers&#8211;which should be posted shortly and may be updated more  frequently.<br> <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Recent shutdowns at the Library, Louden Nelson, the Metro, the publicly sponsored <em>Bookshop Santa Cruz, <\/em>closed restaurants and businesses make this situation ever more dangerous both for folks outside and the broader community.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Very  very few motel or hotel rooms are yet available for the 1000-2000  homeless outside who want and may need them to shelter more safely and  securely  in spite of government directives and financial grants.\u00a0 Funding  exists, promises are made, promises are broken.<br> <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>The  inadequate &#8220;normal&#8221; charitable activities of those working with  churches, social services, etc. have been cut back or closed&#8211;many of  the staff  of these organizations are over 60 and particularly vulnerable to the  corona virus.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Normal  donations to those directly seeking survival money through  &#8220;panhandling&#8221; have been discouraged or criminalized under the new  emergency regs,  enacted without public discussion or vote.\u00a0 Support those panhandling  on the medians and elsewhere.<br> <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Public  transportation options have been restricted or shut down, making access  to what limited resources there are even more problematic.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Mayor  Cummings has still not issued no calls for an emergency Council meeting  to pass elementary measures already done in other cities like a  moratorium  on rents.\u00a0 <br> <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>City  Manager Martin Bernal &amp; the City Council majority continue their  long history of resisting the expansion of basic services for the less  privileged  in town.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Supervisor Coonerty and the Board of Supervisors have declined to provide county-wide resources  in an equitable and sensible fashion. <br> <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>The health of the community depends on our community action through a direct and united response.<br> <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>The  current Corona Virus crisis has prompted City and County to grudgingly  and partially expand the unhealthy indoor shelter services (in violation  of CDC guidelines) and to provide some long overdue portapotties and  wash stations, but not in key locations like the Levy and Felker St.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Overcrowding is being encouraged in San Lorenzo Park by the police pressure.<br> <\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Meekly  following the dictates of authority in this crisis has not in the past,  nor likely in the future, to be a wise, health-providing, and  productive course.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>We must confront directly, clearly, persistently, loudly and immediately to secure the basic survival needs  of the community in the current crisis.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>With  washed hands and care to keep physical distance, bring food and  yourselves to the noon food serving to sustain the survival effort and  take the  necessary future steps.<\/strong><\/li><li>Contact <em>Food Not Bombs (575-770-3377), HUFF (831-423-4833), or the Santa Cruz Homeless Union (831-431-7766) <\/em>if unable to come for health or other reasons. (454-2200) and you wish to help.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HUFF Contact for Reports:&nbsp;&nbsp; There may be a rep to gather any street reports and check-in&#8217;s today at 1 PM at the Food Not Bombs meal at Laurel and Front Sts.&nbsp; No coffee (sigh).&nbsp; Nopaper Street Spirits yet nor financial &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/huff-call-for-phone-connections-a-huffster-or-two-may-be-lingering-at-the-food-not-bombs-meal-today-5-13-at-1-pm-at-laurel-and-front-st-to-gather-reports-distribute-some-supplies\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[128],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4546"}],"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=4546"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4547,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4546\/revisions\/4547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}