{"id":1266,"date":"2013-08-21T06:44:38","date_gmt":"2013-08-21T06:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/?p=1266"},"modified":"2013-08-25T06:47:00","modified_gmt":"2013-08-25T06:47:00","slug":"from-harassment-to-exile-south-carolina-goosesteps-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/from-harassment-to-exile-south-carolina-goosesteps-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"From Harassment to Exile: South Carolina Goosesteps Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NOTES FROM NORSE:\u00a0\u00a0 The horror story below provides a dark glimpse at what may be down the road for Santa Cruz.\u00a0 In the last week, four homeless people reported being barred from the Boardwalk and general Beach area (which is required to allow public coastal access to the beach) for looking homeless because, two were told, “we had trouble with homeless people last night”.\u00a0\u00a0 Another group of six or seven–I only spoke to two of this group–noted that a force of 6-9 cops and security guards confronted them sitting near a fence and demanded they move.\u00a0 When they did so and went across the street, they were followed, and told (apparently after a cigarette had been lit) that they were banned from the area for 24-hours.
\nCruzioWorks, an allegedly liberal workspace and internet provider, has refused to reinstate the homeless Dan Madison and his disabled son, denied access after paying $300 for space and service on August 6th because of a tenant’s appearance-based apprehensions about the two.\u00a0 [See “Picketing Prejudice at CruzioWorks” at https:\/\/www.indybay.org\/newsitems\/2013\/08\/14\/18741605.php<\/wbr><\/wbr><\/a>\u00a0 ].\u00a0 Madison’s polite attempts to appeal the decision and inquiries by Cruzio customers have resulted in form letters from James Hackett, Works Manager, declining to provide the specifics around the exclusion and refusing to restore his workspace and service.
\nPalo Alto has passed its ban against homeless in vehicles, denying the poor the right to finance their own shelter–which in California is often a vehicle, to go into effect in a month, and also driven those homeless without vehicles away from community centers at night.\u00a0 This is not based on any kind of crime wave, but simply a desire to reassure fearful NIMBY’s.\u00a0 [“Palo Alto votes to shut down Cubberley ‘shelter’ ” at http:\/\/www.paloaltoonline.com\/news\/show_story.php?id=30683<\/wbr><\/a> ] Homeless poverty pimp services are being given service contracts that will not provide housing or shelter to those displaced, but apparently lessen the public appearance of blatant cruelty.
\nMeanwhile in Fresno, anti-homeless arson and shelter-destroying sweeps are on the menu for homeless folks [See “Who is Burning Down the Fresno Homeless Encampments?” at https:\/\/www.indybay.org\/newsitems\/2013\/08\/12\/18741445.php<\/wbr><\/wbr><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 ].
\nBack in Santa Cruz, Mayor Bryants homeless-free Task Farce is laying the groundwork for redefining homeless people as drug addicts, bums, nuts,\u00a0 and drunks with a panel with a preconstructed agenda and a series of “experts” who are preparing the ground for more exclusionary measures.\u00a0 After persistent pressure, I was able to get city staff to put on line the agendas, staff reports, and audio recordings of these meetings at http:\/\/www.cityofsantacruz.com\/index.aspx?page=1924<\/wbr><\/a>\u00a0 .<\/p>\n

South Carolina City Approves Plan To Exile Its Homeless<\/a><\/h1>\n

By Scott Keyes<\/a> on August 20, 2013 at 2:05 pm<\/p>\n

http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/justice\/2013\/08\/20\/2496741\/columbia-criminalize-homeless\/<\/wbr><\/wbr><\/a><\/p>\n

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\"HomelessHomeless people need not enter downtown Columbia, SC<\/p>\n

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Many homeless people in Columbia, South Carolina are facing an arduous choice: vacate downtown or be arrested.
\nThat\u2019s because last week, the Columbia City Council unanimously approved<\/a> a new plan \u2014 the Emergency Homeless Response<\/a>\u201d \u2014 to remove homeless people from the downtown business district. Here\u2019s how the initiative, which was spearheaded by Councilman Cameron Runyan, will work.<\/p>\n

Police officers will now be assigned to patrol the city center and keep homeless people out. They will also be instructed to strictly enforce the city\u2019s \u201cquality of life\u201d laws, including bans on loitering, public urination, and other violations. And just to ensure that no one slips through, the city will set up a hotline so local businesses and residents can report the presence of a homeless person to police.<\/p>\n

In order to accommodate all the homeless people who will now be banned from downtown, the city will partner with a local charity to keep an emergency shelter on the outskirts of town open 24 hours a day. However, it\u2019s unlikely the shelter, which can handle 240 guests, will be enough to handle the local homeless population, which numbers more than six times<\/a> the available beds.<\/p>\n

Homeless people can stay at the shelter, but they\u2019re not permitted to walk off the premises. In fact, Columbia will even post a police officer on the road leading to the shelter to ensure that homeless people don\u2019t walk towards downtown. If they want to leave, they need to set up an appointment and be shuttled by a van.<\/p>\n

In other words, the 1,518 homeless people<\/a> in the Columbia-area now have a choice: get arrested downtown or be confined to a far-away shelter that you can\u2019t readily leave. Jail or pseudo-jail.<\/p>\n

Michael Stoops, Director of Community Organizing at the National Coalition for the Homeless, told ThinkProgress that this measure was the \u201cmost comprehensive anti-homeless measure that [he had] ever seen proposed in any city in the last 30 years.\u201d He likened it to county poor farms that were prevalent throughout the Midwest many decades ago. \u201cUsing one massive shelter on the outskirts to house all a city\u2019s homeless is something that has never worked anywhere in the country,\u201d Stoops said.<\/p>\n

Homeless advocates may soon file suit<\/a> to overturn the plan, arguing that the plan violates homeless peoples\u2019 rights to equal treatment under the law and freedom of assembly. The South Carolina ACLU is also exploring the matter. Susan Dunn, the group\u2019s legal director, was highly critical. \u201cThe underlying design is that they want the homeless not to be visible in downtown Columbia,\u201d Dunn said<\/a>. \u201cYou can shuttle them somewhere or you can go to jail. That\u2019s, in fact, an abuse of power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Columbia\u2019s move mirrors an unfortunate trend sweeping cities across the country: criminalizing homelessness. Already this year, cities as disparate as Miami<\/a> and Tampa<\/a> to Palo Alto<\/a> have passed various ordinances making it virtually illegal to be homeless inside city limits.<\/p>\n

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South Carolina approves plan to exile its homeless<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
Homeless people in Columbia, South Carolina will have to choose between leaving the downtown area or getting arrested.<\/div>\n
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