Faith Leaders Denounce Berkeley's Anti-Homeless Laws
“Nobody should be criminalized for the necessities of life. We have to realize these are our sisters and brothers who deserve and need our help.” -- Franciscan friar Louie Vitale
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Right to Rest Coalition Looks to Build Support over Next Year for Legislation Protecting the Civil Rights of Homeless Individuals
Homeless , anti-poverty, and civil rights advocacy groups will keep working throughout the rest of the 2015-2016 legislative session to pass a bill aimed at stopping the growing criminalization of people who are homeless.
Right to Rest Act Gets Hearing in Sacramento
Activists from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and across the state of California trekked to Sacramento on April 7, 2015 to lobby for the “Right to Rest. They are part of the growing movement aimed at ending the criminalization of homeless people and stopping police profiling and harassment of all people in public places.
Angel McClain: "Right to Rest" Testimony April 7, 2015
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you in support of Senator Carol Lui’s SB608, the Right to
Republicans Cuts Will Harm the Hungry, Poor and Disabled
If approved by the full House and Senate, the massive budget reductions will amount to more than $500 billion in cuts per year to the federal government’s domestic programs during the next ten years, totally counter to President Obama’s recent budget proposals that would fund domestic programs in FY 2016.
The Poor Get Prison: How the U.S. Criminalizes Poverty
A new Institute for Policy Studies report, “The Poor Get Prison,” declares: “A democratic society that purports ‘freedom and justice for all’ can’t coexist with one that profiles, criminalizes and blames poor, black and Latino communities. We need to take collective responsibility for our hostile nation where the poor get prison.”
Stories from the Suitcase Clinic
The Suitcase Clinic began when a group of UC students gave medical aid out of suitcases at the Berkeley Flea Market to homeless individuals. Great value is placed on truly listening and it is in these dialogues of love and understanding that the heart of the Suitcase Clinic lies.
KAFKA in Santa Cruz: A City Where Sleep Is A Crime
Gary Johnson was one of thousands of people experiencing homelessness when the sheriffs came to roust him. Now he is sentenced to jail for the crime of being caught asleep in Santa Cruz at night. This “criminal” has been smacked down repeatedly by The Law precisely because he was homeless.
A Long Search to Find a True Home
My sons have helped bring gifts to the poor on Christmas and meals to the homeless in the cold winter. They’ve hugged strangers and told them that not only God loves them, but that they love them, after offering prayer and a warm meal and blanket to sustain them at night.
Nationwide Epidemic of Anti-Homeless Hate Laws
More and more cities turn to curfews, prohibitions on begging, sleeping, or “camping” in response to the visible poverty in their public spaces, despite the fact that criminalization is “the most expensive and least effective” method of addressing homelessness. Jail costs two to three times the cost of supportive housing.
Phone Videos Document Police Assaults on Homeless People
He is not cowed, and will keep protesting the criminalization of homelessness. “What am I supposed to do? If the shelters are full and I got to sleep here, I got to sleep here. It can’t be illegal for me to sleep. It’s highly inhumane. I will fight it.”
Berkeley’s Sweeping Anti-Homeless Legislation
The Downtown Berkeley Association and the City Council pushed the anti-homeless laws without even consulting any of the city’s commissions. The DBA requested these measures in a wholehearted attempt to transform Berkeley into one of the most repressive cities in California in targeting poor and homeless citizens.