BlogWood: MT Archives

In Yule spirit, Hillsborough attacks homeless, says orphans are next.

Startling reports from Tampa indicate that actual citizens may be attempting to use public facilities. Thankfully, our government overseers are aware of the problem and are taking steps to curtail the use of any public facility by anyone who does not have access to a daily shower.
Keeping the county safe for the right people:

Every day for two years, Cowboy Adams has been hanging out at the John F. Germany Library downtown.

He reads and plays games on the computers. He takes cigarette breaks outside.

It's an escape from the cold, hard streets he calls home.

But lately, things have become more stressful at the library. Changes are being made, one "no loitering" sign at a time.

Stern notices have been posted around the building to ward off loiterers. Just inside the automatic entrance door, a metal bin restricts anyone from bringing in anything larger than a small carry-on bag. Next to the bin are leaflets listing rules of conduct, such as a ban on bathing, shaving or washing clothes in the restrooms. And two Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies are keeping an eye on visitors.
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The public library on Ashley Drive has long been a popular spot for the homeless.

When it gets hot, rainy or cold, the library is one of the only public buildings where they can take refuge.

They can plop down at desks and read books or sit down at computers to play games. It passes the time and doesn't cost a thing.
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... people like Adams are convinced that they are being targeted. Adams started noticing a shift in the climate when the "no loitering" sign were erected. The warning used to be written on paper and taped to the inside window of the library's front doors. But more than a year ago, metal signs on metal posts began appearing.

And half-sheets of yellow paper outlining the library's code of conduct were placed at the front entrance. The rules include a restriction on the maximum size of personal belongings allowed in the library: 9 inches by 16 inches by 22 inches (1.8 cubic feet), slightly smaller than most airlines' restrictions.

Restrictions on the size of objects that can be brought in were imposed for safety reasons, said Marcee Challener, interim director of libraries.

"On occasion, some folks have tried to bring in very large items that protrude," she said. "It's their personal type of belongings. Huge stuff."
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"We are a public institution," she said. "We welcome everyone to use our materials but we do want to provide a safe atmosphere for everyone. That's why we have a code of conduct. Everyone is welcome."

If they past muster with security.

About a year ago, additional funding allowed for the hiring of an additional guard, Challener said. Two patrol officers had been needed for years, given the size and layout of the building, she said.

"We wanted to do it for a long time," Challener said. "We have two buildings connected by that glass tube and four separate floors. It was too much room for one person to be able to monitor. We were glad to be able to provide extra security there during operating hours."

The extra guard was partly because of the homeless, Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

"It's due to the vagrants that come will come in, hang out, use the restrooms to bathe themselves," Carter said.

The library also is moving toward installing filters on the computers. They will be able to track computer usage so users will be knocked off after a certain amount of time. That way, the staff doesn't have to make rounds and patrons don't have to wait long.

But the homeless think it's because they spend so much time on the computers, playing games such as Solitaire.

"I enjoy coming downtown, playing video games and reading," Adams said.

He whipped out a paperback: Off the Mangrove Coast, by Louis L'Amour, which he bought for 50 cents at the library's bookstore. He said he never bathes in the restrooms.

With the welcome mat all but rolled up, "I'll figure something out," he said. "I have no choice."

I can think of plenty of better ways to deal with this perceived problem. The library could install lockers. Local governments could strive to provide safe public bathrooms with showers. We could all work together to get a living wage ordinance passed. But in Florida. we have a reputation to uphold. As a state, Florida ranks second only to California in the level of cruelty shown to homeless people.

In Milwaukee, a church has been declared a public nuisance for feeding homeless people and allowing them to sleep there. In Gainesville, police threatened University of Florida students with arrest if they did not stop serving meals to homeless people in a public park. In Santa Barbara, it is illegal to lean against the front of a building or store, and no one can park a motor home on the street in one place for more than two hours.

These ordinances and activities demonstrate the increasingly hostile attitude in the United States toward people who are homeless, according to a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless that was released today. This report examines occurrences since January 2002 and documents civil rights violations perpetrated against people experiencing homelessness.
With the highest unemployment rates in almost a decade, more people are becoming homeless, and as the economy continues to tighten, it is causing financial crises for shelters and service-providing agencies. Though nearly all cities still lack sufficient shelter beds and social services, many continue to pass laws prohibiting people experiencing homelessness from sleeping outside.

Almost 70% of the cities surveyed in the first report have passed at least one or more new laws specifically targeting homeless people since January 2002, making it increasingly difficult to survive on the streets. Cities are attempting to make it illegal to perform life-sustaining activities in public, while at the same time refusing to allocate sufficient funds to address the causes of homelessness.

This 2003 report finds Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta to be the top five "meanest" cities in the United States for poor and homeless people to live in; California is the "meanest" state, followed by Florida as the second "meanest."

The National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project (NHCROP) — a project of the National Coalition for the Homeless comprised of local advocates in communities across the country — has compiled quantitative and qualitative data samplings from 147 communities in 42 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. These cities represent rural, urban, and suburban areas in all geographic and demographic varieties across the United States.

"Instead of the compassionate responses that communities have used to save lives in the past two decades, the common response to homelessness is to criminalize the victims through laws and ordinances that make illegal life-sustaining activities that people experiencing homelessness are forced to do in public," said Donald Whitehead, Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, who is himself formerly homeless.

As it becomes increasingly difficult to afford housing, this country is turning to jails instead of creating affordable housing by enacting the Bringing America Home Act (H.R. 2897—108th Congress). These individuals and families are arrested for committing such illegal acts as sitting or standing on sidewalks and napping in parks. Whitehead stated, "At the national level, we see a relationship between municipalities’ efforts to make homelessness a crime and the increases in hate crimes and violent acts directed at homeless people in those cities."

Brian Davis, Executive Director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, said, "Imagine, the loneliness and feeling of helplessness, when every shelter is full and then the city’s police force adds insult to injury by confiscating all your belongings or issues a ticket for sleeping in a park. It takes a special person to be able to cope with the daily struggle to survive while the city government throws added barriers into your path toward stability."