“Like water, be gentle and strong. Be gentle enough to follow the natural paths of the earth,
and strong enough to rise up and reshape the world.” ~ Brenda Peterson

Friday, January 27, 2012

1/30 Change is coming :(

Last night was nearly our ninth month up at the homeless meal service. It was somewhat difficult for me to be there. The new camping ordinance goes into effect on January 30th, and I honestly don't know what will happen to my homeless clients. In some ways, I feel like a giant failure. I have spent years advocating for them, helping them, looking out for them...and I wasn't able to convince city council that this ordinance would harm their population. We will be uptown this Sunday for as many hours as we need to be, helping them and warning them.

The ordinance makes sleeping in public spaces illegal. Obviously, it was created in response to Occupy Charlotte protests/camping but no one realizes yet that it gives the CMPD entirely too much power to harass my homeless clients. This measure also goes against their eight amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. Shelters are over capacity...my clients have no where to go.

If they are prohibited from resting in public spaces, then they will be pushed out of the city and away from the resources that they need. I am almost tempted to do a social experiment and dress up as a homeless person and sit on a bench with a blanket and see if I am forced to leave. Hmmm...I may be onto something here...

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Tell city council to vote NO!!

Tomorrow, City Council will vote on the camping ordinance. I was on Charlotte Talks 90.7FM, a few days ago, and my friends at city council don't seem to realize the unintended consequences that this ordinance will have on my homeless clients. In fact, Warren Cooksey basically told me on air that I was wrong about the definition of camping.

Camping, as defined by the city clerk: "camping means the use of city property for living accommodation purposes such as sleeping, or making preparations to sleep." My homeless clients often use sidewalks and city benches to sit and rest on, as they have no where else to go. City ordinances frequently serve as prominent tools towards criminalizing homelessness. Please help my narrow-minded friends at city council understand their city clerks definition of camping. If passed, this ordinance will push my homeless clients away from the city sidewalks and benches that they frequently sit/sleep on. It will also push them away from the resources that they so desperately need.

Contact Patsy Kinsey, pkinsey@charlottenc.gov
Contact James Mitchell Jr., JamesDistrict2@aol.com
Contact LaWana Mayfield, lmayfield@charlottenc.gov
contact Michael D. Barnes, barnesdistrict4@aol.com
Contact John Autry, jautry@charlottenc.gov
Contact Andy Dulin, adulin@charlottenc.gov
Contact Warren Cooksey, warren@warrencooksey.com

Monday, January 9, 2012

I know that I have been slacking off on blogging. I have been so busy writing articles lately, that I have neglected the blog. Here is one more article, about how unwarranted stereotypes harm the homeless. http://www.examiner.com/homelessness-in-charlotte/unwarranted-stereotypes-harm-clt-s-homeless

I hope to blog a real post soon.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Identification

Recently, I wrote an article over at the Examiner about the obstacles surrounding the homeless and lack of identification, etc. You can read it by clicking here.