Berkeley Streets Mean to Homeless
Advocacy Group Cites Civil Rights
Abuses, Insufficient Services
MARCUS WOHLSEN / Daily Californian
12nov04
|
#14 Berkeley,
California
Police cracked down with renewed vigilance in Berkeley, as arrests of
homeless people increased sharply in August and September of 2003. The
Berkeley Police Department made 87 arrests in a two-week period of which
34 were for trespassing. Officers also illegally searched homeless youths
for no apparent reason and enforce nonexistent laws, specifically
targeting people because they appear homeless. Instead of addressing a 15
percent cut in homeless services, Mayor Tom Bates raised awareness by
sleeping outside for a night with homeless people.
A 2004 report by Suitcase Clinic Legal Services describes incidents where
the police rousted people during rainstorms and on cold nights and forced
them out of temporary shelters on the grounds they were trespassing. At
the same time, the report cites an incident in which a mother and son were
forced out onto the street because there were no shelters in the city that
would house them. High-ranking city officials and local providers got
together to help her find a home and could not find one. Police issued the
woman over 12 tickets for sleeping on the sidewalk thereafter.
source
26nov04 |
The streets of Berkeley rank among the meanest in the nation for homeless
people, according to a report released Tuesday by a national homeless advocacy
group.
The National Coalition for the Homeless report
placed Berkeley 14th on its list of U.S. cities that have a history of “violating
the civil rights of homeless people.”
The group named California the “meanest state” to the homeless.
The report provoked strong objections from Berkeley government officials,
homeless services providers and police.
The coalition said Berkeley had cut services for the city’s more than 800
homeless.
But Cisco DeVries, chief of staff to Mayor Tom Bates, said the mayor had
maintained steady funding for homelessness services even as other programs faced
severe cuts.
“Berkeley provides more services per capita to the homeless than virtually
any other city on the planet,” DeVries said.
According to city figures, Berkeley has proposed cutting homelessness
programs for 2005 by just under $16,000 out of a total budget of more than $1.5
million.
DeVries said that as Berkeley’s budget crisis deepens, the city may have to
cut homeless services further.
Marci Jordan, the executive director of the Berkeley Food and Housing
Project, said she was “infuriated” by the report and that she planned to
complain to the coalition, of which her organization is a member.
The Food and Housing Project is one of several agencies that receives city
funding to provide food, shelter, employment counseling and legal aid to
homeless people.
But National Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Donald Whitehead
said services weren’t the issue.
He alleged a “renewed crackdown” by Berkeley police was to blame for the
negative ranking, accusing the city of relying on law enforcement rather than
services to handle its homeless problem.
But Berkeley police Officer Joe Okies said police work hand in hand with
other city agencies to ensure the city’s homeless get the services they need.
Still, the police department has a duty to enforce the law, Okies said.
The Berkeley Food and Housing Project, now in its 30th year, awarded the
police department its 2004 Humanitarian Award.
Other California cities in the “meanest” top 20 include Los Angeles, No.
7; San Francisco, No. 8 and Fresno, No. 16.
The report put Little Rock, Ark., at the top of the list for its alleged
raids on homeless camps in the city as it plans for the opening of the Clinton
Presidential Library.
Contact Marcus Wohlsen at newsdesk@dailycal.org.
source: http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=16891 26nov04
From the report:
Meanest Cities
1. Little Rock, Arkansas 11. Sarasota, Florida
2. Atlanta, Georgia 12. Key West, Florida
3. Cincinnati, Ohio 13. Nashville, Tennessee
4. Las Vegas, Nevada 14. Berkeley, California
5. Gainesville, Florida 15. Dallas, Texas
6. New York City, New York 16. Fresno, California
7. Los Angeles, California 17. San Antonio, Texas
8. San Francisco, California 18. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
9. Honolulu, Hawaii 19. St. Paul, Minnesota
10. Austin, Texas 20. Manchester, New Hampshire
Meanest States
1. California
2. Florida
3. Hawaii
4. Texas
Criteria for Selection of the Meanest Cities
1. Number of anti-homeless laws in that city. (See Prohibited Conduct Chart.)
2. Enforcement and severity of penalties.
3. General political climate toward homeless people in that city.
4. Local activist(s) or organization(s) supported the "meanest" designation
5. The city was surveyed or studied in this report and has a history of criminalization.
6. Criminalizing legislation is pending or enacted in that city.
Full Report at http://www.nationalhomeless.org/crimreport/index.html
in HTML or PDF