this made me sick
I tend to stay away from serious matter (other than spiritual stuff) on my blog, but I read this in an article about homelessness and was appalled:
"Santa Cruz, Calif., once known for its anything goes lifestyle, has implemented some of the nation's harshest laws, says attorney Kate Wells. A 'blanket ban,' punishable by fines, makes it unlawful for people living outside to cover themselves with a blanket from 11.pm. to 8 a.m. Sleeping in cars is illegal during those hours. So is lingering in covered parking lots, where many people seek shelter during bad weather." - 'No Place to Call Home,' by Carole Fleck
Maybe I'm misunderstanding and this means that they provide shelter for every person in their city, but I have a funny feeling it means exactly what it sounds like it means. It's sick.
posted by melilotnfosco | 4:27 PM
8 Comments:
That is sick. They're making a desperate situation even more desperate. :( Obviously those people can't afford fines if they're sleeping under blankets on the streets! And I bet lots of them will go to prison just because they needed a place to sleep, and at least they'll get an indoor place to sleep then, but yeah -- that's just awful. :( And I'm worried that it'll only continue and spread as our economic problems worsen. :(
"punishable by fines", because these people can afford them.
i do hope the city is offering the homeless a warm place to stay (but you're right - probably not)
I don't understand this. Was there a reason mentioned for such a crazy (and yes, sick) decision??
nope
Maybe because it makes the town look bad? I don't know anything about the town, but it's probably ordinarily a nice town but more and more people are becoming homeless because of the mortgage crisis -- people you wouldn't have expected to before. Not sure, of course; just my guess. And obviously that doesn't make it ok.
i'm sure it's just to try to run them out of town. but for heaven's sake, is that the best way to deal with homelessness? here's an idea, how 'bout trying to help them out somehow. (this post had been more strongly worded, but i realized that i don't live there, and that i'm not doing anything here to help with the homeless situation, so i changed it.)
maybe they should learn 'people first' language. 'people who are homeless' - they're first and foremost people, and GOD loves them, and we should have compassion.
It amazing how much money we will spend trying to cover our eyes from a problem that is not going to go away. I do hope they are planning to arrest these people violating the law so that they will have a place to sleep and food to eat.
maybe they're offering jobs and affordable housing to those found using blankets on the streets (yeah, right).
it's sad how often we push people's problems off on someone else instead of trying to help them ourselves.
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