Before I was a victim of A Conspiracy To Violate Civil Rights, Obstruct Justice And Harass, I had a job; a roof; food; savings and investments. I trusted those in power and government service to do the right thing. I trusted there were contracts called The Bill of rights and The Constitution, that I had a relationship with.
I sought help at various places that purported to and are charged with helping me and protecting my civil rights.
People without homes have as much right to be in the park during open hours and any other citizens. People without homes are the public.
Laws passed, to penalize people without homes, is what compels them to invent ways to survive with what modicum of comfort and convenience they can. They are not obsessed with "finding a way around the law."
Maybe when we think of people without homes as our neighbors, and not “the homeless” we will better understand how to treat them as people and citizens first.
Excerpts taken from an article in the StarAdvertiser:
State clarifies advice on feeding homeless http://bit.ly/kPkH2C
[Most important, providers need to offer support services to help the homeless find shelter and work and build trusting relationships to encourage them to seek help.
"People come to them; it's a very different thing than going to the parks. The problem with parks is that it keeps the homeless there, and it makes public areas not as accessible to the public," he said.
Alexander said that he wants to avoid passing new laws that would criminalize the homeless or those who feed them, because "the homeless are smart. They always find a way around the law."
"The plan needs to provide for people who will not go into a shelter.”
THE HAPPY COINCIDENCE - WHOOMP THERE IT IS:
Homeless likely to be cleared from H-1 ramps before APEC
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 30, 2011
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
A few homeless encampments, such as these seen Tuesday, are back under the Middle Street interchange of H-1 freeway after similar shelters were removed in February.
Question: A year after officials cleared homeless encampments from under ramps at the H-1 Freeway’s Middle Street interchange, it looks like people are setting up tents again under the ramps and overpasses. With the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference coming in November, what is the state doing about this?
Answer: The state last cleared the area in February and schedules such clearances about every six months, said Dan Meisenzahl, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
No specific date has been scheduled for the next cleanup, he said. That could take place in August or September, but it will more than likely be done in late October or early November, closer to the date of the APEC meeting, Meisenzahl said.
“It’s a vicious cycle; after we clean out the area, they (the homeless) return a couple weeks later,” Meisenzahl said.
Before the February cleanup, state workers last cleared the homeless encampment in July 2010. Thirty to 40 people were living there.
Marc Alexander, state homelessness programs coordinator, said there has not been a growing problem under the airport viaduct.
People who live at the site are notified a week and a half before the clearing begins.
Workers with Waikiki Health Center’s Care-A-Van, an outreach program for homeless, go to the site to inform homeless people of the services available to them.
Clearing the area takes about two weeks. During past cleanups, the state Department of Transportation hauled away more than 100 truckloads of trash.
Meisenzahl said there have been talks to assign personnel to monitor the area, but there are not enough resources to do so.
———
This update was written by Paige L. Jinbo. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To …” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.
