Dallas Outlaws Crimes of Compassion

categories: Criminalization, Government, Local Policy, Shelter

Published September 20, 2009 @ 06:09AM PT

When homeless shelters are overcrowded and people are forced to sleep on the streets, acts of charity are usually welcome. That is, unless you're in Dallas. The city has outlawed feeding the homeless in all parts of the city, except four designated areas.

That's right, acts that are widely accepted as charitable and generous are, in Dallas, illegal.

The city claims the restrictions are in place to promote health and safety. The permanent food service locations must meet certain requirements in order to serve food to the homeless, like having on-site restrooms and running water. Thus, there are only four locations in the entire city that meet these standards. Any off-site food stations must be inspected by the city's Environmental and Health Services Department.

Certainly, food sanitation is important to those on the receiving end of donated food. And in a perfect world, such stringent regulations might make sense. But clearly, this is not the case in Dallas.

Just over one year ago, Dallas opened an innovative one-stop hub of homeless services called the Bridge. Thing is, the Bridge hasn't been able to keep up with the demand for shelter beds. So every night, people without a home are turned away because there aren't enough shelter beds to meet the need. Thing is, when you're denied a bed at the Bridge, you're also denied access to a designated feeding zone. You're on the streets, and you don't have access to food. Double-whammy.

Are these food service regulations really for sanitary services, or is this another case of controlling homeless people by hoarding them to certain areas of the city? And if health issues were really so important to city officials, wouldn't sleeping on the streets fall into the "unsanitary" category? Finally, in times of crisis, when the number of shelter beds can't meet the demand, shouldn't meeting the basic needs of the worst off among us take precedent over anything else?

One last question: Is it just me, or does Dallas need a priority check?

Image from Ed Yourdon's public Flickr photo stream.

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Comments (8)

You've done a good job of underscoring one of the more pungent of paradoxes. Yes, somehow it's daily acceptable for us to sleep on dirty sidewalks, with rats scurrying around, no bathrooms or sanitary facilities, etc. And, in fact, spend MOST of our time in such conditions.

Yet, suddenly, if anyone wants to share or give us a bite to eat, this calls for serious concerns about the "standards" surrounding the food, it's preparation, the "servers", locations, etc., etc. No, of course this doesn't really make complete sense. Add to that the rawer fact that very often homeless folks are actually getting their food out of dumpsters and other refuse, and most "caring" about that actually amounts to people better off just not wanting to see it. Or think it about it too much.

But make no mistake -- it's NOT just "the government" that harbors these contradictions. It's ALSO those missioned with "helping the homeless" too. Heck, we just saw a fairly typical example the other day, right here in this blog and the comments:

"Established service providers adhere to regulations about food preparation standards; in many jurisdictions they also do criminal history checks or at least some level of training and screening of volunteers.

And on the food standard front, in my own work, I don't care what you have to donate, I will know who you are and where that food came from and will check it before it goes anywhere near homeless people."

Naturally, I can honor and appreciate genuine and sincere concern and efforts by those that do truly care about people's safety and well-being, but all these things really are subject to context. And for those positioning "between" socalled "the homeless" and ... everyone else, this kind of controlling premise just leads directly to what this Dallas story exemplifies too well -- imposing more and more limits and even criminalization of the most basic, simple, human and humane contacts and sharings. And to whose manifest benefit, really?

Posted by SlumJack Homeless on 09/20/2009 @ 10:36AM PT
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Correction:

Link above at "right here" should be:

http://homelessness.change.org/blog/view/why_the_peanut_butter_plan_is_nave_and_irresponsible

Posted by SlumJack Homeless on 09/20/2009 @ 10:45AM PT
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I am honestly embarrased to live in north Texas, one of the worst areas to live as a homeless person. I wish there were more programs and more money spent on helping people more than making thier misfortunes a crime, even a crime for the generous charity givers. What a shame, and an embarrassment, if you ask me.

Posted by Rachel Russell on 09/20/2009 @ 04:25PM PT
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Its a shame that the people of Dallas have to suffer in the fact that compassion is being charged as a crime in there area. Its sad to see that this is happening to them as a city. This only means that the efforts to help people has come to a point tin time where even this is viewed as needing some sort of reform of sorts. If people as indiviuals can no long give help then tht says alot about what type of concerns are being made towards the consideration of the current times. There really is no response from non-profit organizations as they are viewed as being short funded as well.

Posted by Aaron Shaw on 09/21/2009 @ 10:24AM PT
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This is so so stupid. Picking up a Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich for a hungry homeless person is not a crime. It's an act of kindness and compassion. This is just about the stupidest law that I've ever heard of.

Posted by Casey Williams on 10/09/2009 @ 08:34PM PT
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Its a shame that the people of Dallas have to suffer in the fact that compassion is being charged as a crime in there area. Its sad to see that this is happening to them as a city. This only means that the efforts to help people has come to a point tin time where even this is viewed as needing some sort of reform of sorts. If people as indiviuals can no long give help then tht says alot about what type of concerns are being made towards the consideration of the current times. There really is no response from non-profit organizations as they are viewed as being short funded as well.

Posted by Aaron Shaw on 09/21/2009 @ 10:24AM PT
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Looks like dallas is becomming another sodom and gomorrah...

Kindness and compassion should never be punished.

Posted by Reverend Boony on 09/26/2009 @ 07:35PM PT
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This is not the America I grew up in...something is very very wrong in this country..

Proud to be an American..What's that mean to some, oh yes....Kick them when their down and out, their ya go !!!!!!!!!! how sad and shameful.......I have to ask " What country is this again "

remember: THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD GO I....

Posted by Mary golden on 09/28/2009 @ 04:21PM PT
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Author

Shannon has worked in homeless shelters and service organizations in San Francisco, the Triangle region of North Carolina, and currently in the greater Boston area. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.