Search Results for "super bowl"
Hiding the Homeless: Super Bowl Edition
Published January 27, 2009 @ 08:52PM PT
With the country abuzz about this weekend's Super Bowl, Tampa Bay is busy cleaning up the streets to host out-of-towners for the big game. That is, by conducting homeless sweeps and "aggressively" jailing unhoused people.
Shame on Tampa Bay... seems we've got another case of "hiding the homeless" on our hands.
According to the St. Petersburg Times:
"It's happened during other big events when there are a lot of out-of-town visitors," said Rayme Nuckles, chief executive officer of the county's Homeless Coalition. "But we know it's occurring now because some of our providers heard from a (police) captain at a meeting that they were arresting homeless people and holding them in jail."
Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said there is no such mandate.
"Our primary mission is the safety of our visitors," she said. "So the homeless wouldn't rank high on that. We arrest people for breaking the law, not for being homeless."
The sheriff's office, of course, vehemently denies the targeting of homeless people. And the mayor backs him up. But advocates on the ground have seen an increase in arrests of homeless people for petty crimes, like loitering and trespassing.
In fact, advocates perceive the problem to be so bad that they are pushing back this week's bi-annual "Point In Time" count (a one-night census of homeless people). They fear that so many homeless people have been arrested in the past week that the count will be inaccurate. The count has been rescheduled for next month... when city officials are no longer embarrassed about their unhoused citizens.
These stories seem to pop up every time a city is hosting a high-profile national event. Common though they may be, we should never become desensitized to them. It takes a lot of unabashed cruelty for a city to use their paternalistic forces, herd up vulnerable unhoused people, and stash them away until the party's over.
For future reference, cities like Tampa Bay should take a cue from Washington D.C. during last week's inaugural events. While they may have laid on the compassionate language a little too thick, at least they understood the importance of treating homeless people with dignity by finding ways to include them in the week's events, instead of herding them out of sight like cattle.
Can People Be Forced Into Shelter?
Published September 21, 2009 @ 08:04PM PT
Should homeless individuals be forced to take refuge in shelter? If legislation proposed by B.C., Canada government officials is passed, police will be able to use force move people indoors during extreme weather conditions. While civil liberties activists are up in arms over the proposed legislation, others are wary of the government's motivation for the bill.
Last year, a British Columbia homeless woman died during a deep freeze after lighting a fire to stay warm. This, officials claim, is the primary reason for the bill. The legislation would allow authorities to make a declaration of extreme weather, which would then allow police to "use force" to get homeless individuals into shelters. Those who resist will have to take an entirely different kind of shelter - behind bars.
The Canadian version of the ACLU, the BC Civil Liberties Association, insists that this legislation is more about "saving face for the government than saving lives on the street." Perhaps the timing of this legislation is no mistake; after all, the 2010 Winter Olympics are just around the corner. Many believe that in preparation for its moment in the world spotlight, city officials are crafting ways of forcing the area's homeless into hiding. After all, if they are hidden, they cannot be forced into shelter.
If B.C. goes through with this proposed legislation, they'll join the ranks of cities that have used extreme and cruel measures in an effort to clear the streets of those without a home for a high-profile event. Who could forget Denver distributiing museum tickets to its chronically homeless population during the DNC. And then there was Tampa Bay, arresting homeless individuals and holding them in jail during January's Superbowl.
People should not be forced to seek shelter against their will. If a person chooses to stay on the streets rather than take refuge in a shelter during extreme weather situations, they probably have a good reason for doing so. It could be due to a pet. It could be shelter policies that limit the number of personal belongings one may bring. It could be for safety reasons.
Besides, just because someone has lost their home, it does not mean they've lost their free will.
Image from CTV.ca.
National Homeless Census: 5 Things Everyone Should Know
Published January 29, 2009 @ 12:14PM PT
This week, communities nationwide face the imposing task of tallying up their homeless population for the bi-annual "Point In Time" count. Volunteers will scour under bridges, in dumpsters, and through tent cities to find and count those without a home.
But like most beaurocratic processes, counting the homeless is no small task. Tallying up the number of people in emergency shelters, transitional shelters, supported housing, and emergency rooms is easy. Finding those who are unsheltered is a bit more tricky.
The Point In Time count takes place every two years in January. It's required for community's wishing to receive federal homeless assistance funds. Needless to say, there's a lot at stake. And there's more to it than meets the eye....
1. Counting the homeless is extremely political.
Although there is no direct connection between how many homeless are counted and the doling out of federal dough, that doesn't mean politics is left out of this national census. The image and perception of governors, mayors, and city counselors everywhere is at stake. If the number of homeless people drops, the local government cites this as an achievement. If the number increases, local govermnet officials are criticized and advocates pressure for more support.
Even former President Bush played homeless "numbers game" earlier this month. He cited a drop in chronic homelessness (thanks to a change in counting methodology, as I pointed out here) as one of the few shining achievements of his administration. This "decline," of course, was based on data collected from the Point In Time count. (There we go... full circle.)
2. Homeless counts are unscientific and subjective.
How do you tell if a person is homeless? Particularly a person living on the streets? The answer isn't easy. Many communities attempt to take the guesswork out of the count by taking to the streets in the early morning hours, but even then there's a fair amount of subjectivity involved.
One San Francisco volunteer census worker was critical of the instructions she received for determining who was homeless:
We were to automatically count: people sleeping outside; vehicles with covered windows; and makeshift structures such as tents and boxes. We were not to automatically count people leaving bars or waiting for buses. And finally, we were to take factors like loitering, panhandling, shopping-cart pushing, recycling, inebriation, and dishevelry (yeah, I know, not a word, but it should be) into consideration when deciding who was and wasn't homeless. Talk about subjective. Oh, and under no circumstances were we to actually ask a person whether or not they lived in a home. Perhaps that would make the survey a little too accurate?
3. Counts are not all-encompassing (hence the "Point In Time").
The Point In Time count is a one-night snapshot of homelessness in America. Yet, we know that the non-chronic homeless population (such as families or youth) are extremely fluid. In other words, a person or family's episode of homelessness may only last a few weeks. So how can this be captured and counted if it does not happen to occur during the one-night count in January? Simple answer: they won't.
Furthermore, there are plenty of other known homeless individuals who are not included in the federal definition of homelessness. Many shelters have long waiting lists of families or individuals who, while waiting for a bed to open up, stay on the couch or floor of a family or friend (in fact, this is the living situation most people entering a family shelter come from). Yet, these people are not included in the count.
4. Elements (& events) matter.
This week, the Northeast has been pelted with snowstorm, freezing rain, sleet, black ice, and slushy puddles suitable for swimming. But, as they say, the count must go on.
Experts contend that the count occurs in January because this is when the need to find people outside and bring them safely indoors is the greatest. But then again, this is when those who shun shelters (for a variety of reasons) must be industrious about finding alternative sleeping arrangements. In other words, they may not be so easy to find.
The same thing happens when a major event comes to town. In Tampa Bay, so many homeless individuals were being uprooted, moved, or arrested due to Super Bowl-related "street sweeps," homeless advocates have elected to delay their Point In Time count for an entire month.
5. Despite their innate flaws, counts are absolutely necessary.
Yes, homeless counts can be messy, subjective, and political. Yes, they may not be entirely accurate or all-encompassing. And yes, they are unscientific. But they are extremely important nonetheless.
On one level, Point In Time counts help those on the ground reach out and find people who might not be receiving services. At a higher level, the findings help quantify for policy makers (and, indeed, for the rest of us) our society's failure to ensure that every person has a safe, decent place to call home. Until this goal is achieved, we should continue sending volunteers out every January into dark woods, dirty dumpsters, cold subway stations, and dingy sidewalks to see how people must live when ending homelessness is not a national priority.
Perhaps LA homelessness blogger Joel John Roberts said it best:
The number of homeless on our streets is way more than what is acceptable for this First World country we call America.
Amen to that.
[Picture: Change.org's very own Mark Horvath takes part in Glendale, California's Point In Time count. From the Glendale News Press.]
