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For Immediate Release:Homeless, Disabled, Indigenous Builders Create their own Solutions to Homelessness while the City Slows Them Down & Charges Them Exorbitant Fees

February 3, 2020 by Jonathan Leave a Comment

Press Contacts: Leroy Moore- & Tiny gray-garcia- (510) 435-7500- (510) 649-8438
For Immediate Release:

Homeless Builders Create their own Solutions to Homelessness while the City Slows Them Down & Charges Them Exorbitant Fees

Poor, Homeless, Bordered,Incarcerated, Indigenous and Disabled People launched Homefulness – a homeless peoples solution to homelessness in 2011. The City of Oakland Building Department has charged permit fees in excess of 35,000 and private corporations like PGE and DWP over 100,000 This situation makes it impossible for poor, working class Black, Brown and Homeless builders to build homes in Oakland.

What: Press Conference followed by legislative visit
When: 12noon Tuesday, Feb 4th
Where: Oakland City Hall- Oscar Grant Plaza

“The “City” has been charging us several thousands of dollars we didn’t have from the beginning just to build Homefulness t”to code” and its made it so hard for us to even build this project as poor people, ” Muteado Silencio, homeless, indigenous co-founder of Homefulness and POOR Magazine.

Homefulness, a homeless peoples solution to homelessness which was launched in 2011 by a multi-generational, multi-racial, community of homeless, migrant, disabled, and indigenous peoples trying to create their own self-determined solution, within the laws set forth by the Oakland Dept of Building Inspection so it would never be a possibility for their dream to be destroyed or shut down by claims that it “wasn’t up to code” which happens all the time to homeless and low-income builders, has been plagued from the beginning of their project by huge fees, from public and private agencies like PGE and DWP as well as the CIty itself that oversees building and construction projects. Last month, before the holidays, they shut down Homefulness building process all together saying they “took too long” to build and assessed an “impact fee” which is supposedly to support low-income housing projects as well as told Homefulness we had to start all over again.

Thanks to community pressure Homefulness was able to get a 30 day extension to the shut down, but in this crisis, the Homefulness project realized they have to speak out as these fees and and the process to build and try to work with conscious legislators to exempt poor and homeless people from these exorbitant fees and impossible requirements which make it impossible for homeless and poor people to manifest our own solutions and stay in our neighborhoods and communities.To date Homefulness has created sustainable and safe housing for 4 houseless families and disabled elders , a school for homeless children a sliding scale cafe for the community to eat healthy food and a poor and homeless people-run radio station.

“Affordable housing is not affordable, section eight vouchers are useless and when poor people build our own homes we get hit by thousand dollars permits over and over to come to the realization that the system want to keep us chasing our tails while city government continues to red tape our hands behind our back thus turning us back to the streets as they continue to play footies with million developers who are giving a green light to build multi million dollar luxury condos with no low income buy in., said Leroy Moore, formerly homeless, disabled co-founder of Homefulness and POOR Magazine

“When the City Swept our encampment they claimed our curbside homes weren’t “up to code” which is how the City rationalized demolishing them.”said Alfred Estrada, currently houseless after multiple sweeps and demolitions of encampments he was staying in.

“Us poor and homeless people in the US are in states of emergency- between the demolitions of thousands of units of public housing,the extreme rise in gentrification and evictions of low-income and working class elders and families and the concurrent rise in the criminalization of unhoused encampments and our bodies, which is why it is so urgent for people to listen to our own actual solutions to poverty and homelessness- solutions like Poverty Scholarship and the Homefulness Project, said Lisa Gray-Garcia, formerly homeless single parent, author of Poverty Scholarship – Poor People-led Theory Art, Words and Tears Across Mama Earth and Criminal of Poverty – Growing Up Homeless in America


After the press conference POOR Magazine/Homefulness community of homeless and formerly homeless youth, adults and elders will meet with the aides to council person Nikki fortunato Bass and Rebecca Kaplan who works on homeless issues to launch this legislative effort
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/608901149907755/

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Part 12... Infractions and Due Process Rights Ant Part 12...
Infractions and Due Process Rights 
Anti-homeless laws and ordinances and their application have, in fact, created a loophole that allows for the circumvention of a homeless person’s right to due process under law. The process by which homeless people face repeated incarceration generally follows this scenario: A homeless man is sleeping on the sidewalk. A local ordinance makes it illegal to do so. The man gets a ticket and is later arrested for not paying the ticket. He spends a couple of days in jail, and is just as homeless now as he was before, only now he has a criminal record. This was the case for many of the individuals interviewed by RWHP. One man relayed the familiar scenario, “I was sleeping in a tent in a hidden spot near the freeway. They gave me a ticket for trespassing. I don’t have money to pay it. I’ve never been in jail before. I keep to myself, but now they’re going to make me a convict just for sleeping.”
SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT TALKING DOWN THE PEOPLES TOWMH SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT TALKING DOWN THE PEOPLES TOWMHOMES ENCAMPMENT https://www.instagram.com/tv/ChAT9N5jNTY/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

This morning @phillysheriff ‘s came and evicted our protest encampment to Save the UC Townhomes. When asked why they were doing it, Rochelle Bilal responded that she “felt compassion for the townhomes residents but was just doing my job”

Even if the tents are gone WE AINT GOIN NOWHERE‼️
Saturday AUGUST 27 — 9 am to 4pm Sunday AUGUST 2 Saturday AUGUST 27 — 9 am to 4pm
Sunday AUGUST 28 — 12:30pm to 4pm

Westminster Presbyterian Church
1300 N Street, Sacramento

https://wraphome.org/2022/08/02/sacramento-ca-advocates-community-summit-on-homelessness-august-27-28th/
California. (S)Care Court Hearing Tomorrow 8/3 Las California. (S)Care Court Hearing Tomorrow 8/3 Last Hearing before floor Vote
https://conta.cc/3vzRoWo
Part 11 ... California’s “anti-Okie” laws of Part 11 ...
California’s “anti-Okie” laws of the 1930s and the South’s Jim Crow laws in effect from the late 1800s to the 1950s are examples of the kinds of local laws overturned in previous generations. Yet, modern “quality of life” legislation and enforcement targeting homeless people can be found in communities across the nation.
The City Council postponed their vote on the 41.18 The City Council postponed their vote on the 41.18 expansion to August 2nd. If passed, this motion will add approximately 1,900 additional sites–a 376% increase in exclusionary zones across the city. 41.18 would then cover at least 88 sq miles (that’s 20% of the entire city).

Services Not Sweeps is urging EVERYONE to come to City Hall at 9:00am on August 2 and tell City Council that 41.18 is BAD POLICY and should be repealed.

When we fight, we win. 
But this fight isn’t over.

The community flooded City Hall inside and out on Wednesday to protest the expansion of 41.18 but the fight is not over. It’s clear that President Nury Martinez and friends weren’t prepared for our numbers and realized they were unable to rally their (few but loud) 41.18 supporters. Council delayed the vote to Tuesday August 2nd in an attempt to erode our momentum and stifle our voices. 
 
We won’t let that happen. The fight now is to keep the pressure on and show up next week!! See you next Tuesday 9am. Bring a friend.
 
WHO: You and your friends!
WHERE: City Hall, 200 N Spring St 
WHEN: Tuesday August 2nd at 9:00am
HOW: Read more details on our toolkit.
AGENDA ITEM 14 https://lacity.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=102513
Part 10... In fact, however, enforcement is very m Part 10...
In fact, however, enforcement is very much impacted by both skin color and appearance. Local governments cannot legally discriminate against people strictly because they do not have housing. Federal protections prohibit local and state governments from removing people from their communities due to the color of their skin or economic/employment status.
Part 9... This nationwide pattern has escaped Civi Part 9... This nationwide pattern has escaped Civil Rights protections because on their face, these programs are not clearly discriminatory. Local laws are often drafted in such a way as to appear to apply equally to all people in a community.
Part 8... While certain communities highlight diff Part 8...
While certain communities highlight different controls at different times, often depending upon the outcome of local elections and legislative and court efforts, all have one primary common goal: to remove the presence and resulting impact of people without housing from local communities. As the Mayor of Las Vegas stated when she outlawed feeding people in city parks: “If we stop feeding them, they will leave.”
Part 7... This type of ticket is not uncommon. The Part 7...
This type of ticket is not uncommon. The most common public space and activity restrictions are those aimed at camping, sitting, lying, or trespassing on either public or private land, panhandling, sleeping, blocking the sidewalk and possessing “stolen property,” such as shopping carts and milk crates—to name just a few. Furthermore, these restrictions are often implemented in conjunction with the closure of public parks and the outlawing of free food and clothing distribution.
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9 hours ago
Part 12...
Infractions and Due Process Rights 

Anti-homeless laws and ordinances and their application have, in fact, created a loophole that allows for the circumvention of a homeless person’s right to due process under law. The process by which homeless people face repeated incarceration generally follows this scenario: A homeless man is sleeping on the sidewalk. A local ordinance makes it illegal to do so. The man gets a ticket and is later arrested for not paying the ticket. He spends a couple of days in jail, and is just as homeless now as he was before, only now he has a criminal record. This was the case for many of the individuals interviewed by RWHP. One man relayed the familiar scenario, “I was sleeping in a tent in a hidden spot near the freeway. They gave me a ticket for trespassing. I don’t have money to pay it. I’ve never been in jail before. I keep to myself, but now they’re going to make me a convict just for sleeping.”
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Part 12...
Infractions and Due Process Rights
Anti-homeless laws and ordinances and their application have, in fact, created a loophole that allows for the circumvention of a homeless person’s right to due process under law.

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SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT TALKING DOWN THE PEOPLES TOWMHOMES ENCAMPMENT
“felt compassion for the townhomes residents but was just doing my job”
Even if the tents are gone WE AINT GOIN NOWHERE‼️

Image for the Tweet beginning: SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT TALKING DOWN THE Twitter feed image.
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