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San, Francisco. For Immediate Release **PRESS RELEASE*** UC Hastings Chancellor’s Refusal to Sign Pledge Honoring Basic Human Rights of Unhoused Unmasks True Intentions Behind Tenderloin Lawsuit

June 3, 2020 by Jonathan 1 Comment

For Immediate Release

Press Contacts:

Jennifer Friedenbach, (415) 577-9779
Executive Director, Coalition on Homelessness

**PRESS RELEASE***
UC Hastings Chancellor’s Refusal to Sign Pledge Honoring Basic Human Rights of Unhoused Unmasks True Intentions Behind Tenderloin Lawsuit

27 Tenderloin community organizations calls for lawsuit to follow basic CDC guidelines to protect the safety and health of unhoused people

San Francisco — UC Hastings Chancellor David Faigman refused to sign a pledge honoring the basic human rights of unhoused San Franciscans following the lawsuit that Hastings filed along with six other Tenderloin plaintiffs.

The pledge, signed by 27 community organizations who serve Tenderloin residents, calls for a commitment from UC Hastings that their negotiated settlement with the City of San Francisco not violate the basic human rights of unhoused Tenderloin residents by displacing, clearing, or sweeping homeless people or encampments without providing individual housing units. These demands fall under guidelines already set by the CDC, the Obama administration’s Department of Justice, and the 9th circuit ruling on Martin v. Boise.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of Hastings College of Law, Tenderloin Merchants and Property Association and four individuals is devoid of unhoused community members, who will not only be impacted by the outcomes of this litigation, but are the main subjects of the lawsuit. While the suit has been touted as community driven, the language that appears in the lawsuit itself raises serious alarm for unsheltered community members and advocates. The suit emphasizes the “cultural diversity” of small business owners and the “existential risk” to their future, but fails to mention the immediate danger and health risks for those who have no other option than to live unsheltered.

Statements from the lawsuit’s plaintiffs are rife with calls to remove people as though they were disposable and cast blame on those who are most in harm’s way. In one recent CNN interview, Faigman stated, “What we want is to clear the streets.”

“The cruel intent behind the lawsuit has become unequivocally clear following the Chancellor’s refusal to commit to protecting the basic human rights of homeless people,” said Keegan Medrano, COVID policy Director of the Coalition on Homelessness. “By not signing the pledge, UC Hastings is authorizing homeless sweeps despite their catastrophic impact on the health and safety of hundreds of our most vulnerable residents.”

Since the pandemic hit, the number of people living in tents has increased by 285%, bringing visibility to an often hidden issue. Issues that weighed heavily on the neighborhood before have become more crushing and more visible. Community groups and unhoused residents in the Tenderloin are calling for hotel rooms — instead of sweeping homeless people out of public space when they have nowhere to go.

“To not be signing onto this is another act of structural violence,” said Dr. Olivia Park of the Do No Harm Coalition. “UC Hastings is adding to the collective trauma of the people who are living on the streets, who are disproportionately black people and people of color. This kind of structural violence adds to the already huge economic and racial disparities that we see in our city and nation which in turn have long term health impacts. We are seeing this play out through the effects of the covid virus, which has had a devastating impact on Black and Latinx communities.”

###

UC Hastings Pledge Sign-Ons

Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco
St Anthony’s Foundation
Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation
Do no Harm
Faith in Action
Coalition On Homelessness
Glide
Developing Innovations in Supportive Housing
Community Forward
Homeless Emergency Service Provider Association
ABD Productions/Skywatchers
St. Frances Challenge
Eviction Defense Collaborative
Community Housing Partnership
Faithful Fools
Harm Reduction Treatment Center
Swords to Plowshares
Project Open Hand
Care through Touch
Gubbio
Episcopal Community Services
Hospitality House
Lava Mae
SafeHouse
Homeless Prenatal Program
Dolores Street Community Services
Larkin Street
Project Homeless Connect

Jennifer Friedenbach (she,her)
jfriedenbach@cohsf.org
Coalition on Homelessness
280 Turk Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415)346-3740
http://www.cohsf.org/

Please note: We moved to 280 Turk Street x Leavenworth, SF CA 94102

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.

Maya Angelou

Filed Under: #right2rest, Coalition On Homelessness San Francisco, Press Releases, WRAP Members

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Francesca Pastine says

    June 5, 2020 at 11:09 pm

    I don’t understand how any compassionate person would advocate for the way homeless have to cram onto sidewalks in lieu of the City taking constructive steps to take them off the street and into either hotel rooms, housing, or regulated areas that have adequate hygiene. Activism for the sake of activism makes no sense and perpetuates suffering. Society is governed by norms and rules for the betterment of everyone. It is in the best interest of the unhoused, the house, and society as a whole to make compromises that serve everyone’s interest. The derogatory term “sweep” is misleading. Getting people out of tents and into services is a good thing. Giving housed residents of the Tenderloin back their access to public sidewalks is a good thing.

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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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4 days 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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8 Aug 1556771690356453376

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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8 Aug 1556762429144514561

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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