Urgent: Fresno, CA Homeless need your help Thurs 10/ 27, especially if you can get to Fresno

[annm4peace]

(cross post from GD)

The first evictions, on Santa Fe south of Ventura, will take place on Thursday October 27. Evictions at all of the other encampments - The Hill, G street, Santa Clara street, F street, and at San Benito/H street will take place on Tuesday, November 1.


Please send this to others, especially those in groups who might be able to help. Maybe the UN can come in and set up a refugee camp.
I don't know how the City of Fresno can get away with their continue destruction of what little shelter these people can put together. These people are in tent cities because there is no room at the shelters.

Hateful City of Fresno continues to abuse the Homeless. CA is one of the richest states in our Nation yet the Central Valley of CA city leaders are going to once again destroy the tent cities.. taking away what little these men, women, and many children have left. There are over 4000 people living in these tent cities.. many are children. The city of Fresno says they are going to provide 100 apartments from a federal grant.
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http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/22/18694453.ph...

"The City of Fresno is moving to evict homeless people from all downtown encampments. Is the city offering them a better place to live? Will evicting the homeless, just before the holidays, help them in some way? The answer to these and other exciting questions are answered in the photos and story below. the city has 100 to offer to the homeless but the tent cities have over 5000 people.. where can they go? "

"The homeless people who I talked to today were concerned that they have no other place to go. Lucifer asked how the city could evict the homeless right before the holidays. “The weather is getting colder and we have nowhere to go.” Lucifer said he was organizing a meeting for later today, to get the homeless to develop a strategy for dealing with these evictions.

On F street Nate said that the city was offering some homeless people housing, but added that “even if the city provides 100 or so apartments, what about the rest of us? There must be 5,000 homeless people in downtown Fresno right now. Apartments for 100 is nothing but a public relations attempt by the city to make it look like they are doing something to help the homeless.”

Butch, who was busy with Saturday morning recycling work on San Benito, wanted to know “where the fuck are we supposed to go?” He said it was cruel for the city to be evicting everyone just as the weather is about to get cold. “How is taking our property and destroying our homes going to help the homeless, that is what I want to know,” Butch said.

Over on Santa Fe (south of Ventura) Rose stood around a morning fire with about 10 other homeless people. They were cooking breakfast when I arrived. Rose had called to let me know about these evictions. She introduced me to Patchrich, who asked what would happen if all of the homeless were to link there arms and refuse to allow the city sanitation workers to do their jobs on Thursday.

Patchrich and Rose also think that they may have squatter rights at the Santa Fe encampment, since they have been living there for over a year. I told them I would seek a legal opinion about that and get back to them.

In the meantime, the first evictions start at 7 a.m. next Thursday at Santa Fe, just south of Ventura. Evictions at the other encampments are scheduled for 7 a.m. on November 1. Will there be homeless advocates there to support potential resistence to the evictions? Will legal observers be on hand to monitor the situation and defend the civil/legal rights of the homeless? "

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If you can get to Fresno, CA:

Please encourage people to come out at 7 a.m. this Thursday, October 27 to the Santa Fe homeless encampment to stand in solidarity with the homeless. It looks like civil disobedience to stop the city from destroying this encampment is a serious possibility. The Santa Fe homeless encampment is just south of Ventura on Santa Fe in downtown Fresno.
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If you can't get to Fresno, CA by this Thursday:

Contact Mayor Ashley Swearengin at 559-621-8000 and/or City Manager Mark Scott 559-621-7770 and ask them where are the 5000 homeless people going to go and what is going to happen to their belongings when the City Evicts the Tent cities this week..

Gregory Barfield is the jackass who is suppose to help end homeless in Fresno.. But where do the donations for the City program to end Homelessness go? no one can seem to tell Community Alliance that is actually trying to help the Homeless. check out Gregorgy Barfield's tweets and do you think he is working to help and protect the homeless or is he just enjoying his cushy job? http://twitter.com/#!/gregorybarfield .

http://www.fresnofirststepshome.org /


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Yes, there is an Occupy Fresno.. but there isn't enough progressives to take on the city and the police: http://occupyfresnoca.com /

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To see what tent cities look like in Fresno and hoq the homeless will have nothing. It is a small group of progressives that have struggled to gather enough money to have porta potties, tents, sleeping bags, and food for the homeless but there are not enough of them to stop the city. They need more people to come out and stand with the homeless.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/04/13/18677085.ph...

Fresno city is too corrupt by neo-cons and fundamentalists to help the homeless.. they just keep abusing them.
It will take an outside group to help the homeless in fresno.. especially to give them basic human rights in shelter. I wish some christ-like churches would bring their congregation to help
At this point the City of Fresno is taking away their last little bit of cardboard shelter.

[annm4peace]

1. Press conference from Progressives at 10:30am Wed. day before the evictions

Dear Friends,

The City of Fresno has planned mass evictions of our homeless from their encampments downtown. The first is to take place at 7:00 am Thursday.

*Organizations have banded into a coalition to have two Actions opposing these evictions in the absence of immediate housing for these homeless individuals.*

Press Conference at City Hall at 10:30 am Wednesday (tomorrow).

The groups below will be represented where possible.

Mike Rhodes will have homeless people there to tell their story also.

Witness these evictions with cameras and signs at the encampment no later than 7:00 am at Santa Fe just south of Ventura.

Evictions at the other encampments are scheduled for 7 a.m. on November 1 - plans for those evictions will follow.

Support comes from
Chairs of the Fresno and Madera County Democratic Parties, and leadership of Progressive Democrats of America, DFA,
Volunteers for Change Fresno, Peace Fresno, WILPF, Raging Grannies, Communications Workers of America,
California Nurses' Association, Physicians for a National Health Program, the social justice committees of Wesley United, a member of the UU Church)
Bishop John Steinbock Homeless Advocacy Committee, Community Alliance,

--
Judy Hess
Chapter Leader

Central Valley - Sierra Progressives
Progressive Democrats of America

(they will still need more support

In the past, the City of Fresno has claimed they need to destroy the tent cities is be work is needed to be done on a bridge, or a road, or a lot.. yet once the people are cleared out the area sits vacant and the homeless have no where to go. Or they claim they have housing vouchers yet it is a very small # that ends up able to get an apartment.
What really needs to happen is the CA Attorney needs to look at the Cities books on their Homeless programs. Where is the grant money they received ? )

[annm4peace]

2. The Eviction is moving forward.. Please help!

Please share this others. Come to Fresno if you are near by.
And Call the Mayor's office and post comments on the Fresno Bee and news stations if you don't.

Fresno CA's unemployment has been over 15% for the last 10 years. there are over 3000 school age children living in the tent cities.



Call to Action - Thursday at 7 a.m.!




The City of Fresno intends to begin a massive eviction of homeless people from their modest shelters, starting at 7 a.m. on Thursday, October 27. Your presence in solidarity with your homeless brothers and sisters could stop one of the worst human rights violation in the history of this city. Just as the weather is getting colder, the City of Fresno is going to chase the homeless from one vacant lot to another, taking their blankets, tents, and clothes. You and I can stop them.

We need everyone reading this message to arrive no later than 7 a.m. at Santa Fe street, just south of Ventura. Santa Fe is the street that Amtrak is on. The homeless is south of the Amtrak station on the other side of Ventura

For background about this struggle, see:

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/22/18694453.ph...

To see video from today's press conference at City Hall, calling on the city to call off the evictions, see:

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/26/18695320.ph...


City officials lie when they say they have resources for the homeless they are evicting from the tent cities.
City of Fresno, Caltrans, US Railroad enforcement, have again and again destroyed these people's cardboard shacks, tents, and toss away their personal possessions.

Contacting Mayor Swearengin and your City Council Member:
Basic message – (#1 is the most important now.) A short clear message is best.
1. I oppose the City’s plan to evict homeless residents of the encampments in downtown Fresno beginning on Thursday. I’m asking the City to allow the homeless people to stay in the encampments until there is a workable plan to provide basic shelter.

2. Until that solution is reached, provide them with water, toilets, and regular trash collection.
Information on reaching Mayor Swearengin and your city council member is available at www.fresno.gov . Or see below.

Calling Mayor Swearengin and your city council member at [phone]:

Phone may ring several times. A recording will answer “Administrative Offices for the City of Fresno…” and you will be put on hold until someone answers. That person can also take a message for your city councilmember so you should be prepared to ask that the message go to both the mayor and your city council member. If you don’t know the name of your city council member check first at http://www.fresno.gov/Government/CityCouncil/CouncilLoc... .


Emailing Mayor Swearengin, your city council member, and all the city council members:

It’s easy from the City’s website. Go to www.fresno.gov , from the home page click on “Mayor’s Office” or “City Council” on the left of the screen. You can make your feelings known to all the city council members via email. Not hard when you cut and paste. They want to know how people in the city feel about issues of the day.

Tomorrow will be a critical day for taking action. It is important for as many people as possible to be at the homeless encampment at Santa Fe Ave. just south of Ventura St. at 7:00 a.m. for a strong show of support for the residents. I feel confident that the media will be there to record the action. Bring your cameras and homemade signs or simply stand in solidarity, prepared to witness City action.

The City has said that the evictions could start at 7 a.m., but given all the publicity who knows what will happen. If I hear of changes before tomorrow morning, I’ll email you. For now we should assume that the City might come before 7 a.m. so if you’re an early riser don’t hesitate to come early. My guess is that the City will stall and do nothing tomorrow, but some of us should plan to spend the day at the encampment. If nothing happens, others can go the following day. Evictions are scheduled for other downtown encampments beginning on Tuesday, November 1.

[annm4peace]

3. Please listen to the Video from the Press conference

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2192490