HE FFICIAL EWS RGAN OFTHE LOSANGELES … · in rashes. Bed bug bites have been mistaken as other insect bites, such as fleas and mosquitoes, or sensitivity to detergents and soaps.

The Los Angeles Community Action Network's (LA CAN) campaign toprotect low-income housing reached its ultimate success in May when theCity Council enacted a permanent Residential Hotel PreservationOrdinance. LA CAN is proud to report that several hundred very poorand homeless people led the effort to completely reverse the original plansof developers and elected officials to remove these buildings from our use.It is one of many David vs. Goliath stories throughout the country wherepoor people are defeating investors who are eyeing our communities. Thepeople do have power, it is being exercised, and we can and will win.

In 2002, the City of Los Angeles introduced a redevelopment plan thatcalled for the elimination of close to 4,000 low-income housing units indowntown LA, mostly in residential hotels. Residential hotels providemuch-needed "housing of last resort" for the lowest income tenants in LosAngeles, many of whom are elderly and disabled. They also provide about95 percent of the affordable housing in the downtown community. Priorto the passage of a temporary moratorium in the May 2006, hundreds ofresidential hotel units had been lost in downtown Los Angeles in just twoyears. With the moratorium set to expire in May 2008, LA CAN membersorganized a series of actions to ensure that the Mayor and City Counciltook the next step to permanently protect residential hotel units and theirtenants, and they did.

On May 6, 2008, LA's City Council voted unanimously for a permanent,Citywide residential hotel preservation ordinance, protecting almost19,000 housing units and about 30,000 people. This outcome was the

final hurdle after four long years of struggle by LA CAN members and our supporters to reverse the plans to displacethousands of low-income people from downtown and convert affordable housing toupscale lofts, boutique hotels, and other uses for the "new downtown." After slowingdown the original redevelopment plan with a lawsuit, we began to see the impacts ofunregulated investment gobbling up "underutilized" buildings for adaptive reuse andlandlords engaging in illegal activities to vacate residential hotels. These supposedly“underutilized:”buildings were actually our homes. The gentrification of downtown LosAngeles, like so many other communities, was nothing but a racist land grab from poorfolks by rich folks. The crisis for long-term, poor residents of downtown LA came to a head in mid-2004when the Bristol Hotel, home to 100 tenants, was emptied within 3 days - at times atgunpoint. Although the Community Redevelopment Agency had a loan on the propertythat included an affordability covenant until 2015, the new owner felt completelyjustified in forcibly removing poor people to make way for his boutique hotel perfect forthe vision of the "new downtown." Displaced Bristol tenants and other LA CAN memberswere able to turn this travesty of justice into our campaign launch to permanently protect our low-income housing,most of which was in residential hotels. The Residential Hotel Preservation Ordinance is a huge victory for poor people in Los Angeles. However, the efforts to"improve" communities for a new, wealthier group of people by removing poor people will not end with one new policy.We know that laws that protect poor people aren't enforced without an organized and active community, and so we willbe working diligently to ensure all of the protections won over the past several years provide real benefits to folksthroughout LA. The fight continues in a downtown intent on removing poor people of color - those with and withouthousing - and we don't plan on backing down now!

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE July - August 20081

July - August 2008

Community ConnectionTHEOFFICIALNEWSORGANOFTHELOSANGELESCOMMUNITYACTIONNETWORK

THEVOICE,THEPULSE,OFOURVILLAGESUGGESTED MINIMUM DONATION: ONE DOLLAR ($1)

Historic Protections for LA’sHousing of Last Resort Will HelpPrevent Gentrification City-Wide

Self-Defense: A Special Path to Sisterhood

United Nations Official onRacism Visits Skid Row

DWC Gets Ready for New Home4 75

“What is, withoutquestion, one of the

most pro-tenantordinances that [has]

ever come beforethis City Council inits entire history.”

Mercedes Marques, General Mgr.LA Housing Department

City Council MeetingMarch 6, 2008

THE ORDINANCE WAS SUPPORTED BY OVER 30 ORGANIZATIONS FROM ACROSS THE CITY, BUT JOINING LA CAN ASSTRONG AND VISIBLE SUPPORTERS DURING THE FINAL STRETCH WERE: ACLU, COALITION LA, DOWNTOWNWOMEN’S CENTER, ESPERANZA COMMUNITY HOUSING CORPORATION, HOUSING LA, INNER CITY LAW CENTER, LA VOICE, LAMP COMMUNITY, LEGAL AID FOUNDATION OF LOS ANGELES, LITTLE TOKYO SERVICE CENTER, POWER,SAJE, SCANPH, AND SKID ROW HOUSING TRUST.

By Anonymous Contributor

"Night, night, sleep tight, don't let thebed bugs bite!" is no longer anamusing nursery rhyme. Bed bugs,Cimex lectularius, have found theirway back into our communities afteralmost 50 years. Back into ourapartments, hotels, shelters, anddormitories, single family homes,college dorms, cruise ships, airports,laundromats, used furniture stores,and laboratories. Back into the bedsof residents of Skid Row, Los AngelesCounty, the United States, andelsewhere in the world.

Over the past 20 years, there hasbeen an increase in the number ofreported bed bug infestations in theUnited States, Canada, and Australia.

Bed bugs are tiny wingless insectsthat feed on the blood of warmblooded animals, including people.Bed bugs and their relatives haveevolved as nest parasites. Some live inbird nests and bat roosts and wait fortheir hosts to return; others prefer the"nests" (homes) of people.

A bed bug egg is smaller than thehead of a pin. Upon hatching, a bedbug grows through four larva stagesbefore reaching adulthood. Each stagelarva needs a blood meal in order tomolt (grow and shed its exoskeleton[outer-skeleton]). A first stage larva(baby) bed bug is about the size of apoppy seed. An adult bed bug isabout ¼" long (about the size of apencil eraser) and nearly as flat as apiece of paper before feeding. Afterfeeding, it becomes bloated and darkred and looks like "animated blooddrop. Female bed bugs need bloodmeals before laying their eggs. Underfavorable conditions of regularfeedings and temperature (70ºF andabove), a female bed bug will layabout 200 eggs during her lifetime atthe rate of 3 or 4 per day.

Bed bugs are nocturnal feeders; theyfeed at night and digest their bloodmeals during the day. If its feeding isundisturbed, a mature adult willbecome engorged with blood (from itshuman host) in 3 to 15 minutes. Itwill then drop down and crawl into asheltered crevice-such as the crease ofa sheet or the joint of a bed frame-and remain there for several dayswhile digesting its blood meal.

Bed bugs tend to bite all over thebody, especially on the areas that aremore exposed while we sleep, such asthe face, neck, arms, and hands.However, not all people know theyhave bugs in their beds; people have arange of physical reactions to bitesfrom these blood-sucking insects.Some people do not know that theyhave been bitten, while others sufferan allergic reaction to the saliva

injected while the insects fed and maydevelop painful swellings or break outin rashes. Bed bug bites have beenmistaken as other insect bites, suchas fleas and mosquitoes, or sensitivityto detergents and soaps.

The more bed bugs in a home, themore bites its occupants willexperience. At the beginning of aninfestation, bed bugs are likely tofound only on the surfaces and foldsof mattresses and covers, close totheir host. Later, they spread tocrevices in the bed frames, bedsidefurniture, crevices, and cracks inbaseboards, walls, floors, etc. Inheavy infestations, they may hidebehind picture frames, under carpet,behind wallpaper, and curtains. Bedbugs do not fly, but can move quicklyover beds, floors, walls, ceilings andother surfaces-commuting betweentheir human host to feed and theirnesting areas to molt, lay their eggs,and rest.

Bed bugs are gregarious: theycommonly share the same nestingarea, with the hollow husks of eachage (from egg to fifth stage larva) andrust-red droppings littering theirterritory. A current bed buginfestation should be easy torecognize -- Not. Bed bugs canmigrate to nearby apartments throughvoids in walls, and holes throughwhich wires and pipes pass, in searchof new human hosts. Further, adultbed bugs are often mistaken for babycockroaches. Bed bug droppingsresemble fly droppings. Eggs are"invisible" to the human eye.

Unlike fleas, flies, mosquitoes, andother biting insects, bed bugs are notknown to transmit any disease tohumans. Bed bugs do not transmitHIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, or other bloodborne diseases from one human hostto another human host. However, theycan cause a range of physical andpsychological problems and reactions.

BUG BITES CAN CAUSE:

Itchy bumps (like mosquito bites) Raised, inflamed hard pimples

(with no pus)Groups of small blisters

surrounded by red, hard skinGroups of large, red-ringed

blisters, often with raised, inflamedhard pimples, and/or red spots

Increase in asthma symptoms,serious respiratory problems, or otherbody-as-a-whole negative responses

Anemia in the very young and elderlySignificant loss of sleepIncrease in personal levels of

stress, tension, and other negativeemotions

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE

H O U S I N G

July-August 20082

A Second, and Bigger,Victory in the AlexandriaHotel Lawsuit!Low-income tenants of the AlexandriaHotel in downtown Los Angeles, whohave suffered from unlawfuldisplacement, as well as shutoffs ofheat, water and elevator service,received a Preliminary Injunction onMay 22, 2008 that requires the City ofLos Angeles and the CommunityRedevelopment Agency to providerelocation assistance to the tenants ofthe hotel, including those individualswho were evicted over the course of thepast two years. The ruling also requiresthe hotel owners and managers toimmediately provide habitable livingconditions for all tenants andreasonable accommodations to tenantswith disabilities.

This ruling comes in follow-up to aTemporary Restraining Order issued inFebruary 2008. As reported in the lastCommunity Connection, the temporaryrestraining order prohibited theAlexandria Hotel from permanently ortemporarily displacing any tenants untila decision was entered on thePreliminary Injunction. After the initialruling protecting tenants, thePreliminary Injunction follows with evenstronger protections and benefitsordered for current and past tenants ofthe Alexandria Hotel.

The full lawsuit seeks to redressviolations of the tenants' rights, whichoccurred during the rehabilitation ofthe Alexandria Hotel. These includeviolations of civil rights, disabilitydiscrimination, communityredevelopment, relocation, and housingcondition laws. All of these violationshave not yet been addressed; thelawsuit is not over.

Alexandria Housing Partners and itsproperty management company, LoganProperty Management, took overoperation of the Alexandria Hotel onAugust 10, 2006. More than 100tenants have been displaced from theAlexandria Hotel since then, although acondition of public funding for theproject required that no one bedisplaced. Residents also experiencedinterruptions in a number of services.Inoperative elevators have strandedelderly residents with disabilities onupper floors, and water shutoffs haveleft tenants without potable water orflushing toilets for days at a time.

This decision tells both the City of LosAngeles and developers that theycannot simply push out poor people inorder to gentrify redevelopment areaswhen public funds are supposed to beused to improve conditions for thosevery residents. However, there are stillissues to be resolved to ensure theAlexandria is restored as a communityresource for low-income, disabledresidents of downtown Los Angeles. Tojoin the Alexandria tenant council or tootherwise support Alexandria tenants,contact LA CAN and get involved. Also,if you were displaced from theAlexandria over the past two years,call or visit LA CAN - relocationbenefits should be available verysoon and we need to know whereyou are!-------------------------------------------------McDermott Will & Emery LLP, the LegalAid Foundation of Los Angeles, theDisability Rights Legal Center, and theWestern Center on Law and Povertyfiled this lawsuit on behalf of sixtenants and LA CAN. Our thanks goout to this stellar legal team!

" N i g h t , n i g h t , s l e e p t i g h t , d o n ' t l e t t h e b e d b u g s b i t e ! "

BED BUGS CONT. ON PAGE #9

And They Wonder Why People EquateGentrification with Racism......By Ms. Jamie Romano

The May 19, 2008 issue of Downtown News was full of advertisements for themultitude of new "luxury lofts" available in the Skid Row and broaderdowntown community; that part of town where they're pushing out all thepoor and Black folks to make room for the white folks with money.

This issue of Downtown News featured a report on "137 Downtown projects."Many ads also sported photos of "residents" enjoying their new lofts highabove the streets of LA. Thirteen ads depicted "residents" in their homes.The thirteen photos included ten white women, nine white men, one Asianman and one Asian woman. A pictorial ad for the LA Athletic Club featured awhite woman. A full page ad on page 7 for "Downtown LA Open House '08"read, see "everything that Downtown LA's neighborhoods have to offer - fromwhere to live, dine and party, tocultural, retail and entertainmenthotspots!"This particular ad included aphoto of a white woman, as well.It seems the downtown real estatedevelopers have left Black andBrown folks out of the picture!

Longtime Skid Row residents andworkers have long asserted thatthe "clean up" of Skid Row wasnothing more than an effort topave the way for gentrification.Developers and local officials alikerefuted the People’s claims ofgentrification, instead using thephrase, "revitalization” ofDowntown LA. Perhaps a moreaccurate term might be "re-white-alization” of DowntownLA.

3COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE July - August 2008

H O U S I N G

HOTEL WATCHGET MORE OF THE LATEST DOWNTOWN RESIDENTIAL HOTEL INFORMATION

Low-IncomeCommunities Uniteagainst Proposition 98and the Attack on RentControl

Community leaders representingorganizations from across the cityheld a teach-in and call to action onMay 21, 2008, at Strategic Actions fora Just Economy (SAJE) to encouragevoters on June 3rd to vote "NO" onProposition 98, which would haveeliminated rent control and severelycurtailed renter's rights. The eventbrought together community basedorganizations and leaders from acrossthe city who for years have beenfighting for affordable housing andagainst gentrification in theirneighborhoods.

The organizations included PeopleOrganized for Westside Renewal(POWER), East Los AngelesCommunity Corporation (ELACC), LosAngeles Community Action Network(LA CAN), and SAJE. These were justfour of the dozens of tenants groupsacross the State working againstProposition 98, but we wanted tocome together specifically at thisevent to link community efforts andshare ideas. Proposition 98 was thelatest and most dangerous attack onlow-income renters and affordablehousing, a crisis most acute in LosAngeles where rents have beenskyrocketing for years.The California Property Owners andFarmland Protection Act, known byopponents as the Hidden AgendasScheme, would have had devastatingimplications in a city that is alreadyexperiencing a housing crisis of epicproportions. But affordable housingadvocates and organizers maintainedthat Prop 98, in addition torepresenting a huge threat to low-income renters, presented anopportunity for various communitiesfrom across the City to unite in notonly their opposition to 98, but theirdesire for overall housing justice.

On June 3, 2008, Proposition 98 wasdefeated by California voters.However, folks across the city are stillstruggling in their neighborhoods toprotect tenants and other low-incomeresidents. LA CAN and our partnersare looking forward to the opportunityto further unite, demonstrate broadscale solidarity, and workcollaboratively to address all housingneeds in Los Angeles.

Cecil HotelJust hours before the permanent Residential Hotel Preservation Ordinancewas passed by the LA City Council, the owners of the Cecil Hotel filed alawsuit against the City claiming that the Cecil is NOT a residential hotel.The formal complaint actually seems to claim that the Cecil Hotel has NEVERbeen a residential hotel and that they never engaged in the 28-day shuffle.

We have observed the Cecil’s attempts to convert to a tourist hotel in the pastcouple of years: moving long-term tenants off the top floors, creating aseparate entrance and new name (“Stay”) for these recently vacated rooms,removing the laundry room, adding a restaurant, and more. However, allthese changes came while a moratorium was in place explicitly to preventconversions of residential hotels to tourist hotels.

If the Cecil owners prevail, current tenants will lose many of their recentlygained rights and the community is at risk of losing the Cecil as valuableaffordable housing altogether. If you live or recently lived at the Cecil Hotel,get involved with other tenants fighting to save their housing. The new Cecilowners must follow all laws and the City must help tenants in preventingfurther conversion of the hotel. Come to LA CAN to find out how to getinvolved.

Huntington HotelAs reported in the last Community Connection, as a result of a lawsuit filedby the City current and former Huntington tenants will receive a 70% rentrebate for any rent paid since February 2003. However, the process has beenvery slow in getting the rebate claims process started. We expect claimsforms to be mailed to current tenants very soon and claims forms will also beavailable at LA CAN.

Additionally, Huntington tenants have been working together to improvehealth and safety conditions and get individual mailboxes installed (requiredby law in residential hotels as of July 1, 2008). Although progress has beenslow at this hotel, the more people that are involved – the faster things willmove!

LA CAN MEMBER KING GERALDSTAFFING THE VOTER REGISTRATION TABLE

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE

W O M E N

July-August 20084

Women’s Day in the ParkExtravaganza

On May 16, 2008, the Downtown Women's Action Coalition (DWAC) held itsseventh annual Women's Day in the Park. Many of the women who live andwork in our community look forward to attending and participating in thisevent. It's a time when we come together as peers, laugh, have fun and relax.The activities have expanded, the fashion show has gotten bigger and better,and the food...well what can we say but it's GOOD. Looking at the faces ofthe ladies at the event says a lot, to see them at the information tables,participating in the talent show, dancing and enjoying their gifts makes all ofus smile. Words cannot express the joy we feel on that day. Many womenspoke about how much fun they had and want to know when DWAC will dothis again. Well ladies, we'll see you next year, same time, and same place!

Pictures of Beauty, Happiness & Relaxation

On Saturday, June 14, 2008, MindaPanelo, a 3rd Degree Black Belt inTae Kwon Do, inaugurated LACAN's

first women's self-defense class.Panelo has beenteaching self-defense since 1974,most notably atClark Air ForceBase in thePhillipines whereshe taught thechildren of militarypersonnel. She isalso proficient inJudo and Shotokan.

Panelo has entered and woncountless tournaments in her 30-plusyears of teaching. The class was bornout of a 2007 LA CAN member retreatwhere the women in our communitystated there was a need for a self-defense class. Ten pioneering womenshowed up to build their confidence,spirit, and skills. Panelo was positiveand encouraging.

The class included basic defensiveblocks and balance. Several womencommented positively about thisevent. Melissa said "the class wasvery good" and Panelo was "really,really informative.” Amazing Gracesaid that Panelo was "very good.”Josephine was surprised that "thefocus was on developing stamina, notstrength.” Josephine added that "at63, she (Panelo) looks so terrific!”

The Self-Defense class will be held onSaturdays at 10:00 AM at LA CAN. Itis free and open to anyone who isinterested.

Self-Defense: A Special Path toSisterhood

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE July - August 20085

W O M E N

United for WomenLocally & Globally:DWAC SponsorsSecond DowntownWomen’s SummitBy Fabiola Sandoval

On March 28, 2008 the LampCommunity Gallery held more than100 downtown residents, activists,and service providers who gatheredfor half the day for the Women’sSummit and the official release of thethird downtown women’s needsassessment, Growing Needs,Shrinking Opportunities. TheDowntown Women’s ActionCoalition’s (DWAC) latest needsassessment provides communitybased research centering the voicesand lives of women living in theCentral City East community ofdowntown Los Angeles. Thepublication has been created toinform other community membersand local institutions for the purposeof consciousness raising and actionsteps recommended for improvementof the downtown community.

The summit followed a first in 2006where Phyllis Jackson, JackieGoldberg and Veronica Dolemanwere three of the panelists who jumpstarted a discussion of extremepoverty and class, gender and racedynamics in Los Angeles. It was amemorable moment when a long-time downtown resident, an elderlywoman, stood up and spoke aboutinciting change in her neighborhoodsince women like her are advocatesfor themselves and others.

Due to high turn-out, fruitfuldialogue, and the need to continuethe discussion from the successfulfirst women’s summit, DWACembarked on its second summit.Jan Robinson Flynt from BlackWomen for Wellness was the keynotespeaker. Ruth Todasco from theGlobal Women’s Strike and DWACmembers Deborah Burton andFabiola Sandoval were some of thepresenters this year.

DWAC member Becky Dennisonpresented the findings of the needsassessment. Some notable findingsincluded that over 50% of womenthat are mothers to children underthe age of 18 do not have custody oftheir children; over 2/3 are affectedby mental health illness; a greatmajority have a negative experiencewith law enforcement; and one inthree women had been arrested inthe past year. Jan Robinson Flyntreminded us that together we are aforce and she committed toamplifying opportunities to incitechange via DWAC strategies. PamWalls performed “I Have a Home,”showing her creativity and strength.

When those in attendance committedto take care of ourselves and eachother, we shed light on our tenacity,hope and human spirit. Despiteobstacles, we practice self-care,dream big, and organize for justice!

A model of new Downtown Women’s Center housing units to be available at new San Pedro Street site

Opening Doors, Building DreamsSince our founding in 1978 - when downtown's population of homeless womenwas estimated at only 300 - the Downtown Women's Center (DWC) has beenworking to increase opportunities for chronically homeless women to achieveself-sufficiency. Thirty years later, the number and needs for this populationhave skyrocketed, yet DWC remains the only secular organization exclusivelyserving Skid Row's homeless women, offering permanent housing for 47women as well as 45,000 meals and an array of supportive services to morethan 2,000 women annually. Women are the fastest growing segment of thelocal homeless population, and each night there are more than 16,000 womenwithout a home in Los Angeles. There is an urgent need for additional long-term housing solutions and supportive services for this growing population.

In order to meet this distinct need, DWC has established five priorities to guideour future growth:

1. increasing our permanent supportive housing capacity2. expanding drop-in services, with a particular focus on enhanced casemanagement and counseling resources3. building Skid Row's first women's medical & mental health clinic4. expanding pre-employment training & offering supportive employmentopportunities5. and doing so in an environmentally sustainable manner.

With these priorities in mind, Project Home was born. DWC is nowundertaking a Capital Campaign to fund our planned relocation andexpansion, which will enable us to grow along with our community and createa healthy environment where homeless women can recapture goals anddreams lost in the day-to-day struggle for survival on the streets.

A long-time advocate for increasing permanent supportive housing options forhomeless women, DWC now has the opportunity to do so ourselves withProject Home. We are planning to relocate our permanent supportiveResidence and drop-in Day Center from our home for the past 30 years (325South Los Angeles Street) to a new site just a few blocks away (434 South SanPedro Street). We have conducted extensive research into best practices inservices for homeless women throughout the United States, and we haveincorporated that research - along with findings from community-wide needsassessments and participant surveys, as well as the input of experts in thefield and local leaders - into our nationally recognized model program to createProject Home. Bridging the housing and service needs gap for homeless womenon Skid Row, Project Home will allow DWC to dramatically expand both ourResidence to 71 units and Day Center capacity to reach 3500 women, as wellas launch a social enterprise job training program and the first women'smedical and mental health clinic in the downtown community!

Specifically, Project Home will:

Increase permanent supportive housing capacity by 60%

Expand drop-in Day Center service capacity by 75%

Launch the first Medical & Mental Health Clinic for women on Skid Row

Ensure DWC's long-term sustainability and the ongoing maintenance andcare of the building

Total campaign goal is $35M

Total raised to date is S19.7M

Reprinted from materials distributed at the DWC Groundbreaking Ceremonies on June 9, 2006

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

July-August 20086

Pissed Off!By Ms. Jamie Romano

In the city of LA, it is illegal to relieve oneself in public view,and also to do so in a manner without “sanitary disposal” ofone’s bodily waste. Los Angeles Municipal Code Section41.47.2 went into effect December 16, 2003, essentiallycriminalizing the conditions of homelessness. This section,“Urinating or Defecating in Public,” states in part:

“No person shall urinate or defecate in or upon any publicstreet, sidewalk, alley, plaza, beach, park, public building orother publicly maintained facility or place, or in any place opento the public or exposed to public view….”

Many find the public display of bodily functions to be offensive,and bodily waste left on streets or sidewalks may pose a healthhazard. Soundsreasonable – until onediscovers there are veryfew public restroomsavailable. And on SkidRow, the restaurants andother small businessesprohibit use of theirrestrooms, unless one is apaying customer. The Cityhad installed four self-cleaning toilets in CentralCity East, at a total pricetag of $1 million. But ithas been widely reportedthat these high-tech toiletsare often out of order. TheCity provides few public restroom facilities, then cites or arrestspeople who have no other option but to relieve themselves onthe street. Being forced into such behavior is dehumanizing andhumiliating – especially once you discover that the City ofAngels has extended privileges to animals that are denied tohuman beings.

Scores of “young urban professionals” have taken up residencein the new “luxury lofts,” bringing their pet dogs with them.Dogs need their exercise. They also need to get outside to “dotheir business.” The yuppie-puppies freely urinate on thesidewalks and on the trees that line Spring and Main Streets.No laws against that. In fact, for more serious dog waste, theCity has provided a courtesy to dog owners: the “Dog WasteSystem” known by the trade name “DOGIPOT.” The “system”consists of a dispenser full of small, biodegradable plastic bags,mounted near a trash can, to be used for the collection anddisposal of dog waste. The dispensers read “courtesy litterbags” and also include instructions for use. One such dogipot

can be found on Spring between 6th and 7th, in front of an artgallery and loft leasing office.

The ordinance prohibiting urinating or defecating in public hasmuch to do with the “offensive material” involved, and thehealth hazards posed by this offensive material. Is dog urine sodifferent from human urine that it is somehow not offensive?Walking by a DOGIPOT trash can on a hot day is trulyoffensive! Probably most offensive are the messes left behindby the horses used by LAPD to patrol the very same area.These health hazards are left in the streets daily, but the CityCouncil hasn’t passed an ordinance to protect our health orshield us from the “public view” of something so offensive. Oh,the irony of getting a ticket for peeing – or littering – from a copwhose horse is dumping in the street!

There is a Solution

For the humans, anyway. Section 41.47.1 of the LA MunicipalCode is captioned “Restroom Facilities.” This ordinance cameinto effect in August of 1988. It states in part:

“For public accommodations or facilities: If restroom facilitiesare made available for the public, clients, or employees, no personowning, controlling, of having charge of such accommodation or

facility shall prohibit or prevent the use of such restroom facilities bya person with a physical handicap, regardless of whether that personis a customer, client, employee or paid entrant to the accommodation

or facility….”

Item B (2) of the ordinance defines “publicaccommodation or facility” as … “a building, structure, facility,

complex…and shall include those accommodations andfacilities listed in Sections 19955 and 19955.5 of the Health

and Safety Code.” Section 19955 goes on to include“…auditoriums, hospitals, theaters, restaurants, hotels, motels,

stadiums and convention centers.” Section 19955.5 furtherincludes … “vehicle service stations, shopping centers, offices of

physicians and surgeons, and office buildings in this stateconstructed with private funds….”

Basically, according to the full text of the ordinance, aphysically handicapped person has the right to use a restroom,and cannot be denied. The handicap can be permanent,temporary, or immediate (such as becomingsuddenly ill and needing access to a toilet.)For a full list of qualifying physical handicapsand places that cannot legally deny your useof the restroom, see the LA Municipal Code.You just might have the right to use a toilet.If not, I suggest a dogipot litter bag.

IneQuality of Life and the Butt End of the CityBudget: Mayor increases police state with the 2008-2009Los Angeles City Budget and reduces human state

by Peggy Lee Kennedy ([email protected])If you follow the news you know that Los Angeles MayorVillaraigosa came out very strong in favor of Public Safety in the2008-2009 budget, which includes increasing the LAPD by1,000 cops and decreasing other needed services.Unfortunately, nested within this Public Safety budget is apolice budget of over 1.3 billion dollars (around one third of theCity’s total budget) that is using our so-called scarce cityrecourses to criminalize the poor and un-housed people –resources that could be used for real solutions to homelessnessor the affordable housing crisis. This involves something calledQuality of Life Policing: a policy that evolved partially out of aright-wing theory of zero tolerance policing called “BrokenWindows” (Atlantic Monthly 1982, by James Q Wilson andGeorge Kelling). It was made popular in New York in the 1990’sby William Bratton, now Chief of the Los Angeles PoliceDepartment. The basic theory is that police should addresssmaller offenses of “disorder,” such as panhandling or loitering,and then violent crime will diminish. This ZeroTolerance/Quality of Life policing policy is a form of proactivelaw enforcement that focuses on a business-like “bottom line” ofreducing crime and it is well known for violating civil rights.

In addition, our law-makers are now calling laws Quality of Life,including anti-vagrant laws that make it a crime to live in avehicle or sleep in a park even though these acts may beunavoidable - done through necessity due to poverty, lack ofsocial services, an extreme shortage of affordable housing, orother social-economic reasons. These Quality of Life laws arespecifically used to remove poor people, youth of color, peopleviewed as inferior, vehicular-housed people, or street people

from a neighborhood. New anti-vagrant Quality of Life laws inLos Angles make oversized camper vehicles illegal to park oncity streets between 2 and 6AM and create Overnight [Permit]Parking Districts for certain housed people in these districts.Older laws used as anti-vagrant Quality of Life laws say that novehicle should be parked on a city street for more than 72-hours, but is used to target only certain vehicles or certainpeople. One anti-poor Quality of Life law is the law that makesit a crime to live in a converted garage or “granny shack.”Examples of anti-youth Quality of Life laws are curfew andtruancy laws used to target youth of color or youth viewed as a“nuisance.”

Quality of Life Policing and Quality of Life Laws are especiallypopular in neighborhoods experiencing gentrification - likeVenice, downtown Los Angeles, or Echo Park. This form ofpolicing, law making, and law application distinctively does notprotect or serve the people who most need to have a betterquality of life. They do the opposite and should be re-namedIneQuality of Life.

IneQuality of Life Policing uses considerable Police resourcesdedicated to following: tracking and observing poor people; andgiving tickets to people who cannot pay the fines, who cannoteasily make it to court, or who have done no other crime exceptto be poor, brown, or live without traditional housing. For manyun-housed street people, tickets turn into warrants and manyget arrested – often in sweeps, which is another elaborate use ofpolice resources and horrible for the people being arrested.Arrested street people regularly lose everything when theirpossessions are thrown away (original birth certificates, familypictures, medication, section 8 vouchers). They plead “nocontest” instead of “not guilty” to get off with time served, dueto lack of legal representation and a lack of knowledge of theirrights (National Coalition for theHomeless (NCH), 2002), and they end

LOCAL BUSINESS BRAZENLY DISPLAYSNO RESTROOM SIGN

INEQUALITY CONT. ON PAGE #8

“There will be noprison which can

hold ourmovement down.”

--Huey P. Newton

Young Homeless Man Killedby LAPD in Hollywood

South Asian Network, along with various groups andorganizations, hosted a rally and a candlelight vigil onSaturday June 21, 2008. The event was held todemand justice for the late Mohammad UsmanChaudhry and his family, and to protest policebrutality. Mohammad, known as Usman at home, was shot andkilled by LAPD officer(s) on the morning of March 25, 2008. Making mattersworse, his family was not notified of his death until 21 days later. To date, thefamily is still looking for answers as to what happened that morning and isdemanding that the LAPD be held accountable for their actions.

The purpose of the vigil was twofold: to highlight the injustice done not onlyto Usman and his family, but also to the families of those who have lostloved ones and have suffered due to police brutality; it was also to empowerthe community to come together and take action. Many moving speakerswere followed by a candlelight vigil in the memory of Usman Chaudhry,Michael Cho, Roketi Su'e, Michael Byoune and all police abuse victims.

The event was supported by: the family and friends of Mohammad UsmanChaudhry, the family and friends of Michael Cho, South Asian Network,National Alliance on Mental Illness, ACLU of Southern California, October22nd Coalition, Los Angeles Community Action Network, KoreatownImmigrant Workers Alliance and Homies Unidos.

United Nations SpecialRapporteur on Racism Visits LosAngeles, Including the Streets ofSkid RowRecently, LA CANwas visited by theUnited NationsRapporteur onRacism, DoudouDiene of Senegal.His stop in LosAngeles was part ofa larger fact findingmission attemptingto gauge theexistence orprevalence of racismin the United States.Other cities that hevisited, prior tocoming to LosAngeles, includedWashington D.C.,New York/Bronx,Philadelphia, and Chicago’s South Side.

From the outset Mr. Diene gave an overview of his role asrapporteur and the goals of his visit. His function was tocollect information and stories that speak to claims ofracism. In addition, he wanted to know what stepsresidents had taken, by way of government intervention, tostop racist behavior.

After the information was collected he would interview thegovernment departments allegedly responsible forcommitting the grievances. His government inquiry wouldfocus on the claims process, systems used to correctviolations, and the final outcomes.

If claims of racism were found to be valid, Mr. Diene wouldthen include factual information in a report that wouldlater be submitted to the United Nations.

He was very clear in that he wanted to talk to victims ofthe various forms of racism that played out in skid row. Helistened intensely as residents emotionally shared theirexperiences living downtown. While he had a team oftranslators, he felt far more inclined to respond for himselfafter hearing from downtown residents.

Mr. Diene wanted to walk around the community to get abetter sense of the realities shared by residents in themeeting. As he walked down 6th Street near Wall Street,he became very silent, even overwhelmed. He entered theMidnight Mission courtyard and just stood silently shakinghis head, motionless and thoughtful. Next he went downSan Julian Street and stopped by the Drop-in Centerwhere again, he stood awestruck by the sight of so manyBlack people in very desperate situations.

When he returned to LA CAN, his entourage reported apolice interaction involving one Black male in handcuffssurrounded by scores of officers right outside our doors.We shared pictures of this common occurrence.

LA CAN was honored to be a part of this fact-findingmission and hopes that racism in the United States isbrought to international focus -- so that more people willbe working to end it.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE July - August 20087

Human Rights

HERMAN JONES [L] W/ DOUDOU DIENEUNITED NATIONS RAPPORTEUR ON RACISM

USMAN CHAUDRY21 YEARS OLD

FAMILY & SUPPORTERS STANDINGUP FOR JUSTICE FOR ALL.

LA CAN M E M B E R S S T A N DI N S O L I D A R I T Y

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE

NATIONAL

July-August 20088

Mission Accomplished, American StyleBy Paul Boden, Western Regional Advocacy Project

The current hot trend in addressing homelessness in America’s cities is, once again, toremove panhandlers from downtown corridors. Lately the Bush administration – throughtheir Interagency Council on Homelessness – has lauded Denver, Colorado and its 10-yearplanning process for coming up with one of the 20 Major Innovations this year. This majorinnovation that President Bush is so enamored with? Have people put change in old parkingmeters that the City then collects for United Way, rather than giving directly to people whoare panhandling.

Clearly another case of “Mission Accomplished!”

These panhandling meters are to homelessness what weapons of mass destruction were tothe invasion of Iraq: a public relations ploy to achieve a government policy objective. Justas the Iraq invasion was really about oil for multinational corporations, these dumbassmeters are really about removing poor people from downtown commercial areas. Denverofficials told the San Francisco Chronicle that the meter program there has not beenlucrative, but panhandlers have seemed to disappear where they went up. Not to be deterredby facts, Team Bush has declared amazing results in Denver: $15,000 raised and a 92%

reduction in panhandling. Plans are to get “more businesses to adopt meters” (at $1,000 a pop) and to hire local artists to spiffthem up and make them more “visible and attractive,” which – when you think about it – raises an interesting question. If theinitial crop of meters got rid off 92% of the panhandlers, why do a nicer, prettier version? Wouldn’t a pit bull design be moreappropriate for that hard core 8% with the audacity to still be in public space?

Not concerned with contradictions and illogical facts, other cities are following suit. Baltimore installed some panhandling meterswith similar “no money but damn, those immobile inanimate objects sure do scare away panhandlers!” results. And now SanFrancisco has announced plans to launch yet another in a long line of anti-panhandling campaigns, following this “innovativemodel.”

Cities and people are vexed with the realities of increasing income disparities and homelessness, but has the Bush administrationdeveloped any meaningful or substantive policy plans to address either income disparity or homelessness? Besides spending thepast seven years requiring local communities to write 10-Year Plans to End Homelessness while gutting funding for affordablehousing and treatment services, what the f@#$ have these guys done?

They write blank checks to the military-industrial complex, putting us all in massive, never-before-seen levels of debt. They doleout Corporate Welfare that would require all of us spending 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year putting all our moneyinto panhandling meters to match even a fraction of it. They are currently working in Congress to redefine the federal definition ofwho is homeless, so as to reduce the US population of homeless people DOWN to the 700,000 people they claim it to be (the900,000 children listed as homeless in our Public Schools by the Department of Education will disappear quicker than thepanhandlers in Denver), and they bail out the bankers while millions of middle- and low-income people are losing their homes toforeclosure.

Team Bush praises spare change panhandling meters as an “Innovative Solution” to homelessness, and they spend millions ofdollars flying their henchman around the country to promote this and other “Innovative” ideas like using Police Officers asOutreach workers. It’s ironic. The feds created homelessness with draconian cuts to subsidized housing, and now it’s the localgovernments that are panhandling with meters and arresting homeless people for sleeping outdoors.

San Francisco is faced with a $300 million deficit, and has told service and treatment providers to anticipate a 20 to 30 percentreduction in the number of clients they will be able to serve next year. Many public health and homeless programs that have beenserving thousands of poor people every year will be forced to close. Yet 6 months ago the Mayor found $200,000 to invest in aHomeless Coordinator who needed to do something or risk being seen as irrelevant in the face of these serious budget cuts.Presto, an innovative new idea “to see if we can save some lives out there.” Panhandling Parking Meters!! Now the Mayor’s officewants another $500,000 for 2 holding cells (ie, jail cells) in a new “Community Justice Center” to detain people arrested for minornonviolent offenses (ie, panhandling).

Don’t believe for a second poor people just suddenly “disappear” with these seemingly innocuous little anti-sleeping, anti-panhandling, anti-loitering programs. Local jail cells are overflowing with them. “Mission Accomplished,” my ass.

up with a criminal record, probation, and stay-away orders for areas that have social services – like the VeniceFamily Clinic and Saint Joseph’s Bread and Roses Café on RoseAve. in Venice or Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.

It is a fact that this kind of intensive small offense ticketing,arresting, and incarcerating of un-housed street people costsmore than housing them. The Safer City Initiative (SCI), whichevolved in Los Angeles using the consulting assistance of theabove-mentioned George Kelling, added 50 LAPD officers inSkid Row - an area of only .85 square miles. The estimated costof just the 50-officer SCI Task Force in Skid Row is about $6million per year. The City budgeted $5.7 million out of thesame General Fund for homeless shelter and services for theentire City (see Policing Our Way Out of Homelessness?September 2007, Professor Gary Blasi, UCLA School of Law).

Our elected officials know this, but do not appear to care. Theydo nothing to stop the on-going propaganda campaign of fearthat helps to justify these laws (sound familiar?) and, in fact,they even cater to the civilian hate mongers [who call them overand over] by creating more IneQuality of Life laws. While we,the taxpayers, are all paying for a system that does not work.IneQuality of Life Policing simply does not work to solvehomelessness. It violates people’s civil rights and can lead tocostly litigation. It is helping to erode our US Constitution and“bottom line” - it is very expensive. Also, when an un-housedperson has a criminal record, it increases the barriers tofinding housing and shelter. Section 8 housing applications,including the section 8 buildings in Venice owned by ColdwaterManagement, require a credit check and a background check. Ifa person has a bankruptcy, a prior eviction, or a misdemeanor

– they can pretty much forget it.

Now where are people supposed to go when there is noaffordable housing or proper shelter system, when these lawsare citywide and they have been given a criminal record usingIneQuality of Life Policing? Should they live in jail or just die?As a matter of fact they do. People are dying homeless on ourstreets more often than we know, because it is not publicized,and increasingly poor people are being housed in jails andprisons while we are paying to build more. It is a vicious cycleof a growing fascist police state that the workers are funding -and the only true beneficiaries of this system are the bigcorporations and greedy land developers.

Except some of us do not want to live in a corporate fascistpolice state.

Still, so many people do not recognize all the signs that say “NoPoor People Allowed” as being part of a fascist state. Maybethey really are turning us all into mindless robots controlled bythe state. Or maybe we all just need to turn off the TV more,care for each other more, chant more, and find peace within.And there is value in holding hands and singing “We ShallOvercome,” but I do believe people have to struggle to be awareof and resist the petty fear and intolerance we are beingconditioned with. Let’s help each other to remember that allhuman beings deserve the basic rights of healthy food, decentshelter, and freedom of movement. Write, call, tell the CityCouncil, the Mayor, and everyone else to oppose IneQuality ofLife laws and policing. Basic rights should not just belong tothe chosen few or the high-class criminals who can afford agood legal defense. That is why we call it Human Rights - notRights for the Few who have property, power, and privilege. .www.justice.wetnostril.net

INEQUALITY FROM PAGE #6

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE July - August 20089

FOOD AND NUTRITION

Unlike fleas, flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, and other insects, bed buginfestations are not caused by poor or neglectful house keeping. The cleanestenvironment can be a haven for bed bugs. Some of the world's finest, mostexpensive hotels have bed bug infestations. Bed bugs are "world travelers,”opportunistic, easy to miss hitchhikers that follow their human hostsrelentlessly.

BED BUGS ARE MOST COMMONLY INTRODUCED TO A "HUMAN NEST" BY:

A guest or occupant staying in an infected room

Luggage coming into contact with other infected items of luggage

Furniture carrying bed bugs or eggs

Infected clothing or bedding

Infections from adjoining properties in extreme cases

Like fleas, flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, ticks, and other insects, bed buginfestations can be diminished, if not eliminated, by thoroughly cleaning yourliving environment-bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, where you store yourluggage, where you sort your clothes and bedding-and getting rid of clutter (afavorite shelter of bed bugs!).

CHECK AND THOROUGHLY CLEAN POSSIBLE HIDING PLACES, SUCH AS:

Seams, creases, tufts, and folds of mattress and box spring

Cracks in the bed frame and head board

Underneath chairs, couches, beds, dustcovers

Between the cushions of upholstered furniture

Underneath area rugs and the edges of carpets

Between the folds of drapery or curtains

In the drawers of nightstands, dressers, desks, etc.

Behind the baseboards

Around door and window casings

Behind electrical switch plates

Under loose wallpaper, paintings, posters, etc.

In cracks in plaster walls or wood floors

In telephones, radios, clocks, and similar places

Seams, creases, tufts, and folds of luggage and backpacks

You will need a vacuum, stiff brush, and soap and water to clean mattressesand box springs, floors, crevices and cracks, behind curtains and frames-yourentire home. Strip your mattress and box springs of your bedding and toss itinto a hot (140ºF) dryer for 20 minutes to kill all stages of bed bugs. Empty thevacuum immediately; empty any trash and sweepings immediately, submergeand soak brush in hot water for at least 10 minutes: don't give the bed bugs achance to crawl out of your cleaning tools and establish new hiding places!

Don't give bed bugs a chance to crawl back into your bed or elsewhere. Makesure your sheets, blankets, and other bedding are up off the floor, away fromthe wall, and so forth, to prevent any surviving bed bugs from crawling backinto your bed. Vacuum daily and empty the vacuum immediately each timeyou vacuum. Do your best to eliminate any bed bugs entryways by sealing thecrevices and cracks you found and brushed out during your thoroughcleaning.

After two weeks, if you still find evidence of bed bugs, especially bites, restartyour thorough cleaning. Bed bugs are like head lice: any eggs missed hatchinto adults and you need to repeat the process . . . once, sometimes twice. Bedbugs are a part of our world, much like head lice, and other human-versus-nature pests. We may have to live with them, but we do not have to live withthem inside our homes.

Look for further information on bed bugs and other public health

concerns in future issues of The Community Connection. In the

meantime, go online to www.lapublichealth.org/acd/index.htm for

information on acute communicable disease, and other public health

concerns and issues.

BED BUGS CONTINUED FROM PAGE #2 The Time is now!Food for all!

Recently the State Assembly passedAB 1996. Sandre Swanson ofOakland led the fight for AB 1996,which will remove the limitations thatmake it impossible to get FoodStamps if you have certain kinds ofdrug felonies. If the bill becomes law,a person with any kind of drug felonymay be eligible to receive FoodStamps if they complete a drugtreatment program. However, the billstill needs to be considered by theState Senate and ultimately signedby the Governor.

AB 1996 follows in the foot steps ofanother assembly bill that waspassed in 2005, which allowsindividuals with non-sales drugconvictions who have completed arehabilitation program to receiveFood Stamp benefits. The 2005 and2008 actions need to be taken by thestate because existing federal lawpermanently bars drug-related felonsfrom ever receiving Food Stamps, butallows states to opt out of the banthrough legislative action.

In a time where money is short in thestate, we must remember that accessto food is a basic human right.People must be given a fair chanceand opportunity to re-enter theircommunities with resources. Forexample, the state of New York,which has completely opted out ofthe federal ban on food stamps fordrug felons, has a recidivism ratethat is 25 percent better thanCalifornia. The current recidivismrate for California is 70 percent. Thismeans 7 in every 10 people releasedfrom prison end up back behind bars

In a recent local NBC news story,Sandre Swanson said, ''Thislegislation is about removing barriersonce a person has paid his or herdebt to society, and allowing families,especially children, to avoid beingpunished when their loved ones orparents return to the community."

This bill is now on its way to theState Senate where there is a politicalfight expected between theRepublicans and the Democrats.Look for more information in futureCommunity Connections.

NOTE:

You can apply for Food Stamps at the LACAN office at 456 S. Main Street to avoidlines and waiting at the DPSS offices.Only about half of eligible Central CityEast residents receive Food Stamps andthey can really help increase your budgetand access to better foods. Call or visitLinda for more information.

All great movements were joined by powerful arts, music & poetry. This page is dedicated to our community poets who are seeking Poetic Justice.

Please Submit All

ArticlesPoetry &

Editor: The Community Connection

456 S. Main Street Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) 228-0024

Other Materials

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE

EXPRESSION

July-August 200810

M Y S T O RYI’m dying inside, but GOD won’t let meSo much pressure I feel so emptyWhich way should I turn, where do I goI ain’t got no money, ain’t got nothing to show

My past behind me, but it haunts my mindI think about movin’, but my future is blindToo much trouble, so what’s the useCan’t get past the memory of mental abuse

I was raised in this life of mental insanity After forty six years I still ain’t freeGot a family to raise and bills to payI take pills to live from day to day

Taxes, death and trouble rule the worldGotta find a way to support my baby girlI’m caught up in debt, but behind the times I need some release to ease my mind

I hustle on the streets, grinding and grindingI play by the rules, but I’m rewinding and findingThat the rules keep changing from time to timeWalking through life, avoiding land mines

Tossed to and fro by waves of turbulenceTrying to stand up, but can’t find my balanceSomebody help me, I’m going overboardI’m sending out an S.O.S. help Lord

I’m legally in a prison, set upon meI got no rights, where others are freeI’m black, broke and homeless, bound by povertyLooking for an opportunity to set me free

I’ve been condemned by a crime, that ain’t my faultI tried to raise myself, but was convicted by defaultI was born to die and live through hellI been on my own since I was twelve

I’ve been rejected and neglected and that’s my storyIt’s still the same, add the stress and worryIt’s a fucked up life, when poverty is a crimeYour folks don’t help you, won’t give me a dime

I’m so tired, so tired beyond beliefI need a new life, I need some reliefWhen will it stop, when will it ceaseI need some help, I need some peace

It’s sad to say, but I have to admitI’m a victim of a crime, that ain’t never given me shit.

Billy Shaw01/27/2008

I, YOU, WeI was part of the problem

I became part of the solutionI went back to being the problem

I know GOD helps those that help themselvesSo he sent me some great, great Guardian Angels

to help me UNDERSTANDPete, Becky, Dogon, Linda, Debbie,

LaVeeta, Joe, Steve, Herman, Gerald and Veronica.So I can uplift myself spiritually, mentally, physically and

financially.

ME, MYSELF AND IAND OUR COMMUNITY

AND Peggy; see you in LA CAN Heaven! Until then pray for me no mo scam, drugs, jail, gangs or

“211”Soooo… LA I CAN, LA YOU CAN, LA WE CAN

FIGHT BACK, FIGHT BACK!

1 Mo Time Y’All, LA I CAN, LA YOU CAN, LA WE CANFIGHT BACK, FIGHT BACK!

LA CAN 4

LIFE

“Big Mack”

“BURY”Mothers are tired of

burying their children Let’s bury injustice

Let’s bury racismLet’s bury fearRISE UP MY

PEOPLE!!!

KING GERALD

“What’s right isn’talways popular,and what’s popularisn’t always right.”

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE July - August 200811

N A T I O N A L

The mice who roaredPeople on the streets organize to senda message to City HallBy Mara Grunbaum

Most passing drivers just drove. Some honkedand waved in solidarity. One yelled, “Get ajob!” – to which one of the homeless protestersoutside City Hall shouted back, “I have one,thank you!”

If nothing else, the weeks-long HomelessLiberation Front protest – which calls for thesuspension of Portland’s camping and sidewalkobstruction ordinances – has dragged thedebate on homelessness out of the city’sbureaucratic offices and onto the street.

The protest, at first an impromptu showing offive people displaced from under the BurnsideBridge by April’s campsite sweeps, swelled toinclude more than 100 homeless people andsupporters. Their tarps, blankets and protestsigns (“Housing is a human right”; “This is aprotest, not a camp”) lined the edge of thesidewalk in front of City Hall.

On the evening of Saturday, May 10, about 50protesters circled up in City Hall’s front plazato regroup. Despite their efforts, things were indanger of getting out of control.

Seven people, including some of the protest’srecognized leaders, had been arrested thatafternoon. Mayor Tom Potter had issued astatement citing “increasing congestion,obstruction and public safety concerns” asreasons he would ask the protesters to stopsleeping there. There had been argumentsamong protesters, a drug deal overnight andsanitation problems in the City Hall restroomthe protesters were using. The police hadposted signs declaring the sidewalk an illegalcampsite.

The circle of protesters passed around a leatherkeychain-turned-talking stick as they discussedtheir next steps. What did they want from themayor? Were they prepared to engage in civildisobedience? How could they make sure thecity and the public took them seriously?

Rachel Williamson, one of the originalprotesters, reiterated the makeshiftcommunity’s rules: No alcohol or drug use. Nofoul language. No smoking on City Hallproperty. No weapons. Respect all others.

“People are seeing everything you do here,”said a protester named Rick, who came downfrom Seattle to join the protest. “It’s likeyou’re under a microscope.

“We need to stick together,” said Kat, a 19-year-old protester who is pregnant and tryingto find housing. “The drama, everything, itseparates us.”

The protesters voted to request a secondmeeting with the mayor, because the first hadleft them unsatisfied. Potter agreed two dayslater – to another private meeting, not a publicone as protesters requested – in a letter thatrestated his safety concerns and seemed to holdthe entire group accountable for them.

“I understand these illegal actions represent thework of a minority,” Potter wrote, “but itconcerns me that the leadership of this protestappears unable to prevent these illegal acts.And while I believe in your rights to expressyour views, I also believe that every rightcomes with a corresponding responsibility torespect the law.”

Perhaps not coincidentally, the mayor’sconcerns about the safety of the growingprotest echoed the justification for the campsitesweeps that spurred it.

The camping ban has always been lightlyenforced, said John Doussard, Potter’scommunications director. “If folks are campingin small groups in quiet locations, (police)don’t bother them,” he said.

It’s when camps grow that dynamics change,according to Commander Mike Reese of thePortland Police Department. By the time theencampment under the Burnside Bridge wasdismantled, it had reached 60 people, Reesesaid. “That’s just too large ... we get fights,assaults, a lot of litter and vandalism.”

Some protesters and their advocates contendthat removing troublemaking individuals couldbe just as effective as clearing whole camps,but Reese said it’s “pretty hard to know who inthat group (are) the problem people.” He saidthat the week before the Burnside sweep,officers responded to a call about a fightinvolving 30 to 50 people.

Potter said he would not repeal the campingordinance or the sit-lie ordinance, whichprohibits sitting or lying on downtownsidewalks during the day. “These ordinancesare livability ordinances,” Doussard said.“They deal specifically with the health andwelfare of the public.”

The Portland Business Alliance, which had ahand in shaping the sit-lie ordinance, continuesto support it. Megan Doern, PBA’scommunications director, said the law helpsretailers who feel that people sitting on thesidewalks are detracting from their business.“It’s been a valuable tool for makingdowntown the economic hub that it is,” shesaid.

But the ordinances face accusations that theycriminalize homelessness and violate the civilrights of those they are enforced against.

In November, the Oregon Law Center sent aletter to the city of Portland threatening a classaction lawsuit over the camping ordinance. Theletter states that “policies and practices appliedto (homeless individuals) violate theirconstitutional rights to equal protection securedby the Fourteenth Amendment and to freedomfrom cruel and unusual punishment secured bythe Eighth Amendment.”

On May 8, 2008, Sisters of the Roadannounced its withdrawal from the mayor’sStreet Access For Everyone work group, whichdeveloped the sit-lie ordinance in coordinationwith plans for new park benches, publicrestrooms and a homeless day access center.But Sisters’s Associate Director MichaelBuonocore said in a statement that thoseservices “have not been implemented in atimely and adequate manner,” and the sit-lieordinance has been predominantly enforcedagainst homeless people.

“The sit-lie ordinance has amplified thetragedy of the existing anti-camping ordinance,which also criminalizes those who havenowhere to sleep at night,” Buonocore said.“Between these two laws, it is effectivelyillegal to be homeless in Portland.”

If there’s one thing the protesters and officialsseem to agree on, it’s that shelter beds are not alasting solution.“We have a 10-year plan,” Potter’s spokesman

Doussard said. “We’re working on it. We’vebeen very successful with it. I don’t think anyof these problems get solved overnight.” Thecity has tried to be aggressive in securingemergency funding and shelter, he said, but“the solution to homelessness is getting peopleinto homes, and that’s where we’re trying tofocus our attention.”

The 10-year plan to end homelessness calls for2,200 additional units of permanent supportivehousing – low-income housing with servicesbuilt in – by 2015. Three years into the plan,710 units have opened and 298 more are indevelopment.

But the city has “hit the wall of available rentalunits,” and it still hasn’t built all the permanentaffordable housing it needs, said SallyErickson, a homeless policy coordinator withthe Bureau of Housing and CommunityDevelopment.

In response to the protest, the city councilfound money to open 90 additional shelterbeds for men and 12 for women. By May 14,there were still spots for men available, but thewomen’s beds were full, with a waiting list 86names long. Protesters dismissed theemergency shelter beds as a “Band-aid” ratherthan a serious effort.

“We need a safe zone where we can go to putup our tents, put up our structures, houseourselves, house our animals, and take care ofourselves, since there is not enough shelter,”said Joseph Vanderheiden, one of the protesterswho met with Mayor Potter. At his pressconference on May 13, Potter said the ideacould be worth considering.

Asked where protesters should go instead ofthe 4th Avenue sidewalk, Potter said, “Wedon’t have answers to that. We know thatdifferent homeless agencies will be workingwith them to try to find them places.”

Full shelters and low vacancy rates inaffordable housing leave over 1,400 peopleoutside every night. The new day accesscenter, with space for 150 men and women andlow-income housing units on top, won’t openfor at least two years. “From a bureaucrat’sperspective, two years will go by reallyquickly,” Buonocore said. “They canlegitimately talk about the fact that they’reworking on it. And in the meantime, more andmore people are landing on the streets.”

“I’m houseless, not homeless,” DuaneReynolds, one of the loudest protesters,explained to an inquisitive bystander on May12. “Portland is my home.” Larry Reynolds,Duane’s older brother, had been camping underthe Hawthorne Bridge when he heard by wordof mouth that people on the streets werestarting to organize themselves. “Do you knowhow tired we are?” he said to Mayor Potter.“You can’t sit here, you can’t stand here, youcan’t lie here. You can’t cover up, you can’tsleep. You can’t get any rest. We’re midnightnomads, walking around with all our gear onour back, being told that we can’t sleep.”

“I may be new to advocating for myself andthe homeless, but I’ve been helping people allmy life,” Reynolds went on. “In a lot of waysthis has taught me something about myself,and the good that exists in people. I think Ihave found my calling.”

While LA CAN has been quite successful in framing our work in a way that isfrequently highlighted in mainstream media, these “sound-bites” only scratchthe surface of the real work and the real stories of our community. Followingthe tradition of all major social movements, LA CAN created a community-based newspaper with the sole purpose of telling the whole story from theperspectives of those living it. The newspaper shares LA CAN’s philosophythat people are best suited to tell their own stories; therefore, all stories arewritten by LA CAN members and supporters. The Community Connection isLA CAN’s rendition of the North Star, the Liberator and other historicalexamples of community-based press used to advance social change.

Our Community Connection Sponsor Campaign asks sponsors to pledge a$50 monthly donation. Sponsors will be highlighted in each issue unlessanonymity is requested.Your support for the Community Connection:

Provides critical information on available services, program and policychanges that affect downtown’s low-income and homeless residents.

Tells the untold stories of impacts created by policy Coordinates a training program for vendors which includes leadership

development, popular education, conflict resolution techniques andselling tips.

Provides extremely poor and homeless vendors an opportunity to earnmuch needed money with dignity

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You can also make an online donation at www.cangress.org utilizingthe donate now button.

*All donations are tax-deductible as permitted by law.The Los Angeles Community Action Network is a

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Community Connection

Executive Editor:Pete White

Contributors:

Y. Michelle Autry

Big Mack

Gerald Barnes

Paul Boden

Deborah Burton

Becky Dennison

Steve Diaz

General Dogon

Downtown Women’s Center

Mara Grunbaum

Peggy Kennedy

Jamie Romano

Fabiola Sandoval

Billy Shaw

Linda Valverde

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Editorial Policy

The Los Angeles Community Action Network is a membership organization comprised of

low-income, homeless and formerly homeless residents in the Central City East community

of downtown Los Angeles [Skid Row]. LA CAN’s staff and core members, more than

95% of whom live in Skid Row and/or have been homeless, write the lion’s share of

articles that appear in the Community Connection. These appear without a byline. Articles

by people who are not LA CAN core members and extremely personal articles receive a

byline. These articles do not necessarily represent the views, opinions and perspectives of

the Los Angeles Community Action Network.

All articles and artwork may be reproduced with permission only; please contact Pete White @ 213-228-0024

Call LA CAN (213) 228-0024 and askfor Pete White or just come to 456 S.Main Street on Thursdays at 1:00 p.m.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONTTHHEE

CONNECTED

July-August 200812