Homeless people in Fresno, Calif., say they won’t be shuttled off to a vacant lot as part of the city’s effort to ban camping and move homeless people out of the downtown area.
Last month, the Fresno City Council approved the purchase of a vacant lot that would serve as a permanent camp for people experiencing homelessness. The city paid $137,000 for the lot, located near downtown.
Now, the homeless in the city are calling the site a concentration camp, and that relocation would be forced in conjunction with the camping ban. Last year, the city passed ordinances that make it a crime to push a shopping cart in town and illegal to panhandle.
The 30,000 square-foot lot purchased by the city would be a “free zone” and would be equipped with bathrooms, running water, trash bins, and a trailer providing social services. But the completion of the site is now in question. The deadline the city had set for preparing the site has come and gone, and property owners in the area are unhappy with the location of the site. Meanwhile, the homeless say they are being forced, by unfair laws, to go to a place that has no shade and is fenced in on all sides.
Fresno City Councilman Jerry Duncan said that the goal was to move the homeless people so they are not so visible in the downtown area.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski has signed a new law raising the standard for law enforcement training in mental illness recognition in Oregon. Co-sponsored by Reps. John Lim and Andy Olson, and Sen. Avel Gordly, HB 2765 requires the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training to include at least 24 hours of training relating to mental illness utilizing a crisis intervention training model.
"This is a good bill," said Rep. Lim on the House Floor. "This subject became dear to my heart as I followed the story of James Chasse last October." James Chasse died after an encounter with police. It was later reported that Mr. Chasse suffered from schizophrenia. "I do not want to put blame on any law enforcement officer," said Lim. "I just want to prevent losing more lives as incidences of mental illness increase."
According to a study released by the U.S. Justice Department in September, 56 percent of jail inmates in state prisons and 64 percent of inmates across the country reported mental health problems within the past year. Portland Police Bureau reports that the number of calls involving people suffering from mental illness is growing. In 2005, there were 2,078 calls, up from 1,999 in 2004 and 1,907 in 2003. A police officer who had received crisis intervention training was on the scene for less than a third of those calls.
Sunnyside residents are looking for volunteers to help in a revitalization project for a community center in the Sunnyside Neighborhood.
The center, at the corner of Southeast 35th and Yamhill, is owned by the United Methodist Church, and has been the site of many community services, including a seasonal shelter for people on the streets.
But the center has fallen in disrepair, prompting neighbors to organize for its renovation, soliciting community volunteers, trade contractors and businesses to help restore the building. The first project is to upgrade and repair the space being used by the Children’s Club, a nonprofit sliding scale day care services for people of all socioeconomic levels. The program has operated for more than 25 years, and in order to be recertified, the facility needs new flooring, painted walls and replacement windows.
Volunteers have organized a work party for the week of July 7-15, starting with moving the furniture and toys, and then prepping and more detailed work. Volunteers with painting and tiling skills are urgently needed.
If you have time and skills to volunteer, or have resources such as paint and painting supplies, please contact Genie Cochran at 503-317-3003, or email Karen Hery.
