Source: http://ift.tt/hFWySe - Thursday, November 27, 2014
Now is the time of year when poverty and homelessness are most prominent on the minds of many Americans. As families gather to eat together and give thanks for their lives, many of us also take time to think about the struggles of people who are less fortunate. Less often do we think or even know about the extreme measures that are used by local lawmakers and police to criminalize the existence of people who are homeless and to target, harass, and drive people living in extreme poverty out of their communities. What would you do if you were suddenly homeless, with no money and no place to go? It's not an abstract question for many American families, nearly half of which lack the assets to avoid severe poverty and possible homelessness if they were to face a crisis such as loss of a job, high medical bills, domestic violence, divorce, or the onset of mental illness. Perhaps you would seek a homeless shelter, if you could manage transportation to get there. But what if there were no more beds, as is often the case in many communities? If you were lucky enough to own a sleeping bag, you might try to find a safe spot to sleep. That's exactly what ACLU client David Madison did when the shelters in Boulder, Colorado, turned him away on a November evening in 2009, but he was charged with violating a camping ordinance that prohibited sleeping outside with shelter . With the temperature dropping to 11 degrees, he could have legally slept
from Top News on RSS Feeds http://ift.tt/120y70j
Now is the time of year when poverty and homelessness are most prominent on the minds of many Americans. As families gather to eat together and give thanks for their lives, many of us also take time to think about the struggles of people who are less fortunate. Less often do we think or even know about the extreme measures that are used by local lawmakers and police to criminalize the existence of people who are homeless and to target, harass, and drive people living in extreme poverty out of their communities. What would you do if you were suddenly homeless, with no money and no place to go? It's not an abstract question for many American families, nearly half of which lack the assets to avoid severe poverty and possible homelessness if they were to face a crisis such as loss of a job, high medical bills, domestic violence, divorce, or the onset of mental illness. Perhaps you would seek a homeless shelter, if you could manage transportation to get there. But what if there were no more beds, as is often the case in many communities? If you were lucky enough to own a sleeping bag, you might try to find a safe spot to sleep. That's exactly what ACLU client David Madison did when the shelters in Boulder, Colorado, turned him away on a November evening in 2009, but he was charged with violating a camping ordinance that prohibited sleeping outside with shelter . With the temperature dropping to 11 degrees, he could have legally sleptfrom Top News on RSS Feeds http://ift.tt/120y70j
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