Tag: homeless

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Fort Lauderdale: Police Cite Clergy and Activists for Feeding The Homeless

Photo: Mike Clary

One of the justifications you hear when public services are cut for the poor is, “That’s what the churches are for.”

Well, now, it’s against the law for even clergy to help the homeless in Fort Lauderdale.

Two members of the clergy and a 90 year old homeless advocate were cited with violating a new city ordinance which makes it a crime to feed the homeless:

Arnold Abbott, who heads the group Love Thy Neighbor, said he had served only three or four of about 300 meals he had prepared when police ordered him to stop.

Abbott, the Rev. Mark Sims, of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Coral Springs, and the Rev. Dwayne Black, pastor of The Sanctuary Church in Fort Lauderdale, were each cited for willfully violating a city ordinance. Police issued them notices to appear in court, where they could be asked to explain their actions.

The ordinance, approved by the city commission Oct. 22, is one of several recent efforts by officials to crack down on the city’s burgeoning downtown homeless population.

The latest law, which took effect Friday, limits where outdoor feeding sites can be located, requires the permission of property owners and says the groups have to provide portable toilets.

Abbott, who has won past legal battles with the city over feeding restrictions, has vowed to go to court again.

“We are simply trying to feed people who are hungry,” said Sims. “To criminalize that is contrary to everything that I stand for as a priest and as a person of faith.”

Read more at the Sun-Sentinel.

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Atlanta: Daniel Pierce thanks his supporters at Lost-N-Found open house

Executive Director Rick Westbrook of Lost-N-Found, an Atlanta organization that cares for homeless LGBT youth, introduces 19-year-old Daniel Pierce.

Pierce’s video documenting the physical and verbal abuse he suffered at the hands of his family as he came out went viral two weeks ago. The reaction to the video was so strong, it lead to the creation of a crowd funding campaign to help him with living expenses since he was thrown out of his home. With a goal of $2,000, the campaign raised over $94,000 in days.

Pierce has asked supporters to stop donating to the fund and divert their charitable donations to Lost-N-Found, the Atlanta group that cares for homeless LGBT youth and helped Pierce.

Pierce is also donating a portion of the money raised on his behalf to the homeless shelter.

Earlier this year the organization acquired a 7,000 square foot building to expand their shelter resources.

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Georgia: Young gay turned out by family directs donations to local homeless shelter

A Georgia man, Daniel Ashley Pierce, who’s video depicting physical abuse by family members during his coming out went viral, has seen a crowd-funding campaign set up in his name soar to almost $100,000 in funds to help him.

Now, Daniel has asked his friends to stop donating to the campaign and direct donations to an Atlanta-based LGBT homeless shelter.  From Daniel:

Thank you to everyone from around America and all over the world for your support in the past several days. This has been a rough time for me and I never imagined that so many people would show such overwhelming compassion and generosity.

[snip]

I’ve asked my friends to discontinue donations to the GoFundMe page, but if you would still like to give money and help the LGBTQ youth homeless crisis, please visit the Lost-n-Found Youth website at www.Lost-n-Found.org for more information on how you can make a difference for the many other kids in the world like me.

Rick Westbrook, Executive Director for Lost-n-Found, says the organization has received approximately $10,000 in funds from Daniel’s request.

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Beating death and homelessness, teenager becomes valedictorian and inspiration

Facing down homelessness, the death of his mother and numerous other hardships, Griffin Furlong never missed a class and has graduated with a perfect GPA from First Coast High School becoming the 2014 valedictorian.

The word “inspiring” doesn’t begin to describe what Griffin has done for himself and many others.

Griffin’s friends started a fundraiser to help him throughout his time at Florida State University.  Currently, the total raised exceeds $100K.  Click the link to donate anything you can to help a guy who’s helped himself.

Go Griffin!

(source)

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NYC: LGBT Rally for Homeless Youth on June 2nd

The National Coalition for the Homeless and the Ali Forney Center have joined together to launch the National Campaign for Youth Shelter, a collaboration that will build a grassroots campaign to demand a national response to youth homelessness.

On Monday, June 2nd the National Campaign for Youth Shelter will hold a rally in New York City to launch the campaign as a priority within the LGBT movement. LGBT youth are disproportionately over-represented in the homeless youth population, with as many as 40% of the nation’s homeless youth being LGBT, while only 5% of the overall youth population is LGBT.

Edith Windsor, David Mixner, Cathy Marino-Thomas, and Carl Siciliano are a few of the names announced as speakers for the event.

Currently, there are only approximately 4,000 youth shelter beds in the United States, yet as many as 500,000 unaccompanied youths experience homelessness each year.

(via the event’s Facebook page)

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Homeless Center Director Carl Siciliano on Phil Robertson debacle

Graphic via Memeographs

“When Phil Robertson and others condemn LGBT people in the name of Christ, they help create a climate where many religious parents condemn their LGBT children.

“The Ali Forney Center is inundated with youths from across the country who have been thrown out of their homes by religious parents who rejected them. Over 200,000 LGBT youths are enduring homelessness in the USA.

“LGBT youth will not be safe until more Christians follow the example of Jesus Christ, who never uttered a word in judgment or condemnation of LGBT people.”

– A Statement from Ali Forney Center Executive Director, Carl Siciliano, regarding Phil Robertson.

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Video: LGBTQ Connect in San Francisco

Award-winning filmmaker Marc Smolowitz directed & produced this 7 minute video for various nonprofit partners in San Francisco that collaborated on the 1st ever LGBTQ Connect – an event designed to help the City’s LGBT Homeless population.

The event was held on Oct. 7th, 2013 at the SF LGBT Center.

You can find out how to volunteer in San Francisco at Project Homeless Connect.

Follow the organization at their Facebook page.

Hosted by The Mayor’s Office of HOPE, Project Homeless Connect, and AIDS Housing Alliance, the day was sponsored by Metta Fund, Sass Social Justice Fund of Horizons Foundation, Dignity Fund, Haas, Jr. Foundation.

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Tampa City Council passing new ordinance – sleeping in public is now illegal

 Making life just that much tougher for the homeless, the Tampa City Council passed a new ordinance – Item #60 – allowing police officers to arrest someone they see sleeping in public or “storing personal property in public.”  In doing so, the City Council has basically criminalized homelessness.  The vote was 4-3.

Advocates protested holding signs reading “Sleeping Is Not A Crime” and “Homelessness Is Not A Choice” outside the Council and testified against the measure. A number of the protesters were elementary school children who handed out flyers and asked those passing by, “Where are they supposed to go?”

A 2012 study found that Tampa’s homelessness problem is one of the worst among mid-sized cities. Tampa and it’s surrounding area had the highest number of homeless individuals at 7,419.

In addition, homeless shelters are not free in Tampa, making the proposition of getting off the streets that much more difficult.  “Most shelters in the Tampa Bay area charge $10 to $42 per night for a single person. They aren’t free,” Tasha Rennels, a Ph.D. student at University of South Florida, told Bay News 9.

Though the City Council acknowledged that shelters in the city are full almost every night, they didn’t include any additional funding for new shelters or housing to go along with Item #60.

(source)