QUALITY OF LIFE???

by KaPonda

Hall Street was paved with the slippery vapors that had escaped the howling waters of the Chicago lakes. Its chill trapped every moist particle on my face, outlining my eyebrows and mustache with frozen ice. The 17-below-zero-degree temperature pierced the remainder of my huddled body. I had become the lakes of Chicago, and the lakes of Chicago had become me.

A stroke of warmth invaded my body as my feet plodded through the door of the small coffee shop. The coffee shop provided me the essential refuge necessary for the quality of life predicated of humanity. But no one inside sympathized with my condition, nor had anyone extended to me that unique bond between people during times of struggle. My senses were speared when the man inside the coffee shop demanded to know why I shivered in the corner of his shop. He was insensitive to the droplets of water cascading from my face. I was driven out from the cold attitude of the people of the coffee shop back into the cold streets of Chicago to compete against the forces of the lakes.

Did the man inside the coffee shop commit a quality of life infraction against me by denying me protection from near danger? I do not know. This is a question I should have asked Mark Slavin, press secretary for San Francisco City Attorney, Louise Renee, during an interview on Wednesday, January 26, 2000, concerning the funding and prosecution of quality of life infractions by the City AttorneyÌs office.

The budget of the City Attorney's office was increased by $250,000 to prosecute people caught sleeping in public, sitting on sidewalks, pissing in alley ways, and any other vital necessities of nature. The $250,000 is primarily for attorneys' salaries. A great percentage of those who are found guilty of these violations will be people who have been priced out of the housing market and forced to stay in shelters or on the streets, people with chronic drug additions, and people who suffer from some kind of mental disorder.

My editor, Lisa Gray-Garcia, and I had little difficulty locating the office of the City Attorney, as we stepped out of the elevator into the third floor hallway of the recently renovated City Hall building. We followed the placard which designated her office. Ms. Renee was not available, according to Mr. Slavin, He agreed to an interview on behalf of the City AttorneyÌs office.

"The 'Quality of Life' program is an opportunity for The City to bring people into the social service system," stated Mark Slavin as he informed us on how the District Attorney wrote a letter of authorization, deputizing the City Attorney to prosecute quality of life infractions.

I asked Mr. Slavin why there were no provisions to have money appropriated for defense counselors to represent people guilty of quality of life infractions? Mr. SlavinÌs response was that "The purpose of this policy is to direct people into the social service system." I had a hard time conceptualizing how these people would be adjudicated by a prosecutorial arm of the judiciary which states that its aim is to transition people into the social service system, since one agency is designed to bring legal action against for redress or punishment of a crime or violation of law, while the other agency focuses on providing assistance to disadvantaged groups.

"The City Attorney's office has experienced and long-standing attorneys," was Mr. SlavinÌs response to my inquiry concerning the extent of the training of the two attorneys, Nials Vignoles and Eileen Dicks, recruited from within the office of the City Attorney to prosecute quality of life infractions

In order for quality of life violators to experience an equitable judicial process, it is important that anyone who undertakes the prosecution of homeless people know that many homeless people who suffer mental illnesses are unable to access treatment. The prosecutor should also know that without permanent affordable housing, homeless people cannot successfully manage life-threatening health conditions, according to Mitchell Katz, Department of Human Services, citing findings from a recent study on homelessness.

One of the two alternatives given to violators of quality of life is pre-trial diversion. I asked Mr. Slavin to discuss the City AttorneyÌs expectations concerning diversion and how it will be funded? His answered sounded familiar as he stated, "The hope is that they will wind up in the social service system one way or another so that their situation can be turned around, and we can get people off the streets. He states that he believes approximately $16,000.00 will be earmarked for the pre-trial diversion program.

There were questions put forth which Mr. Slavin could not address. I asked him why are there no provisions for a defense counselor to represent violators of quality of life infractions? And how much research has been put into acquiring a building for homeless individuals as opposed to this program? Mr. Slavin stated that these questions were political in nature and would better be addressed by policymakers such as Supervisor Amos Brown.

As the interview came to an end, Mr. Slavin informed me that the legality of the quality of life program was being challenged by The Coalition on Homelessness, and that any further prosecution thereof was ordered to cease by the court, pending a decision, until February 18, 2000. The Coalition on Homelessness, according to Mr. Slavin, has lodged a lawsuit stating that the District Attorney's office had not properly delegated to the City Attorney the authority to prosecute quality of life tickets.

I found protection from the frigid elements which threatened me off the lakes of Chicago. It was only a matter of walking to the next building where compassion had not escaped the souls of the people inside. But the policymakers responsible for the quality of life program in San Francisco, like an iceberg, choose not to see the droplets of tears of humanity falling from the eyes of homeless people. As did the coffee shop owner, so, too, the policymakers of the quality of life program choose to force us outside of the realms of quality of life to be smitten by hostile elements.

The Coalition on Homelessness has stepped up its campaign against the City AttorneyÌs office's prosecution of so-called quality of life tickets by scheduling events on Wednesday, February 9, 2000, at 10:00 a.m., located at City Hall, Room 263, and Thursday, February 10, 2000, at 12:00 noon, located on the steps of City Hall on Polk Street.

The action on Wednesday, February 9th will feature public testimony to Board of Supervisors in addition to the presentation of 'Quality of Government' citations.

On Thursday, February 10, there will be a rally in opposition to the prosecution of quality of life tickets on the steps of City Hall, on the Polk Street entrance.