Story Archives 2002

by Staff Writer

Who is Poor?

My neighborhood:

All people of color

Bitterness

Pollution

Tight banging music

I am

I am Peruvian, Filipino, Irish,

and Black mixed with all that,

a beautiful sista who originated

from this world. I'm a youth

a singer, a lover, a bringer

of joy, a freedom fighter, party until

da whole nighter, an activist

a woman, a soul, a poet, a student

a teacher, somebody's girl, a cheerleader

cheering for rights.

by Staff Writer

Who is Poor?..I am

I am poor

I am Filipino

I am strong

I am loved

I am me

by Isabel Estrada with PNN interns, Gay Montgomery and Kristine Shih/PNN

Rent: $103.00

Food: $150.00

Telephone: $53.80

Cable: $37.56

Total: $344.36

After meeting his basic needs, which amount to approximately $344.36 a month, Carlos Trejo, a 56-year-old disabled immigrant from El Salvador, has $50.64 of leeway per month. "Y que me queda para la ropa?" "And what is left for my clothing?" Trejo asks. But now he has more than clothing to worry about. He will be deported to El Salvador, from where he has been trying to escape since 1989, because of political turmoil heightened by US involvement in El Salvador. When he first arrived in the United States, he pleaded for asylum as he was in great danger due to a family member who was involved with the guerrillas. He was denied, and when he didn't sign his deportation papers he was jailed for one year. Trejo is applying for citizenship again in May of this year. The problem is that his pro bono attorney left the case all of a sudden and the attorney who took over is charging him $500 per court session. That $50.64 leeway is not going to help much in Carlos' case.

Carlos is telling me about his predicament while we stand on the sidewalk across the street and around the corner from the Next Door Shelter on Polk and Post. I don't like the feeling of the light rain hitting my forehead. I can't wait to get inside, but we have to wait for Supervisor Gavin Newsom to arrive first. Then we can go straight through the lobby, up to the second floor and right into Newsom's press conference. We're all holding signs that say things like, "QUALITY HOUSING", "JUSTICE NOT RACISM", and "GAVIN NEWSOM, CAN YOU LIVE ON $395.00 A MONTH?" POWER organized this action and along with many welfare recipients, there are people from The Coalition on Homelessness, Homeless Prenatal, General Assistance Advocacy Program (GA A P), Picture the Homeless from New York, and other advocate organizations. Finally we get the cell phone call telling us that Newsom has arrived. In we march.

There are police everywhere with legs spread and firmly planted on the ground. Their furled brows don't quite hide the looks of confusion in their eyes. I'm towards the end of the line walking into the press conference. All I see are a bunch of cameramen interspersed with people standing and holding signs. At the center of the activity are the people with whom I came. It only makes sense that welfare recipients and homeless people should be the ones talking about issues of homelessness and welfare. For some reason, mainstream media loves to quote politicians as experts on these issues. What the hell does Gavin Newsom know about being homeless? It seems to me that those people who have had direct experience with poverty would be the most qualified to evaluate the effectiveness of methods to fight it.

As one homeless man pointed out in response to the smear campaign set forth by mainstream media, in which a big issue was defecation and urination on the streets, "You say don't do something but you don't provide the facilities." One spokesman from Paint a Picture directly addressed this new fad of idealizing ex-New York Mayor Giuliani's treatment of homelessness. Giuliani made jobs like selling oil and clothing, or drawing people for money, illegal. Many people made it sound as though there were all these new shelters built, but I found out the other day that in fact, in Manhattan, there is only one shelter for adult males, and even with shelters in the outer boroughs, there is simply not enough space for everyone. "The shelter system has failed us in New York. Instead of criminalizing people on the streets, we need to create housing."

After making the point that what was needed was LOW-INCOME, QUALITY HOUSING and not ineffective policies that only serve to criminalize poor people, several of the speakers asked Newsom to step forward and talk about what he was going to do to improve the situation. I was wondering where Newsom was, as I hadn't yet seen him at his own press conference. Then I saw him, just a tall white guy in a gray suit standing on the sidelines. He looked scared and too surprised in the face of all the true experts before him to respond to their requests. Instead, he invited us down to City Hall. Of course he wasn't going to discuss his proposal on how to end homelessness with people who really know what they are talking about in front of the media. That would just make the ineffectiveness of it that much clearer to the public.

Newsom's proposal would consist of cutting people's County Adult Assistance (formerly referred to as General Assistance) stipend from $395.00 to $50.00. The rest of the $395.00 would become vouchers to be placed in shelters for people to use to receive food. One of the main problems with this legislation is that there is not enough safe housing in this city in the first place. Also, living in a shelter is not the answer for most people, as Delphine Brody said about living in a shelter, "I had no choice but to deal with abusive people." There is a high rate of emotional, physical and sexual abuse that occurs in shelters. I remember reading of a woman named Anastasia Grandy whose 8-year-old son was traumatized after finding a dead body in the shower when he was living with his mother at a shelter.

There is also the problem that not all necessities can be bought with a voucher. For example, I doubt that Carlos Trejo's new lawyer would accept a voucher as adequate payment. Then there is the fact that Newsom's program is based on a fallacy. He said that homelessness is an issue of drug abuse and mental illness, not housing. The thing is, while drug abuse is a problem, there are many people who can function while addicted to drugs. Many of our famed Hollywood actors make millions while on cocaine. The problem is lack of jobs that pay a living wage and lack of low-income housing. Many cases of drug abuse and mental illness are a result of having to survive on the streets, not the cause.

We took a brief moment to decide to go to City Hall and started to walk. Ironically, Newsom was escorted by the police to a cop car and chose that form of transportation. As we walked we chanted, "What do we want? Housing! What do they give us? Vouchers!" And, "Mayor Brown, Gavin Newsom, you sure are a gruesome twosome." We made our way through city hall quietly. When we got to the room, the main spokespeople sat at the conference table while others took chairs against the walls. While we waited, the press filtered in. Finally Newsom entered along with some police and security. The seat we set out for him was across from Rebecca, of Homeless Prenatal. But before he would sit, he asked the press to leave. He thought we had already received our "press points" back at his press conference; some were mad that the press was leaving. A few wondered about accountability if our discussion was not open to public view, but in the end we voted to talk anyway. When one man asked that the cops leave, Newsom eventually told them that they could leave. They took awhile but finally left.

Kristina, who is also from POOR Magazine, and I were diligently writing in our notebooks. It is odd that I didn't even consider myself to be part of the press that he had asked to leave. I assumed he would only care about mainstream media. But before beginning, he turned around to us and said something to the effect of making sure that there was really no press in the room. I looked up surprised and wide-eyed with half-false innocence, but I never had a chance to respond because he turned away too soon.

We started out by introducing ourselves. Newsom acted as if he was familiar with us, like a kid in high school trying to be cool with his classmates. He seemed to be saying things like, "I got ya" and "yeah man" out of the blue. When I said my name and that I was from POOR organization, he looked right into my eyes and smiled. It was weird. I remember thinking, "What, is this guy trying to hit on me?" Finally after all the introductions, a few people spoke.

Larry Latimore brought up that one problem is that poor people's work is only documented when they are late or tardy. But otherwise they can't even show it as experience on a resume in order to get another job. In fact, people on General Assistance do the same work as many people who are not on it; the major difference is that they get paid way less. As Delphine Brody pointed out, taking away both people's right to panhandle and their benefits would be a serious financial blow to many homeless people. Anthony Williams said that people will "never come out of poverty" unless they are paid a living wage. It's just common sense. Nora from Prenatal demanded well-paid, meaningful jobs, truly affordable housing (one person suggested defining the term "affordable housing" as something that a person who makes under a thousand dollars a month could afford), and childcare.

Before allowing Newsom to speak, Rebecca and several others asked him to remove the proposal from the table. He refused, saying, "It's not going to happen." So then we decided that if he was not actually willing to negotiate, then there was nothing to talk about. As Steve Williams from POWER put it, "This is just the beginning." We left City Hall chanting , "WE'LL BE BACK." And in fact, I'll be on my way to City Hall in a few hours.

*********************

La gente storm city Hall …or ..Newsom, Maybe if You Could Stop Nodding For a Second You’d Learn Something…

It’s Monday, February 11th . This time The Coalition on Homelessness organized the action. First Jennifer Friedenbach briefed us all on what the effects would be, if Newsom’s proposal were to pass. She made the point that there are currently about 2,700 people on CAA (County Adult Assistance, formerly known as General Assistance) and there is no way that 10 million dollars is going to buy quality housing for 2,700 people. In order for people’s benefits to be replaced by vouchers, people need a place to use the voucher. This means that it is very likely that people who are not on General Assistance will be kicked out of shelters and SRO’s so that those who are on GA can move in. While the city refuses to provide low income housing there is no way to shelter those living on the streets without pushing others into the street.

According to Friedenbach, Newsom’s new legislation is essentially saying that CAA money is "better spent by the city than the individual homeless person." After the briefing Jason Negron from POWER told us that we were basically going to interrupt the board meeting with our chants and let a few people who really knew about the issue speak on it.

When we arrive at City Hall we go through the usual process with the metal detectors. I noticed that there were already quite a few cops with sour faces at City Hall. They were probably expecting us. We are quiet as we go up the few stairs to the boardroom where the supervisors are meeting. On our way in we pick up some 8 1/2 by 11 signs that state in big black letters, things like "Gavin Newsom, Stop Attacking the Poor" and "Vote No On Newsom’s Attack, We Need Real Solutions."

I’m wondering what we’re going to do until I hear a chant leader speak up: "Stop Using the Poor for Political Gain" and we all shout: "Pretty Boy Newsom: Shame, Shame, Shame." Gavin looks a little red in the face but somehow still maintains that patronizing concerned look that I’m so sick of seeing after the action at Newsom’s press conference on Thursday the 7th. And as we talk about the same things that we’ve been talking about, the need for truly affordable, quality housing, jobs that pay a living wage, childcare services and on demand treatment centers, he nods and nods and nods and nods, as though he’s hearing it for the first time. We’re in and out fairly quickly but the press got all excited.

Once outside some decide to go back in and stand in line so that we can participate in a quieter sort of public commentary as well. I did noticed that there were quite a few uniforms around but I didn’t notice them materialize into a line in front of the door. There’s a whole line of deputy sheriffs in front of us, a few even have their batons out. This is our City, my City Hall and yet there were Deputy Sheriffs M. Reid #1530, Manalang #1347 and about eight others blocking our entrance. I asked them who they were protecting, I thought they were supposed to be protecting us the citizens. Omana Imani of POWER and Gay Montgomery from POOR Magazine got right in their faces. Gay, who is African-American was especially disappointed to see a very large brother blocking her way.

While outside I saw one corporate reporter ask Omana why we hadn’t gone in quietly and taken our turn to speak. The answer is that homeless people and advocates have made very obvious the numerous ways in which homelessness can be solved. If the supervisors don’t get the point yet than it’s not because we haven’t made it clear. It has to be due to some resistance on their part. Poor people are sick of quietly talking of their lives and quietly being ignored and stepped on. We needed to take some action.

Unfortunately one problem that I noticed was that those of us who were stuck outside talking to the media weren’t well enough prepared to make our points clearly. I for one had tons of thoughts and opinions I wanted to bust out but was so afraid of sounding inarticulate, of just giving the media clips that they could use to show us as disorganized, that I kept my mouth shut. However, some of the other people did a good job of making their point while on the spot.

Soon, Lieutenant Sheriff Hess #66 told us that "at this time" we could not enter and "you’ll have to contact the president of the board." Well, Omana sent Hess back to contact the president himself and eventually they let us in, saying that we would be "escorted out" if we were found standing or making a disturbance.

Most of the people who spoke were in support of the homeless and very much against Newsom’s proposal. Jack Hirshman, who got a brief honorary introduction from Supervisor Matt Gonzales, told Newsom to stop allowing himself to be influenced by the technocracy and urged the whole board to instead embrace something called democracy. Newsom kept nodding. The rest of the supervisors just looked kind of board. I was somewhat surprised to see Matt Gonzales and Newsom getting buddy-buddy and chuckling at something in the corner, but who knows what that means.

Marisa Franco asked Newsom to stop the "racist, opportunist, attack" and invited him to "sit down and talk about how we can come to a solution." Gay spoke about how shelters really aren’t the answer to homelessness. As a homeless woman she was horrified when she found out that if she were to go to a shelter she would not be able to bring her 13-year-old son because he is over 10 years of age.

It’s not hard to understand. We need housing, living wage jobs, childcare, on-demand treatment and adequate health care and quality education. That’s what we need and as a wealthy city in the richest country in the world, we can do it. It’s a matter of fighting so hard that it’d be dangerous not to give it to us.

by Staff Writer

I am

Do you see me?

I am what your are

you are what I am

what you say

what you see

Do you see me?

I see you drunk

on drugs

I see you abuse

kill us

I see you dead

us revenging

Do you see me?

by Joe B.

“Requiem For Mortality"

What does the above title mean? I means sooner than later humanity must deal with a concept that has always been a given... Death.

Yes, we still die by various means accident, suicide, homicide, freak of nature, non and malfunction genes, lethal radiation, drowning, thirst, lack of food, heart-lung-liver-brain-bone-cellular disease.

You name it we’ve die from it, we live fragile lives in anything September 11, 2001 forever drilled that into cores of our being as all the wars, diseases, and nature has taught us over and over.

But with every set back we learn anew how we tick and though we still die we are ever closer to preventing or retrieving our lives from death’s door.

Man-Womankind has called death friend, savior, salve, implacable enemy, scourge when youth is taken before they’ve learned to taste sweetness and bitter of life’s joy and pain.

I just pray this so called war on terrorism does not derail applied science and research to the fact that as a species we are suppose to rise from these terrible scenes of carnage and steadily improve our lot.

Right now our political and economic systems seems bent on a backward bent while advancing technologies to improve and save lives are left wanting.

We need more than two political parties that are 200 plus years old and are two sides of the same coin.

Isn’t it time many more parties as alternatives to what we’ve known?

Though it feels safe and comfortable sticking with old tried and true brands each new century demands changes.

It is now time to have other views that are as politically viable,
edgy, and valid as the two Grand Old Parties.

What is needed now is N.P.P. New Political Parties.

I really shouldn’t be thinking of this since I’m not really that political; but if the personal is political then here where I’m at.

The Life Extension, L5’vers, Cryobiology (Cryonics), Neptune Society, Cloning and Elimination of Death Society, and Immortalists, everywhere must come together.

Neptune Societies “Death with dignity” is not in conflict with any of their life affirming sister’s and brother’s because freedom and dignity at the end of live is equally as precious as living prolong, extended lives.

These organizations must now form strong parties, develop their podiums, rules for membership, and regulations, and have economic clout to place their ideas on ballots for people to vote on and be able to have their party official elected to offices to further their crossing agendas.

Snickering, outright horse laughs at first but as science advances or own minds must also.

Life extension, cloning, gene manipulation or modification is no longer a party joke are any of you out there laughing now or are you thinking beyond and can imagine a time when organ transplants cloned from you or anyone else could save your life and those of loved ones?

Our S-President and others are in the throes of religious, war fever and can not or will not see that all God cares about is we be good to each other and if living longer, improving, saving lives is not what humanity is about they we can unhook all or science and return back to the middle ages where darkness and superstition reigned.

This administration will soon pass by 2004 or ‘08 either way we must move on beyond both narrow sighted parties, the future of our continued survival depends on advancing forward - not at breakneck speed but in a steady pace.

I am sure others reading this have many more ideas and dialogs can begin so the parties mentioned and others not even imagined will pop up.

It will be confusing, exasperating, and headache making but it is one way of braking out of our stale two party system.

In the 22nd 23rd or 24th century would you want your great to the 4th or 5th power grandchildren still to be deal with a two party system or a lively free for all of many different parties?

As for poor folks in this new age the stakes are even higher.

Imagine the Newsom’s great grandkids, some progressive, doing what they can to ensure everyone has safe, longer, healthier lives but their are a few new-old guard in both GOP’s with power to shorten lives without using the death penalty.

The Death Penalty is finally seen as useless and banned forever in the United States.

Now people can chose how long or short their lives are but their are a few in political power that want to choose long and short for others not economically or deemed socially acceptable.

Again besides having little or now money, seen as a drag on society, ideas of “Shortening” the POOR’s life span as a way to help them cope with life extended individuals in the city and everywhere in America and the world.

Yes the poor are healthier, more intelligent, and able to travel to where high tech jobs and better, more secure career choices may be end up able to afford longer life extensions or cryo-cases for temporary death/sleep stasis until revival.

But for a vast multitude trapped in dead-end jobs, crumbling neighborhoods, dying town and cities prolonged life is a dream and only by life-lotto, cryo-bets, or rich benefactor, corporations can longer life be possible.

The Newsom Points (sound familiar) are to help easing housing crunch by shorting working poor, and homeless by 20 to 50 years and 200 to 300 add life spans given to people who are worth the effort.

At first voluntary and later mandatory so if any child is born in a certain sections of the city (Another New York model) their spans or shortened unless they show genius in “official categories” deemed by political/scientific/education/ and or entertainment, sports minded leaders.

This in a hypothetical tale and can only happen if we continue on the same unwavering path.

We must make our choices know, gather people and money then begin the painful and eventually healthy process or multiple political party system.

Let September 11, 2001 - be the watershed and beacon pointing to change and renewal.

What do you say people? Bye.

by Isabel Estrada/PNN youth in the media intern

"Now, number one, look behind you.  Now, without pushing, running, or shoving, walk towards the door." The drill sergeant's voice is oppressively slow and mocking as he says these words to the rows of girls and boys.  They start out with fear in their eyes until they have to close them.  They seem to be choking.  They are drooling on themselves and waving their hands around frantically.  Most of them are crying.  They are being gassed in the so-called "gas chamber" as a part of basic training, otherwise known as boot camp. The drill sergeants are laughing and commenting on how people look as they repeat the phrase for every row of ten kids.  As one girl, who is obviously having a much worse time than the others, jumps up and down to relieve herself of the burning and stinging feeling caused by the gas penetrating her pores, another sergeant's voice chimes in to say, "Get that dance going."  When the girls start to leave before he is done with his little speech, he makes them go back and then starts the whole speech over again, this time talking twice as slow.  If a person does run out the door, they are made to go through the whole process again.  This video is the army's way of congratulating Mari on her completion of boot camp.  I had to stop it there.  

"A better way of life." According to the many recruitment officers that visited her various high schools in Texas, this was what joining the Armed Forces would provide for Mari.  The high school that she attended for the longest period of time was LaMarque, where most of the kids were poor and African-American. "Our school looked like a cemetery," she said.  At first I was surprised to find out that Mari did not even hear about the option of going to college the entire time she was there. At my arts high school it seemed as though most of us were basically ushered by teachers and the college counselor right into college, as if there were no other choice.  But then again, my school is in San Francisco and attended mostly by middle class kids, I think the majority of whom were white.  Mari's counselors, on the other hand, acted as though the army was the only option.  Mari couldn't even choose to get a job. In order to get a job in Texas, she would need a car as everything is very spread out.  But in order to get a car, she would have needed a job.  Where Mari lived, they did not even have public transportation.

So at 17, seeing no other viable option, Mari joined the army.  She also figured that along with having housing and food, she would be able to get money for college.  As it turned out, the requirements for acquiring college money through the Montgomery GI Bill are so stringent that she wasn't even able to get any. Because she was unaccustomed to regular exercise before joining the army, where she was forced to participate in strenuous workouts every day, Mari immediately began to have health problems. Luckily for her, she was discharged after about 6 months.   

As far as I know, Indy Media (sf.indymedia.org) has been the only organization to print an article about the bill H.R. 3598 that proposes to reinstate the draft.  H.R 3598, the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 2001, was introduced on December 20th, 2001 by Republicans Nick Smith of Michigan and Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania.  The bill would require all men between the ages of 18 and 22, whether citizens or residents of the United States, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam, to be inducted into the armed services and to receive military training and education for a period of six months to a year.  The basic training is to be "established by the Secretary [of defense]" and "specialty training [is provided] as the Secretary concerned considers appropriate."

The census predicts that this would include about 9 million men.  Exemptions would be granted for those with "extreme hardship" (undefined, but sons of the rich and powerful probably fit in here somewhere) and mental or physical disabilities at the discretion of local draft boards.  Conscientious objectors would still be inducted, only their training would not include instruction in combat. High school dropouts would get an additional 6 months and help to receive their diploma.  Women would be authorized to volunteer.

This would be a bunch of sexually frustrated boys trying to discover their manhood, thrown together to learn how to maintain the United States' oppressive world order.  It sounds like Lord of the Flies, right wing reactionary style.  I don't envy the sweet boys from my San Francisco art school.  However, maybe they would be the lucky ones, at least they would know that this is just another annoying semi-imprisonment to deal with, not "a better way of life."

When my friend Aaron Perlstein, a student at Humboldt University, heard about this new proposal, he said that if he knew he wouldn't have to fight in a war, he could probably deal with six months to a year of military training.  However, as far as the prospect of having to fight, this was his response: "No one consulted me in the decision to kill thousands and thousands of Afghani people. Why should they expect me to fight their war? The politicians started the war; they can go over there and fight it.  Damn it, I'm just trying to get an education, and I really don't need to be programmed into a fighting machine."

by Lani Kent/PoorNewsNetwork

We were in front of City Hall and the early February sunshine took off our jackets and scarves. News anchors squinted into the sun that seemed to come from the East and West and North and South. It was a beautiful day to be on the street celebrating the merging of ideas, and the merging of voices. On Monday, February 4, San Francisco's Coalition on Homelessness joined forces with New York City's Picture the Homeless to announce "Housing Winter." This national action is designed to spotlight the national affordable housing crisis and provide positive solutions for it. Tired debates about quality of life will not take center stage in this movement. Organizers urge the swift passage of the federal National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Legislation, which will create 1.5 million new housing units over the next ten years. Grassroot organizations across the country support "Housing Winter" and will hold several events to demonstrate their determination to get this legislation passed.

"You can't just put a Band-Aid on homelessness," said Emily Gibbons of Picture the Homeless NYC, "so instead they have just thrown salt in the wound of our homeless existence." Her words were large and shiny, each syllable a statement in itself. Her salty wounds are fresh from New York City's successful campaign to drive homeless people off the streets and into shelters. Her East Coast organization, led by a passionately vocal Anthony Williams, was founded through the voices of homeless people. The principle of the organization is to recognize that resources to end homelessness do exist, and that those resources can only be found by listening to those that are homeless. Bright, shining homeless voices are necessary to educate the public and mobilize the political will.

These voices found an ally in the political will of progressive San Franciscan, Harry Britt. Two hours before the announcement of "Housing Winter", this District 13 Assembly Member candidate held a press conference that addressed housing rights in California. Britt recognizes and firmly supports the idea of creating permanent affordable housing. Like the Coalition on Homelessness, Britt advocates for California land trust acts and supports limited equity co-ops. A land trust is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that acquires and holds land, or interests in the land, which the community wants to protect. This land cannot be sold for profit, and therefore stays affordable to the community the land trust is created to serve. Britt supports this because it is an effective way to make housing affordable to everyone, not just investors and realtors. He also wants to repeal the Ellis Act to prevent eviction for profit, giving authority to local communities to stop uncontrolled commercial development. In addition, Britt wants to repeal Costa-Hawkins to give the ability to pass effective rent control back to local communities . Britt's agenda has much in common with the wishes of many homeless, poor, and low-income folks trying to live in San Francisco.

As "Housing Winter" builds steam, activists will try to convince local politicians to adopt the values and principles already held by Britt. "I want people to know that housing is an emergency, as in a crisis," explained Britt after the press conference, "We need to address the housing needs of the people who need housing." Concerned citizen Tommi Avicolli Mecca expanded on this idea further when he added, "We need to stop giving money to suburban sprawl. Let's give money to create housing, not to create parking." Besides the large group of San Francisco residents there to show support, Britt held stage with an impressive political crowd including Supervisors Tom Ammiano, Chris Daly and Jake McGoldrick. "I want someone with his kind of vision and grit in Sacramento," said Supervisor Ammiano. His vision and grit will find an ally in many San Franciscans, as the energy from the press conference held momentum well into the afternoon and the announcement of "Housing Winter". Locals stood around and discussed Britt's campaign promises as the Coalition on Homelessness and Picture the Homeless NYC spoke golden words into curious cameras. Although Britt was not present, his words came out of each and every advocate holding stage. "Everybody has a right to a roof." "Homelessness is not a crime, it's just a situation, a situation we can change." James Tracy of Coalition on Homelessness summed up the voices when he said, "It is time to improve everyone's quality of life through ambitious housing construction programs that create living wage jobs." The voices started to melt into one and it seemed that there was a single movement of voice made up of various tones and various politics. Last Monday brought out this bright and shining voice, and it stood strong under the sun's large spotlight and squinted back at the cameras.

For more information on events pertaining to "Housing Winter", go to www.nationalhomeless.org.

by Carol Harvey

"Disabled people have the A.D.A.Ý People of color, gay and lesbian people fought to get civil rights protections.Ý Itís an outrageous scandal that poor people are deprived of civil rights which cannot be taken from other minorities." --Terry Messman

A snub-nosed blue van, grill like snarling hound's teeth, charged into the driveway straight at me. A heavy-set woman, her long dark hair framing a pit bull jaw, growled out the window, "Stop bothering that woman!"

I live among swellegant robber barons, wryly termed 'Specific Whites' by Project friends. Strolling the evening sidewalk home at 7:00 pm, I passed a mansion around the corner from my small Pacific Heights Victorian. A well-groomed woman chatted with a man in a speckled painter's cap between Doric columns on curving front steps. My backpack was humped with groceries. A black bag slung on one shoulder contained a tape recorder.

I had been dizzy and sick in my tiny Victorian apartment.Ý A neighbor pointed out this house as a paint fume source.

I called politely to the woman,"Are you painting?"

"Construction, no painting," Suddenly, she ordered: "Get out of here." I'll call the police."

Shocked, I retorted, "What self-entitled Fantasyland do you live in?" It's a public sidewalk."

Her abrupt turn warned she was headed for the phone. I continued home, fuming, By what right does she threaten me? I'm getting her address. I went back. The unmarked van charged."What if I said I was plainclothes police?" she yelled.

"I'd say Produce ID and stop harassing me!"

I circumnavigated the vehicle, noting the house number.

"Get out of here!" barked the rent-a-cop at my back.

No shit, I thought. I've just been profiled!

Interesting timing! I had met that day with Terry Messman, gentle Street Spirit editor, and viewed video of the Press Conference on The Criminalization of Homelessness on the steps of the State Building at McAllister and Van Ness.

Tuesday, January 15th, advocates from The San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness and the National Coalition in Washington, D.C. held simultaneous press conferences marking the release of an official study of 80 cities that uncovered a massive new wave of nation-wide repression against the unhoused. It revealed a severely worsening national climate in which civil liberties, rights of free speech, of assembly, the right to sit, to stand, to sleep, to perform natural functions of daily life --- the very right to exist --- are punished as Quality of Life Crimes and denied to this most vulnerable impoverished group.

Lacking private spaces in which to carry out life-sustaining activities such as sleeping, resting, storing personal belongings, or activities associated with personal hygiene, people experiencing homelessness face the further indignity of arrest.

The press conferences marked the 73rd anniversary of Martin Luther King's birth. King was assassinated during his last great Poor Peoples Campaign championing the right to housing, employment, and income for those unable to work.

Paul Boden, high-powered, intense, San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness Director, told me, "Of 36 cities originally studied in 1999, 65% increased the numbers of laws used to incarcerate, and harass homeless people. Of the 80 cities surveyed, 90% of them are implementing anti-panhandling laws. The report shows that cities across the country are using the same patterns, methodologies, and laws to criminalize and eliminate homeless people. This is not a coincidence."

"More jurisdictions are enacting laws that effectively criminalize homelessness by prohibiting activities such as sleeping or camping in public, even when no shelter beds are available, and that the use of these ordinances is increasing.Meanwhile, 100 percent of communities surveyed lack enough shelter beds to meet demand."

"Special mention goes to Palm Beach County, FL for their chillingly Orwellian methods of tracking" homeless people."Their Sheriff's office developed a homeless database accessible on the Internet, including "information (on) the next of kin, previous medical treatment (to include broken bones), photographs of tattoos, and the last place the individuals received dental treatment," used to identify deceased and missing individuals," including prostitutes, and "develop a list of suspects."

Boden told me, "Supervisor Gavin Newsome is proposing an ordinance that includes fingerprinting, and a centralized information database on every homeless person, to be implemented by the new Department of Homeless Services.If Palm Beach County's methods give evidence of the trend of considering homeless individuals to be criminals simply because of their economic status, and lack of homes, then San Francisco may soon become equally draconian."

The report distinguishes California as the meanest state in the Country for people who are poor and homeless, with New York City vying with Atlanta, GA and San Francisco, CA - the three meanest cities nationally - for top notoriety. Santa Cruz, a purportedly liberal community, was high on the list.

According to Chance Martin, Street Sheet Editor, "The report was a joint effort between the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, and National Coalition for The Homeless.Ý The entity originating this report was the National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project (NHCROP), a study done by the National Coalitions Civil Rights Work Group. We had people from all over California reporting to CHROP The California Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project."

The National Coalition on Homelessness has regional offices in New York, Atlanta, Kentucky, Washington D.C, Chicago, Texas, Los Angeles. The San Francisco Regional Office represents Northern California and Nevada.

The San Francisco press conference, included advocates from Northern California. Said, Boden, "Those are people we work with out of our local office and connect what's happening on a local level to a federal and national fight, telling all the local groups that are getting their butts kicked by police departments, and local boards of supervisors and city halls across the country, how similar this whole campaign is."

Boden notes solidarity, education."The challenge reflects our ability to bring those groups together. United, we are strong. Every local fight around quality of life enforcement programs is about all these homeless people in our city, all these people on my street. When you realize that's actually millions of people on streets all over this country, you have a better context to debate, fight, challenge, and hopefully reverse the trend and stop it."

Northern California speakers were Lillian Hanson (CHROP).

Cliff Crooks of SHOC: Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee, described five-day incarcerations "just for the crime of sleeping."

Muliaga Togotogo, Community Homeless Alliance Ministry, San Jose, noted the Human Rights Declaration drafted in San Francisco guaranteed jobs, homes, health care, saying if America doesnít solve this problem, "We are doomed."

Becky Johnson, HUFF, Homeless United in Friendship and Freedom of Santa Cruz, spoke of privatization of downtown public space excluding the homeless.

Ken Lane, Stanislaus County, Modesto, described armed police sweeps of camps.

L.S. Wilson, San Francisco, Oren Sellstrom, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, and James Tracy from San Francisco's Right to A Roof spoke eloquently.

Kimiko Burton for Senator John Burton, said, "I'm glad St. Francis isn't around to see his namesake city labeled one of the meanest in the nation The vast majority (of people here) are interested in real and humane solutions to homelessness.

Lisa Williams, Hastings law student, asserted, the economic argument behind criminal law is to raise the price of criminal activity so people choose not to do it,substituting legal activity. "There is no substitute for camping on streets, sitting or pissing on sidewalks, If you fine the activity, a $100 dollar ticket for sleeping on the street, or be put in jail, income is going to be less. The penalty will increase the activity you want to deter.

Such activities not performed cause sickness and death.

Under, Individual Costs of Criminalization: says the report, "Once people do their jail time, they are still homeless."

In his speech Boden asked, "Who's quality of life are we talking about? The quality of life of poor people that are being put in our streets with no access to alternatives, or the quality of life of Tony Hall, Gavin Newsome, Willie Brown, politicians using 30 second sound bites to get elected by beating on poor people? Identify the enemy, attack the enemy, get elected to public office."

I asked Boden why the study concluded San Francisco and California are the worst human rights violators.

"People working compiling the data found no state close to California. The numbers of laws, the heavy enforcement of those laws. The lack of State funding for health care and housing for poor people. The tone, the brutal language used by our local politicians (in the media and in City Hall meetings) to describe homeless and poor people as bums, derelicts. The dialogue around piss, and shit. in California is powerful, the fifth largest economy in the world State policies and laws are driven by corporate money, and slimy boys. Overwhelmingly."

An overall finding of the study: Systematic abuse of the civil rights of homeless people is used as a strategy to remove homeless people from sight by local governments and private business districts. However, Paul Boden, Director of the San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness explains, "Homeless peoples' organizations are becoming stronger and united to defend our rights to housing, treatment, living wage jobs, and quality education. People who are homeless will not disappear or cease to exist."

PROFILED / STEREOTYPED BY APPEARANCE

Outside the San Francisco Public Library Jeff, a denim-clad 45-year-old man with an articulate Jersey accent shed light on profiling." Police target by appearance.We look alike, always got a bag, need a shave, clothes a little dirty.

ÝEASY TARGETS

We're easy targets. To avoid the hassle, we take what they give and get out. If the cop came up to Joe Citizen: "Let me see some ID. He'll say, "What are you doing?" Homeless guys will go, Okay. Here's my ID. Police think they have a right to just walk up to somebody and ask for ID, but they only do it to us. If you were in the Tenderloin, the Police would never bother you. But, they could pull up on me any time.

AVOID QUALITY OF LIFE CRIMES: KEEP MOVING AND A KEEP A LOW PROFILE

"I'm harassed every day. They kick you out of the shelter at 6:30 a.m. Walk down the street, cop sees you, automatically you got a bag, and you're a target. I'll sit down somewhere, get up, move, sit at a bus station: "Let me see your ticket."

When was the last police harassment?

"On a weekly basis, I am bothered by the police. Sitting over there on the bench Sunday at 6:30 a.m. A cop came up. Got to keep moving. Can't get comfortable. If this wasn't the library, we'd be gone. Sit over there in the park more than half an hour, they'll make you move, unless you're eating a lunch so you look like you work at City Hall.

"I keep to myself, keep a low profile".

HOMELESS PEOPLE EXPERIENCE DISCRIMINATORY CIVIL RIGHT ABUSES,

When was someone last rude or treated you differently?

"I walk into a bar, Can I use your bathroom?", I say

"NO! You've got to be a customer!"

"Okay, give me a soda. Not good enough. They know you just want to use the bathroom."

"At a gas Station on Van Ness at 7:00 a.m., I need to use the bathroom. NO! Can't use it, Somebody came in after me. Here's the key"

QUALITY OF LIFE CRIMES

What do you think of being ticketed for sitting, sleeping, going to the bathroom?

"This is the City bathroom. More people in this library are homeless than anywhere in the City. It's the only place you can be inside, sit down, read a book, and nobody will bother you."

It's a damn shame. Tickets for loitering, panhandling in the Tenderloin. Nobody bothers the dealers on the corner selling dope.

Ý

SHELTER:

The study's second finding: 100% of communities surveyed lack enough shelter beds to meet demand and housing costs are out of reach for many, including the working poor.

In most cities" "shelters and transitional housing facilities select their residents from among the thousands of people seeking beds daily. .The overwhelming majority of communities from Boston to Birmingham to San Francisco lack sufficient emergency shelter beds on any given night for people who are homeless and seeking shelter. Needs so far exceed resources that specialized facilities operate at capacity, while thousands remain unsheltered.

Under the Interfaith Winter Shelter, the City pays churches to house a few from December to March. You bounce from church to church. This week I'm at St. Mark's.

WILLINGNESS TO WORK:

"People think you want to be homeless. I don't. I'm a certified mechanic. I know building trades. Apply for a job, where you going to call me? On the street a couple years; a gap in your resume. People won't hire you.

"We had a flea market in the Tenderloin. Honest work. Police won't let you stay, take your stuff, ticket you for selling with no license. Down the street they sell dope.

HOMELESSNESS: A BORING, TIME-CONSUMING JOB

Being homeless is a boring job. You want to eat, you gotta be in line. Two hours in the morning for breakfast at Glide. Two hours at St. Anthony's. Two hours at Glide at night. One or two hours at the shelter waiting to get in. Six or eight hours a day in line.

CITY MONEY SPENT ON HOMELESSNESS

The study cites the Economic costs of Criminalization: The cost of arresting, processing and jailing homeless people is substantially higher than the cost of securing permanent low-income housing, living wage incomes, affordable child care, education and health care on demand.

"If the City had a job program, (Not GA, where you sweep streets.) If you want to work, I got a job for you. I got a place for you to stay. I am ready, willing, and able to work!"

Jeff asserts, "I won't stay in City shelters cause of Crack heads, thieves, lice. They don't clean them The Mayor says they spend millions on the Homeless. They ain't spending nothing on us."

Paul Boden's steps to eliminate homelessness;

Allow anybody inside a domicile to stay. 2. Eliminate the shell game of transitional housing. 3. Get a true picture of the housing unit shortage. 4. Redirect subsidy money, paid disproportionately to the wealthy, distributing it fairly among all income groups. 5. With that money, create housing units for the poor. 6. Close down shelters. Given an option of a decent, humane place to live or sleep in a shelter, people will take a place to live.

by Joe B.

Today, Thursday, February 14, 2002 – Saint Valentine’s Day, when friends have a chance to either deepen or ruin near perfect platonic relationships.

I learned a little about a St.Valentine, like Lupercalia:"Feverish" Festival Roman celebration of Lupercalia, a festival of eroticism that honors Juno Februata, the goddess of "feverish" (febris) love. Annually.

Early Christians got into it and as usual saw mainly the lust and
Lascivious goings-on. encouraged celebrants to substitute the names of saints.

Then, for the next twelve months, participants were to emulate the ideals represented by the particular saint they'd chosen.

You know after a few years of this it went stale and was forgotten.

Keep Erotic content we’re only human and our libidos must be fed in both flesh and faith. But that’s plain old me.

The Church selected a single saint to do battle the pagan goddess
Juno -- St. Valentine (Valentinus).

And since Valentinus had been martyred on February 14, the Church could also preempt the annual February 15.

The fly in the ointment was Valentinus himself: was a chaste man, unschooled in the art of love.

The "Spin", making a chaste Saint appeal to lovers the Church may have "embellished" a bit to make the chaste Saint more appealing to lovers, the Church may have "embellished" his life story a little bit. Since it happened so long ago, records no longer exist.

But if it didn't happen this way, it certainly makes for a better.

According to one legend, Valentinus ignored a decree from Emperor Claudius II that forbade all marriages and betrothals.

Caught in the act, Valentinus was imprisoned and sentenced to death for secretly conducting several wedding ceremonies.

While imprisoned, the future Saint cured a girl (the jailer's daughter) of her blindness.

The poor girl fell madly in love with Valentinus, but could not save him.

On the eve of his execution, Valentinus managed to slip a parting message to the girl.

The note, of course, was signed "From your Valentine."

Yes, there is more to (post St. Valentin’s story but that’s up to you readers.

I want to thank [me2u.com/LoveLore/Valentine] website
I saw giving lots of information.

I remember a book of Science Fiction entitled "Immortals" and male and female characters cope with their gift, curse, genetic accident, affliction, or blessing.

One of a Cro-Magnon living now because of some unique genetic quirk that made him immortal and last of his species among modern humanity.

The other is about love and what happens when a mortal and an immortal mix romantically.

The woman is a fetching 32, the man 367 definitely a May/December romance if one I haven’t heard of.

Its not the young woman who’ll have to leave the 3 century plus that has to leave but the young-old geezer along with other people able to take drugs or through gene tinkering to extend their life’s.

But in this case the woman’s genes cannot except life extension, it works but not as well as for her lover, she ages slow but not as efficiently as the old guy lover with centuries more experience than her, because he’s learned how the process worked, and was genetically able to take improvements. As improvements are made he also improved with slower, healthier aging.

There’s a point when the guy or girl separate but in this tale the old guy who still taking his extension shots stays with his aging lady because he really loves her "til death does us part." She is the one leaving because the widening gap in their ages mainly hers now that she looks to be older.

What has all this to do with St. Valentine’s Day? All I ‘gotta say is there will be a reckoning for couples when Life Extension really kicks in for both men.

Imagine 60, 70 year old men and woman looking half their age and young people with their natural youth not able to compete because its not about frail, fleeting, youths in lust, love, and quickie sex but mature love ‘n lust where experience wins out because youth is transient but the young-senior population aren’t buying the ads magazine’s, TV’s, the net, or radio killing the money making day.

When people have been around a few centuries one might grow other interests than obvious fleshly delights and if still lively and healthy being an old graybeard woman or man won’t mean a shortage of partners they’ll just be young and inexperienced or older and vastly more knowledgeable.

I would like to live a few centuries as a bodybuilding, Tai Chi,
Yogi, Karma Sutra student, instructor, with lots of experience to offer 50, 60 or slightly younger fem folks.

Also, at so great an age one’s ego cannot be shattered by any words of distain because I’ve lived through rough times and role with the flow. Its younger folks who will have to deal with head’s flutter and whims of love’s fickle arrow in the groin/ and hearts of women and men in passions fire.

Because if true love is a soulmate able to leave return and be themselves. Give a few centuries of healthy life I think solid, true, marriage-to-death love will last because by then all the petty, selfish
Yearnings, burnings is worn away leaving healthy eternal Eros for both people who’ve chosen each other and now can afford showing it for centuries afterwards.

As for others switching partners, coming back is another options.

For a special few if their soulmate is too old, too young, or dead- waiting, experimenting, experiencing, life before their reincarnation will be a daunting new way lost love returned. Whatever happens we must rethink Valentine’s Day Forever.

What do you think life extension will do Valentine’s Day and other holidays?

Who knows, a few of us might live to experience both question and answer first hand.

Bye, have good love lives people.

by Joe B.

Have you heard about KRON 4's Aptra Award-Winning
Homeless Under Fire series investigation about “The Homeless Problem” in San Francisco?

Greg Lyon and other reporters show the worst side of the problems but if you notice not to many formally homeless folks and if they its a bootstrap bent.

‘Da Mayor, Newsom, and all the assorted blather of following New York’s solution of displacing people all away from sight far away making the problem “look solved” remember invisibility doesn’t solve this just as placing Band-Aids on a tiny scratch of Ebola infested flesh.

It covered, looks like skin is healing but under the band-Aid its getting larger and soon the band-aid is covered by the bloody open sore.

Graphic example but that’s what’s happening and showing this award winning film now at primary time is suspicious, stinks, and is crass.

Making homeless, working poor, and mentally ill seem deviant
and wrong.

Its strange how the out-of-work homeless people looking for jobs with alternative ideas along with homeless advocates are not listened to when their are multiple solutions to so call unlovable problems.

The reason Mr. Newsom was shouted down at a new conference is because they’ve seen this rerun before.

Centralized Systems are fine as long as there are links as with spokes in a wheel but having more than one wheel in one area.

San Francisco in not New York certain systems will apply but not all.

Newsom and the rest of the pol’s must get it through their heads that substance abuse is a smokescreen, most people on the streets now are not on drugs but need higher educational and technical skills not just work for works sake.

If it were only work the people in yellow- green, orange street cleaning for the city would be full employee’s working regular days and hours.

This “Jail ‘em, get ‘em out of sight, warehousing crap has been done already.

As for mental cases on the street blame "Shining City On A Hill" Ronald Reagon for that problem.

Office buildings, homes are closed while new expensive ugly colored achitectual prefab cement housing springs up everywhere, have they been to Oakland lately?

It looks like a 'God Damn ‘Freakin ghost town!

I don’t see many of the $10.000 a month of renters, renting office space, being rented out just lots of new, refurbished, or pristine empty buildings.

Oakland looks like locusts have ravaged the place.

Anyone looking at the Award Winning Anti-Homeless report who are, were, became homeless, jobless but now have jobs and a roof get groups together, mail by snail or email the news stations, ‘Pols and tell what solutions are possible.

Do you think they will listen to solutions homeless, formally homeless, and their advocates have?

Top down solutions are not working, bottom-up has limits as well.

Obviously both groups must stop-drop preconceived, prejudicial, judgments, place their negative mindsets aside, come together and work on sets of multiple ongoing plans of preventing and making homelessness an obsolete construct and or concept.

If I make any sense at all both groups should try this as an option. Bye.