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Homelessness Rising as Economy Slides: Report

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by Amitjha December 12, 2008 at 10:08 pm -

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Homelessness and demand for emergency food are rising in the United States as the economy founders, a report said on Friday, and homeless advocates cautioned many cities were not equipped for the increase.

A survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed that 19 of 25 cities saw an increase in homelessness in the 12 months to October, while four reported a drop and two cities lacked enough data for conclusive results.

On average, the cities in the survey saw a 12 percent rise in homelessness, the report said. Although the results do not cover all U.S. cities, homeless advocates said they were in line with anecdotal evidence nationwide.

Homeless advocates say families are flooding homeless shelters across the United States in numbers not seen for years, camping out in motels or staying with friends and relatives following foreclosures on tens of thousands of homes during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

"It's very depressing because we have been making progress in getting it down in the past couple of years," Nan Roman, president of the Washington-based National Alliance to End Homelessness, said in an interview.

Demand for emergency food assistance rose in 20 of the 25 cities surveyed, the report added.

The report marks a reversal from a U.S. government survey released in July that showed the number of chronically homeless Americans declining by 15 percent to about 1.6 million people from October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007.

"We're seeing a new trend and I would expect the number to rise substantially," Roman said, noting a usual lag between when a family crisis occurs and when homelessness begins.

She said the strain on budgets from the yearlong recession could make it difficult for cities to handle the increase.

Philip Mangano, the homelessness czar appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002, praised the mayors' report and said it would be a mistake to wait for conclusive figures when there was clear evidence of an unfolding crisis.

"There is a crisis around families falling out into homelessness," he said.

He said the government under September's Housing and Economic Recovery Act had made $3.92 billion available to mitigate the effect of mortgage foreclosures and 25 percent of that was targeted at the lowest-income neighborhoods, where people are most vulnerable to homelessness.

Source: reuters.com

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Examples of Violence Against The Poor On The Main Streets Around the Country...

Stand up against violence and abuse of all of Our People. If YOU see violence, speak up, make a call, save a life. Can Obama lead our nation to be kinder and gentler ?

Will our dream of full protection and support for all of our elderly, poor, homeless, veterans and disabled in EVERY CITY finally be realized ?

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WEB SOURCE: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/hatecrimes/introduction.html

INTRODUCTION

In October of 2004, three Milwaukee teens murdered a homeless man at his forest campsite.

The teens hit 49-year-old Rex Baum, with rocks, a flashlight, and a pipe, before smearing feces on his face and covering his body with leaves and plastic.

According to the criminal report, one of the boys "hit the victim one last time to see if he would make a sound like in Grand Theft Auto," and then cut him several times with a knife to make sure he was dead.

In August, Curtis Gordon Adams, 33, beat and stabbed a disabled homeless man to death, and then licked the blood from his fingers on a Denver sidewalk.

In June, two New York City teens, kicked, punched, and finally bludgeoned 51-year-old William Pearson to death in a churchyard.

Pearson crawled to the church steps before finally dying of a fractured skull. "His head was a bloody mess," one police officer noted.

Sadly, these gruesome accounts are few of many, which demonstrate the hate / violence faced by people experiencing homelessness each year.

The following report documents 105 hate crimes and violent acts that occurred in 2004, collected from newspapers and reports across the country.

The narratives bring to light the discrimination and senseless violence faced daily by so many of our country's homeless citizens.

A sampling of the headlines in the case narrative section of this annual report says it all:

· Couple Beats Homeless Man, Leaves Him to Die in the Snow (Maple Valley, WA, January)

· Homeless Man Seeking Refuge from Cold Beaten to Death (New York, NY, January)

· Two Teens Beat a Homeless Man in His Sleep (Key West, FL, March)

· Teen Hits, Kicks, and Stomps Homeless Man to Death (Bend, OR, April)

· Man Set on Fire, Found Two Days Later (Lompoc, CA, May)

· Two Teens Viciously Beat Homeless Man to Death Outside Church (New York, NY June)

· Homeless Man Beaten to Death by Teens Claiming "Boredom" (Oakland, CA, July)

· Wheelchair-bound Homeless Man Stabbed to Death (Denver, CO, August)

· Teens Kill Homeless Man Over $5 Dispute (Gettysburg, PA, September)

· Teens Beat Homeless Man, Then Torch His Belongings (Albany, NY, October)

· Homeless Woman Suffocated (Keizer, OR, October)

PURPOSE STATEMENT

The main objective of this report is to educate lawmakers, advocates, and the general public about the problem of hate crimes and violence against homeless people in order to instigate change and ensure protection of civil rights for everyone, regardless of their economic circumstances or housing status.

As part of its mission, the National Coalition for the Homeless is committed to creating the systemic and attitudinal changes necessary to end homelessness.

A major component of these changes must include the societal guarantee of safety and protection and a commitment by lawmakers to combat the hate crimes and violent acts against people who experience homelessness.

THE REPORTS

Over the past six years (1999-2004), advocates and homeless shelter workers from around the country have seen an alarming increase in reports of homeless men, women and even children being killed, beaten, and harassed.

In response to these concerns, The National Coalition For the Homeless has produced six reports documenting these acts.

1999: No More Homeless Deaths! Hate Crimes: A Report Documenting Violence Against Men and Women Homeless in the U.S.

2000: A Report of Hate Crimes and Violence Against People Who Are Homeless in the United States in 2000.

2001: Hate. A Compilation of Violent Crimes Committed Against Homeless People in the U.S. in 2001

2002: Hate, Violence, and Death on Main Street USA: A Report on Hate Crimes and Violence Against People Experiencing Homelessness in 1999-2002

2003: Hate, Violence, and Death on Main Street USA: A Report on Hate Crimes and Violence Against People Experiencing Homelessness in 2003

The most recent report, Hate, Violence, and Death on Main Street USA: A Report on Hate Crimes and Violence Against People Experiencing Homelessness in 2004, continues to maintain the same goals and objectives as these previous reports:

1. To compile the incidents of hate crimes and violence that NCH has received and reviewed in order to document this alarming trend against people who are homeless.

2. To make lawmakers and the public aware of this serious issue.

3. To recommend proactive measures to be taken.

HATE CRIMES

The term "hate crime" generally conjures up images of cross burnings and lynchings, swastikas on Jewish synagogues, and horrific murders of gays and lesbians.

In 1968, the U.S. Congress defined a hate crime, under federal law, as a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of their race, color or national origin (Title 18 U.S.C Section 245).

The law mandated that the government must prove both that the crime occurred because of a victim's membership in a designated group and because the victim was engaged in certain specified federally-protected activities — such as serving on a jury, voting, or attending public school. [1]

Hate crimes are commonly called bias-motivated crimes, referring to the prejudice or partiality of the perpetrator against the victim's real or perceived grouping or circumstance.

Most hate crimes are committed not by organized hate groups, but by individual citizens who harbor a strong resentment against a certain group of people.

Some are "mission offenders," who believe they are on a mission "to cleanse the world of a particular evil". [2]

Others are "scapegoat offenders," who project their resentment toward the growing economic power of a particular racial or ethnic group through violent actions.

Still others are "thrill seekers" — those who take advantage of a vulnerable and disadvantaged group in order to satisfy their own pleasures. [3]

Thrill seekers, primarily in their teens, are the most common perpetrators of violence against homeless people.

In documenting hate crimes and violence against homeless people, and the data and documentation used for this report, NCH relies on news reports and information relayed to us by homeless shelters around the country.

Although NCH acts as the nationwide repository of hate crimes/violence against homeless people, there is no systematic method of collecting and documenting such reports.

Many of these violent acts go unpublicized and/or unreported, thereby making it difficult to assess the true magnitude of the problem.

Often, homeless people do not report crimes committed against them because of mental health issues, substance abuse, fear of retaliation, past incidents, or frustration with the police.

Some cases this year were also omitted because the victims were found beaten to death, but no suspects could be identified. In addition, the report does not take into account the large number of sexual assaults, especially against homeless women.

LEGISLATION

Subsequently, federal bias crime laws enacted have provided additional coverage.

The Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 (HCSA) mandates the Justice Department to collect data from law enforcement agencies about "crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based upon race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity." ^[4]

The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act, enacted as a section of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, defines a hate crime as "a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived race, color, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person."

This measure only applies to, inter alia, attacks and vandalism that occur in national parks and on federal property. [5]

The most recent piece of legislation, Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005 was introduced in the U.S. House (H.R.2662), and (S.1145) in the U.S. Senate in the 109th Congress. This legislation "authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that:

(1) constitutes a crime of violence under Federal law or a felony under State or Indian tribal law; and

(2) is motivated by prejudice based on the race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim or is a violation of the hate crimes laws of the State or tribe."

There is currently no federal criminal prohibition against violent crimes directed at individuals because of their housing status.

The National Coalition for the Homeless aims to include housing status in the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005 (H.R. 2662 and S. 1445) and in future pieces of legislation. H.R. 2662 and S. 1445 have broad bipartisan support, but through the inclusion of housing status, hate crimes and violent acts toward people experiencing homelessness will be more appropriately handled and prosecuted.

Additionally, if victims know that a system is in place to prosecute such crimes, they are more likely to come forward to report these crimes.

People who are forced to live and sleep on the streets for lack of an appropriate alternative are in an extremely vulnerable situation, and it is unacceptable that hate crime prevention laws do not protect them.

Also noteworthy is the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005 (H.R. 259), which has been introduced into the 109^th Congress by Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas and has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

This bill is an abridged and slightly altered version of H.R. 2662 and S.1145.

[1] Source: Anti-Defamation League, http://www.adl.org/legislative_action/hatecrimes_briefing.html

[2] Source: "Responding to Hate Crime" U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crime, www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc

[3] Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, www.ojp.usdoj.gov

[4] Source: Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, http://www.civilrights.org/

[5] Source: Anti-Defamation League, http://adl.org/legislative_action/hatecrimes_briefing.html

Source: www.Thomas.loc.gov

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--- Share Tips, Stories, Fotos & Resources. Get Shelter, SRO, Hotel and Housing Info in San Francisco, by visiting our web sites: Our Yahoo! Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/sfhomeless/ Our Group Blog: sfhomelessyahoogroup.blogspot.com/ ---

Indict Congress! Accessory to $40B Dollar Grand Theft - Bonuses To Wall Street Execs

Indict Congress! Accessory to $40B Dollar Grand Theft - Bonuses To Wall Street Execs

We have written about this and warned you all about this before. Mr. J. P. Morgan and Prescott Bush bankrupted Europe in the 20's which caused Our Depression of the 30's, here in the United States.. History repeats itself now because Our Congress, by design, payoff or neglect have become accomplices to the world's largest Grand Theft of Taxpayer Money. All due to lack of accountability for nearly $1 Trillion Dollars given to the banking institutions (banksters) and zero oversight.

A Blank Check.

And they are doing this around the world, sucking out wealth of people in nations who are buying into this immense confidence game. All to benefit a handful of multinational families who have betrayed all the people in our countries.

And, based on history, what do people (especially con artists and bankers who profit by your ignorance, with blank checks they are NOT required to account for ? The chart to the left shows Executive Compensation was the number one concern, going back to 2004.

Yes. They Party like the scum bags they are while our people are being tossed out into the streets and their homes and cars are being taken away in mass. To add insult to injury, we just learned on the news today that the Executives of the corrupt corporations gave themselves a total of $40 Billion Dollars in bonuses and pay outs from the unregulated bail out. What are YOU going to do about it ? Congress just committed a crime (of negligence, at the very least) by giving these bastards free money that YOU and our families have to pay for. Theft by conversion. Theft by deception.

These bastards still hold fraudulently converted mortgages which were sold to foreign banks without our full knowledge and consent.

They want YOU out of your home so they can profit by all the wonderful billion dollars services waiting for you, when YOU become homeless, sick and poor. They are tightening credit, so they can KEEP MORE MONEY LONGER and increase profits by making it EASIER TO FORECLOSE and harder to REFINANCE OUR HOMES. They can't wait to invest into drug companies and prisons and high tech killing drones they use to kill anyone, anywhere without a human being in the cockpit to abort to prevent killing civilians.

This chart shows a comparison between Exxon-Mobil's taxes paid vs. what bottom 50% of taxpayers paid in Income Taxes.

These bastards are using YOUR MONEY now, to invest in YOUR BAD FUTURE that THEY CREATED. It's called Dealer's Choice.

They invent distractions and frauds and crisis and schemes to oocupy your mind, your body and your money.

Once they have us all distracted (or apathetic and docile like a lamb( they go to work using penalties, fees and usary charges to occupy more of our time, energy, stress to nickel and dime us to death (or to serious mental or physical illness and drug treatment dependency.). THEY PROFIT WHILE WE ALL SLIP INTO HOMELESSNESS You can bet they will profit as millions of US become homeless, sick, stressed out and abused by this most corrupt system, all sanctioned and authorized by THIS CONGRESS. Call them today and tell them how you feel about their approval of the world's largest bank and financing fraud in the history of mankind. Ask them why they let liars and thieves pressure them into crippling our nations people who suffer every day and who's family conditions worsen, as these fat cats take off fo Bahama vacations with millions of dollars of OUR MONEY stuffed into their pockets. Meanwhile, our elders are forced to go back to work as their American Dream was stolen in the last hour, by the thieves on Wall Street.

TIME FOR A BRAND NEW CONGRESS - MORE LOCAL CONTROL Shame on THIS CONGRESS for their ignorance, corruption and neglect, as it may apply to each Member of Congress who authorized this massive Grand Theft. Traitors and Incompetent fools who turn a blind eye to Our History from the turn of This Century.

The same families and their new friends in Saudia Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have never had our people's best interests at heart in any of their schemes.

Record profits for all of the oil comanies while we have Mayors running around our cities trying to harass and hide and warehouse our people in massive numbers to please foreign business interests who do not give a damn about American people or our families. It's time to turn this tide of corruption and restore the power of our nation back into our people, at the local level, in every community in America. Let's put an end to this global corporate tyranny and keep our local money, local first and pay the feds for only those vital services we cannot provide for ourselves. Stop letting them have control over our money for our local needs, first and give them what we have left over, free from their greedy teats. BE PART OF THIS CHANGE. CALL YOUR LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES TODAY. TELL THEM TO STOP USING OUR NAME AND CREDIT TO PAY OFF THE GLOBAL BANKSTERS Call your local and state representatives now and thell them it's time to prosecute these bastards for their treason, high crimes and felonies are not only repugnant to Our Constitutions and sense of decency, but violate international treaties and standards on human rights and principles. We need a complete rotation out of all of the corrupt and negligent and criminal members of all local, state and national politics and public offices. Now is the time.