These Fifteen American Cities Are Destroying Homeless Camps Just Days Before Christmas…(GRRRRRRR!!)
Cities across the country are waging an unprecedented war against the homeless.
By Tom Cahil
Global Research
December 22, 2015
Christmas is normally known as the time of year when Americans try to be a little more giving, more compassionate, and more altruistic than during the other 11 1/2 months of the year. But in cities across the US, many are simply fighting for the right to exist in hastily-constructed homeless camps. The National Alliance to End Homelessness reports that on any given night, there are over 578,000 Americans sleeping on the streets. At the same time, there are at least 10 million vacant homes across America that are lying empty.
Here are 19 cities that are going above and beyond to push the most vulnerable Americans out of the public eye during the most compassionate time of the year:
1. Portland, Maine
Earlier this year, Portland cut funding for the city’s homeless shelters after a state audit by Republican governor Paul LePage accused the city of mismanaging funds — a claim city officials deny. After the latest cuts, the city will no longer have the funds to provide overflow space at local motels to homeless citizens who are turned away from overcrowded shelters.
As a result of no shelter space, many of Portland’s homeless, and indeed, homeless people across America, build encampments out of spare supplies to provide some semblance of shelter. But throughout the month of December, Portland city officials have been busy tearing down dozens of homeless encampments, providing those depending on them with little options aside from sleeping on concrete.
The city alleged the homeless camps were cleared out for a brush removal project along I-295, and gave the homeless residents sleeping there 24 hours to vacate the premises. “It’s sad because they’re taking everything away from us,” 45-year-old Sherri Ferrier told the Portland Press-Herald.
2. Seattle, Washington
One of the most insidious forms of war on the homeless is cloaking it in charity. After openly declaring a “war on homelessness,” Seattle mayor Ed Murray authorized two “legal” encampments, which only house roughly 100 people. The remaining encampments will be torn down by city officials. Seattle police are waging a crackdown on all of the “illegal” homeless camps, which are growing exponentially year after year. According to the Seattle Times, police destroyed 80 encampments in 2012, 131 in 2013, 351 in 2014, and 527 as of November of 2015.
3. Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix was one of the first states to proclaim it had ended chronic veteran homelessness in early 2014. However, Camp Alpha, the designated name for a homeless veterans’ encampment in Phoenix, was recently torn down by city officials. Camp Alpha had been at the same location at 19th Avenue and Hatcher in the Sunnyslope neighborhood of Phoenix for over three months. “It’s upsetting, it’s sickening to me, and a lot of people here,” Aaron Pomrenke, founder of Camp Alpha, told Fox 10 Phoenix. Camp Alpha residents are now looking to find a vacant building to use for shelter and storage of their belongings.
4. Eureka, California
Police in Eureka, California — a liberal haven in the far-northern part of the state — have cracked down on homeless encampments so much that the area’s homeless are forced to literally sleep in the swamp. The Marsh, as locals call it, is the coldest, wettest part of Eureka, and is the only place where Eureka police won’t enforce the city’s no-camping ordinance. Homeless advocates say just leaving the camp requires rubber boots or hip waders due to high water levels.
The Rest…HERE
