National coalition takes city to task
DOWNTOWN The nation’s oldest and largest homelessness advocacy organization is accusing Santa Monica and other cities across the country of criminalizing homelessness by enacting laws and policies that restrict groups who share food with the poor.
The National Coalition for the Homeless, along with the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, issued a report this week that called into question a Santa Monica law passed in 2002 requiring groups that give away food to the homeless to obtain permits if they serve more than 150 people.
The report also addressed a law passed in May that makes it illegal to leave food or clothing in Santa Monica parks.
“Punishing charitable groups and people for the ‘crime’ of feeding their hungry fellow human beings is appalling,” said Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center. “It is also counter-productive: Cities should be working with these groups, not against them.”
City officials said the report, “Feeding Intolerance: Prohibitions on Sharing Food with People Experiencing Homelessness,” does not take into account efforts City Hall has made to work collaboratively with groups participating in public feedings, and sends the wrong impression about Santa Monica.
The criminalization of homelessness in the United States is a severe problem, according to the report, with cities across the country implementing measures that ban eating, sitting or sleeping in public spaces.
“While these regulations have been on the rise over the past 10 years, laws targeting local churches and other groups who feed or shelter homeless people mark a disturbing new trend that threatens the well-being of America’s most vulnerable citizens,” the report states.
The report looked at a wide variety of ordinances and policies used by cities such as Las Vegas, Wilmington, North Carolina, Orlando, Portland and San Francisco. Laws that were cited include an ordinance passed in Las Vegas that bans the providing of food or meals to the indigent for free or for a nominal fee in city parks. Another law singled out was one passed in Orlando, Fla., that prohibits sharing food with more than 25 people in city parks without a permit and limits groups to doing so to two times a year.
Authors of the report said most cities do not have adequate shelter or food resources to meet the need. The report cites a survey conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2006 that found an average of 23 percent of overall emergency shelter requests are unmet, while 20 percent of shelter requests by homeless families were not satisfied.
The survey also reported an average increase of 7 percent in the overall requests for emergency food assistance, with 74 percent of surveyed cities reporting an increase. In addition, 23 percent of the requests for emergency food assistance went unmet and 18 percent of requests made by families went unmet.
The “Feeding Intolerance” report also references a survey by the federal Interagency Council on Homelessness that found 28 percent of homeless people sometimes or often do not get enough to eat, and 20 percent only eat one meal a day or less. Meanwhile, 40 percent went one or more days in the last 30 days without anything to eat because they could not afford food.
“Santa Monica was the first city to enact these kinds of restrictions on public feeding and other cities have followed,” said Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. “We know Santa Monica has made progress in tackling the issue and we recognize that, but we also think part of the process should not include making it difficult to feed people.”
City officials have said public feeding laws were enacted to protect public health and encourage groups to move indoors so that those who receive meals could also access other services.
City Manager Lamont Ewell worked over the last year to convince two of the largest groups — Hand to Hand and H.O.P.E. — to move their operations to the OPCC Access Center, where case managers are on hand to work with the homeless. H.O.P.E. offers roughly 150 meals twice a week, while Hand to Hand serves roughly 100 meals once a week.
“What this report doesn’t talk about is all of the efforts that the city of Santa Monica has made to move people from the streets and into housing, in particular our recent efforts over the last two and half years to work on the people who have been on the streets the longest and who are the most vulnerable in terms of their health and their safety,” said Stacy Rowe, a human services administrator for City Hall.
It is still legal for people to go up to a homeless person and hand them a meal or treat them to something to eat, Rowe said, adding that groups are still free to hand out meals in public parks without a permit as long as they serve less than 150 people.
“This is about protecting people’s health,” she said.“Nobody wants someone to get sick (from spoiled or undercooked food).”
The laws were also enacted to ensure access to open space, Rowe said.
“This report is not looking at the big picture,” Rowe said. “Santa Monica has a long and positive tradition for assisting homeless people in the city and to look at this isolated piece and say that makes us intolerant is really not fair.”
The report called on cities to not punish or restrict public feedings, but instead work with religious institutions, non profits and individuals to improve and coordinate food programs, something which City Hall has done, according to Rowe.
The report also recommends creating a year-round, free lunch program for children and advocates for improved access to food stamps and other food resources for the homeless.
John Maceri, executive director of homeless services provider OPCC (Ocean Park Community Center), said the report makes suggestions that are already being done by City Hall.
“As far as the legality of the laws, I can’t speak to that,” Maceri said. “I can say that Santa Monica has, for a long time, struggled to do the right thing. The issue of homelessness and a lack of housing is tough and not unique to Santa Monica. It’s a national problem, a complex problem and I think the city has stepped up significantly and are doing their fair share, and it probably can be argued that they are doing more than their fair share, so it’s always a surprise to me when people characterize it as being a mean place.
“I don’t see Santa Monica as a mean place.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 17, 2007. Read the original PDF.