Nov. 4, 2007 Update
From The Refuge
Dear Friends and Supporters,
I hope all is well with everyone and Happy Thanksgiving to
everyone. As we approach this season, we are facing many, many needs.
We are about to embark on a major action and outreach to the homeless.
Additionally, we are facing many families that need assistance this
season. We are looking to help at least 75 to 100 families. Also, we
continue to see individuals on the street seeking housing or seeking to
get into our addictions recovery program, but we are continuing to turn
people away that we cannot help.
Our Youth Outreach and
advocacy continues to see some success. We recently testified at Blue
Print Commission with the State regarding the Department of Juvenile
Justice. We were successful in bringing forth ideas to reform and
confront the system. Additionally, we will be begining an outreach to
street youth that hang out down by the Park in St. Pete.
Our
intentional communities are doing very well. We now have 2 of them.
And, our music outreaches continue to grow. We are very excited about
participating in 2 major events in the spring. One is a conference with
Shane Clairborne, author of Irresistable Revolution. The other is a
Rally with Brian Mclaren, author of The Secret Message of Jesus and
Everything Must Change.
In closing, please consider helping
the Refuge in anyway that you can. We are in desperate need to continue
our regular outreaches and expand during this season. We are currently
short of funds this month and need additionally funds to buy supplies
for outreaches to the homeless. We are trying to raise about $5000 this
month for this. If you can help in anyway, it would be appreciated.
Please send checks to the Refuge at 1818 29th AVe. North, St.
Petersburg, Florida 33713. If you have any questions, please call me at
727 278 1547. Thank you.
Sincerely, Rev. BRuce Wright MA, DMIN., CPAC, MAC
Oct. 3, 2007 Update
From The Refuge
ATTENTION ALL PRESS, MEDIA, and CONCERNED INDIVIDUALS:
To everyone concerned about the situation of homelessness in the bay
area, Pinellas County and particularly St. Petersburg, Florida.
A recent proposal by Catholic Charities, supported by the city of St.
Petersburg, and the Pinellas County raises grave concerns about the
motivations of said parties. Recently proposed ideas of creating a
bureaucratically run "tent city" that would include little to no say
from members of the homeless community in both how it would be set up
and governed, putting it near a cemetary in unincorporated county
(earlier ideas included putting it next to the Pinellas County Jail),
requiring background checks on everyone coming in (criminalizing them),
removing them from visual sight of the downtown St. Petersburg area,
setting up those without homes to enforcement by the St. Petersburg
City Ordinance regarding "sleeping outside", seem ill conceived. It
seems to me that this is not about helping those without homes, but
attempting to get them out of St. Petersburg for Tourist Season. This
is,evidenced by the fact that other solutions were brought months ago
at the Summit in St. Petersburg, but were rejected by the powers that
be, the timing of this "temporary" solution (Dec. 1st of 2007 till
March of 2008, and the rushing of this proposal through the Homeless
Coalition, the City of ST. Petersburg, The Homeless Leadership Network,
and the County Commissioners. There are all kinds of red flags about
this proposal. In the coming days and weeks, members of the Homeless
Community, Advocates, and supporters will be calling for a press
conference about this, as well as unveiling an alternative solution,
and looking actions that may become necessary to respond to this ill
timed idea. Also, below this statement, please look at an additional
response to this proposed "tent city": PLEASE CONTACT ME AT 727 278
1547 or email me at bgcwright@aol.com for details about response and press conference
"Homelessness" describes a situation; it is not a description of a
common set of characteristics. There are different types of homeless
people, each with distinct needs.
Data is from the 2006 PIT Survey on the self-reported reasons given for
homelessness. The three graphs below show the relative importance of a
variety of specific factors for three different categories of homeless
people.
The three illustrations below are relatively "pure" types. In addition
there are two other relatively homogeneous groups, one with mental
health issues and another group of individuals who have run away from
an abusive or problematic situation. These five relatively "pure" types
account for less than half of the homeless people surveyed. The
majority of the homeless people who were surveyed had multiple needs,
and do not fit into single "pure" category. Theses additional groups
are composed of individuals who have some combination of one or more of
the five categories. Substance abuse is often combined with one more or
more of the other categories.
One shoe does not fit all. There is not a solution for homelessness
that fits all. There are a variety of individuals with very different
issues that require different types of responses.
ED RENNER CAN BE CONTACTED AT ERENNER@KERENNER.com
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MORE ON TENT CITY:
RELATED:
- Civil Rights Groups File Suit Against City of Fresno to Stop Raids Against Homeless People (read)
- Umoja Village (Liberty City, Miami) You Tube video
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June 12 Update:
Hello
everyone, it's Rev. BRuce Wright with the Refuge. Just to give you an
update on things. So far we have raised about half of funds we need to
raise to recoup funds for temporary homeless shelter that Refuge helped
run at Lakewood UCC. So, we still need to raise about another $1200. In
addition, we have raised about $2100 for Cornerstone trip to Ill. We
have trimmed some costs and still need to raise about $950. If you can
help in any way, please call me at 727 278 1547, 727 623 8685 or send
checks to the Refuge at 1818 29th Ave. North, ST. Petersburg, Florida
33713. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Also, we are still in
need of 2 fairly recent laptop computers and we are in desperate need
of another van, as our is about to bite the dust.
Lastly, and very importantly, the city of St. Petersburg, in a time of
budget cuts, is considering passing another anti-homeless/anti-free
speech ordinance. They are looking at expanding existing ordinance that
makes aggressive panhandling illegal in certain areas downtown to not
allow "panhandling" (which could include any group, political or
otherwise from public street corner protest, political campaigning,
etc.). THIS COULD HAVE AÂ CHILLING EFFECT ONÂ FREE SPEECH
AND THE RIGHT OF ANYONE TO ASK IN A NON AGGRESSIVE MANNER FOR
ASSISTANCE, DIRECTIONS, ETC. PLEASE ATTEND THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING AT
ST. PETE. CITY HALL THIS THURSDAY, JUNE 14TH FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS ON
THIS MATTER OR CALL CITY HALL AT 727 893 7171. WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY WILL
DO NEXT!!
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June 4 Update:
Dear Friends and supporters of the Refuge.
Hello, Pastor Bruce Wright of the Refuge. I am witting to give you an
update on the situation with the Refuge and the people we serve,
including the former tent city homeless residents at Lakewood United
Church of Christ. Over the course, of nearly 3 months at Lakewood, we
have seen over 45 people come to our site. About 34 of them have been
placed or moved out on their own. Unfortunately, a few were asked to
leave and about 4 or 5 were unable to place, with 2 of that 5 pending
placement. During the course of that time. Refuge Ministries has
incurred about $8500 in costs, including paying security about $1200
per month, van repair and gas, food, organizational expenses, cell
phones for residents and volunteer, and other incidental expenses,
including some costs in moving people into places. To date we have
received only $2700 in funds to help, which leaves about $4800, of
which about $2400 Refuge has been able to absorb. This leaves about
$2400 that we need help with. If you can help please let us know. We
continue to work with the homeless on the street through food distro
and partnerships with Food Not Bombs and American Baptist Church of the
Beatitudes. Also, we continue help addicts, alcoholics and the homeless
through our transitional recovery program Lionheart Recovery and Ortiz
Court. There is also a number of former tent city residents that have
come together with us and other groups to re-form For the Homeless, By
the Homeless, which along with the Refuge is connected to the Poor
Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign (www.ppehrc.org). I am also
writing everyone to ask that they would consider helping Refuge
Ministries with another project as well. We are attempting to raise
$3500 to bring a group of about 28 low income individuals, recovering
addicts, street youth and a couple of poor families to event that we go
to every year in western Illinois called Cornerstone Festival. This is
a very people centered Music, Arts, Recreational, and Seminar oriented
festival. We have been given several free tickets, but need to raise
the money for everything else including food, van rental, gas, etc. We
have gone to this fest every year and seen people we serve been very
blessed and helped by it. It has many seminars geared for the people we
serve and empowering them, as well as several peace and justice
oriented seminars. If you can help in anyway or want to ask questions,
please call me at 727 278 1547 or email me at bgcwright@aol.com.
If you wish to help, checks can be made to the Refuge and sent to 1818
29th Ave. North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33713. Your help would be
appreciated and would bless many. Any amount would help. Thank you,
sincerely, Pastor Bruce. PS. If anyone out there has any fairly
recent lap tops, wants to donate a van, or has any PA equipment that
you can donate, please contact me. thanks
May 9 Update:
Hello
everyone. By now many have received the statement received by the "Tent
City 3". I now what to update you on our current situation with the
temporary site run by the homeless community and advocates at Lakewood
United Church of Christ. We are, as of this writing, down to one week
left at Lakewood. As of yet, we have not had any Church or Faith based
group come forward to offer their site as a sanctuary to move to. We
have, in fact, been told by 7 different Churches that they are unable
to help at this time. So, we are faced with having no where to go at
this time. We are looking for Churches that would be willing to
house people in their facility (fellowship hall or whatever). We would
be willing to provide the support services to the Church that was
willing to do this. What we are doing with the people currently at this
site is attempting to get as many of them placed as possible. We are
looking for landlords that would be willing to work with us or
apartment or houses with extra rooms. Please contact us and let us
know. We currently have 24 people at the Lakewood site. Please contact
us at Rev. Bruce Wright 727 278 1547 or Eric Rubin at 737 560 9716. We
are still in need of financial help of any kind to keep this effort
going. And, we still need 2 fairly new laptops, food and hygiene
support and bus passes. All Financial gifts can be made out to the
Refuge, earmarked for tent city shelter and sent to the Refuge 1818
29th Ave. North, ST. Petersburg, Florida 33713. Thank you, Bruce
May 7: Statement from the 'People's Tent City Three'
We
went to jail to protest the hypocrisy of the City of St. Petersburg in
its closing of their tent city while hundreds remain homeless and are
in need of immediate shelter. Within the last three weeks in St.
Petersburg, another homeless person was murdered and another six
homeless people have been seriously beaten. The City has
responded by closing down their tent city!
Video: A trip to jail to make a point - Fox 13 (click here)
The City of St. Petersburg has 30+ days remaining on their lease of
their New Hope Village Tent City. There are currently hundreds of
homeless who need safety and shelter, and there is a space leased and
sanctioned by the City to provide this – we consider this a
no-brainer. We are simply requesting that the City turn the
vacant lot over to those who have shown that they can run a facility
with love and kindness and efficiency – US – the homeless
and our advocates. We encourage all to review our proposal Moving
from the Tent City Model to Flow-Thru Temporary Housing From Tents to
structures: A Proposal for a Permanent Short-Term Housing Facility for
the Homeless of St. Petersburg.
We felt morally obligated to non-violently and lovingly take over the
lot of the now vacated City run tent city and open it to all who need
safety and shelter. This is NOT an act of defiance – this
is a Life or Death issue.
We are asking every house
of worship, union, and organization to have at least TEN members
call Mayor Baker and the City Council within the next
THREE days and ask them to turn over the remaining part of the
lease to the homeless and their advocates.
Mayor's Office, phone 727-893-7201, FAX: 727-892-5365.
City Council (727) 893-7117.
If you are interested in helping, contact us at (727) 560-9716 or (727) 278 1547 or email us
In peace,
The Peoples’ Tent City Three:
Debra Snively
Steve Welsh
Eric Rubin
Articles about this:
· 3 arrested trying to reclaim tent city - St. Pete Times May 3 (click here)
· Pinellas tent city now ghost town - St. Pete Times (click here)
· Tent city closed to new people – St Pete Times April 19 (click here)
May 2: 'People's Tent City' statement
In
the last three weeks in St. Petersburg, another homeless person was
murdered and another six have been seriously beaten. The city has
responded by closing down their sham tent city.
We,
the homeless are veterans, working people, mothers, fathers, sons and
daughters - we could be you or your parents or children. We have
come together in tent cities for protection. The city government
is initiating Draconian ordinances that criminalize the homeless, are
refusing to allow the Lakewood UCC church to erect 30 tents, and are
now closing their sham New Hope Tent City.
There
have been over 40 of us participating in the Lakewood UCC Tent
City. We run our facility, cook our own meals, handle our own
transportation to and from work, and make our own decisions. We
unite with our brothers and sisters on the streets, living in cars, and
hiding from attack as they sleep, often trying to get a few hours of
sleep before returning to minimum wage jobs. We are demanding that the
city turn their tent city over to those who have shown that they can
run a facility with love and kindness and efficiency - US - the
homeless and our advocates.
For
the Homeless by the Homeless - Contact Bruce Wright at 727-278-1547 or
Eric Rubin at 727-560-9716 for more info. (Meal provided by the
homeless after the rally for ALL attending).
Tent City update, Apr. 10
Hello,
Friends and Supporters, and the curious. I am witting to you this time
about helping with our temporary shelter at Lakewood United Church of
Christ in St. Petersburg. Currently, we have about 30 homeless
individuals residing at this shelter. We are currently funding this
venture through generous donations from people and organizations like
yourself. To run this properly we need about $1300 per week. This would
include vehicle maintenance and gas (our minivan is old and needs some
work), food (when we can't get it donated), supplies, 2 security
guards, and support staff (case management), as well as miscellaneous
items. We are running short about $600 per week. We are also in need of
food (canned meat or frozen meat), blankets and sleeping bags, hygiene
items, and work clothes/shoes. If you can help in anyway, please send
donations(checks or money orders) to the Refuge, 1818 29th Ave. North,
ST. Petersburg, Florida 33713. Please note in memo that it is for
shelter at Lakewood UCC. If you have any questions, please call me at
727 278 1547 or email me at bgcwright@aol.com. One additional note, we could also use a lap top computer or 2, and a new or used minivan. Thanks, Bruce
Tent City update, Mar. 28
Hello
everyone, it's Rev. Bruce Wright with the Refuge. I am sure everyone is
wondering by now about what is going on with the Refuge, Tent City, and
the City run Tent City. As many know by know the city has passed an
ordinance that essentially criminalizes the homeless for sleeping on
the street. So far, the Police are only informing the homeless
community about the ordinance via flyer. Attorneys for the ACLU, the
Southern Legal Center, The National Law Center on Poverty and
Homelessness, as well as local attorneys and advocates who are looking
for ways to challenge this. Additionally, the Refuge and other
advocates have set up a temporary shelter for about 23 people at
Lakewood United Church of Christ. The city thus far has refused to
grant a permit for the tents and we are looking at ways to challenge it
on a separation of Church and State status. The city's reason for not
granting a permit is very weak (stating that it is a threat to
neighborhood). This community is run with say so by the homeless
residents, advocates and other parties. By contrast, the city run one
has no input from the homeless, is not a flow through (in other words,
every time a homeless person is placed somewhere, a tent is taken down,
rather than bringing another homeless person in), requires their
picture taken, along with wrist band worn, and has a 24 hour Police
presence. Additionally, 75 to 90 homeless citizens are staying
temporarily at NW Presbyterian Church every night, but their time will
be up as of this Saturday and they will be back on the street with the
threat of arrest. Also, baseball season is opening, as is the Grand
Prix, and it is expected that the city will be attempting to "sweep the
homeless" off the street. So, we are faced with many battles. But, we
are planning on several responses, including legal actions, "sleepouts"
with the Homeless, protests and other items. We are encouraging every
citizen to put a tent in their front yard and show solidarity.
Additionally, we encourage everyone to urge to the city a moratorium on
enforcement of new ordinance until more shelter beds are created.
Tent City update, Mar. 12
Lakewood United Church of Christ will be providing hospitality and land for 20-30 tents for the homeless (Read St. Pete Times article, March 12, "Church offers space for 60 homeless to camp")
Hello everyone, I want to thank everyone for all the thoughts,
prayers, and support. Our benefit shows did not do as well as we would
have hoped. THe State Theater show almost broke even, the benefit at
Skipper's did better and we came out about $450 ahead for the Refuge.
But, things do remain difficult financially. We, along with other
advocates, have arranged for an alternate tent city site at a Church
(Lakewood United Church of Christ) for about 30 tents with up to a 60
day arrangement. This was necessary as there are far more homeless than
the 75 tents to be put at a site the city of St. Petesburg is going to
manage. Also, it was felt by leaders in the homeless community at the
tent cities at 15th st. and 18th st. that since the city did not seem
willing to put in writting that the homeless representatives and
advocates could not have equal say, even though it was quaranteed
verbally by the city, that other alternatives must be explored,
especially since there are far more than 75 tents worth of individuals
at both sites, not to mention homeless still on streets and at another
Church. Plus, a number of the those that have been placed in apartments
or hotels for a month can't afford to stay there next month. So,
options must be sought.
So, this is being written to you to seek you help. We are asking that
you would consider helping support this effort, as well as, helping out
the Refuge. We are struggling every month to make ends meet. Alot of
you may not be aware, but the Refuge has a 96 bed addictions Recovery
program called Lionheart Recovery. And, this program is self pay, so we
struggle every month to make ends meet with that, as well as all the
other outreaches we do ,including tent city. So,
we are asking you to consider helping us in one of more the following
ways: Financial support (we are way behind this month), donated items
(hygiene product for the homeless, tents, paying to portalets,
blankets, water, food(for new site), snacks, flashlight/lanterns),
portalets, portable showers, and volunteers.
Lastly, we all know that tent cities are not the ultimate solution to
homelessness in St. Pete. or anywhere, they are but a step. What is
need is housing first, affordable housing and living wages. So, if you
can help please send financial support to the Refuge at our new office
mailing address at Norwood Community Church at 1818 29th Ave. north,
ST. Petersburg, Florida 33713. Make Checks payable to the Refuge. If
you have any questions, please call me at 727 278 1547. Thank you and
God Bless you and keep you and give you peace, Rev. Bruce Wright
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Tent City Press Conference
MARCH 9, 2007
FROM THE PEOPLE AND ADVOCATES OF THE TWO TENT CITIES |
 Fox13
"Homeless refusing to move"
Read story & watch video |
THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG SHOULD:
· GIVE THE HOMELESS AN EQUAL SAY IN ALL DECISIONS RELATED TO TENT CITY
· NOT SEND TENT CITY RESIDENTS TO MID-COUNTY SHELTERS
· NOT ARREST PEOPLE FOR SLEEPING OUTSIDE
· HONOR, IN WRITING, ITS AGREEMENT |
Statement from tent city residents, March 9, 2007:
It has become clear that the leaders of St. Petersburg are trying to
run the homeless out of the city. In addition to the tent
slashings, there has been an increase in the number of tent city
residents being arrested, and the city is not giving us an equal voice
in the decision making process.
The city has made it known that they believe homeless people are bad
for St. Petersburg’s business community. As human beings, we feel
that putting profit ahead of the basic rights of people is wrong.
Tent cities take homeless people off the streets and put us in an
environment that allows us to find permanent employment and a permanent
place to live. It gives us a chance to live and work toward our
goals with dignity. But instead of working with us to achieve a
win-win situation, the city appears to be teaming up with others to
strong-arm us and intimidate us into accepting a proposal that does not
include our hopes, desires and dreams. The city’s current
proposal is not a compassionate solution to helping the homeless of St.
Petersburg – instead, it is only a way to move the homeless out
of sight so the city does not have to deal honestly with the people of
the two tent cities. If the city continues to "help" in this way, we'd
be better off if they just left us alone.
Press Release Thursday, March 08, 2007
For immediate Release
Tent Cites Residents Demand that the City Honor in Writing its Agreement with the Tent City Residents
The residents of both tents cities (18th St. and 15th St) have been
negotiating in good faith with the city of St. Petersburg to find a
resolution that would provide a safe place for the homeless at both
tent cities and meet the desires of both business owners and local
residents. We were promised the following by the city:
1. That the homeless would have equal say concerning all decisions of tent city.
2. That the new tent city would be a flow thru
tent city- as those who left earned enough for an apartment- someone
else can become a resident in that tent
3. That the PSTA mid-county shelter would be used
ONLY for mid-county residents and NOT for residents of St. Petersburg
4. That the Proposal “Moving from the Tent City
to Flow-Thru Temporary Housing -A Proposal for a Short-term Housing
Facility for the Homeless of St. Petersburg, FL be addressed as part of
the tent city issue.
In addition we are concerned that NO punitive ordinances concerning
sleeping or camping on city property be enacted until there be adequate
LOCAL shelter for ALL homeless first as requested in the decision of
both the Pinellas county Homeless Coalition and the St. Petersburg
Homeless Taskforce.
If these agreements that were discussed and agreed upon by the city are
NOT put into writing, then the residents of both tent cities have no
choice than to refuse to participate in the City Sponsored Tent City on
St. Vincent De Paul’s property:
Following is the proposal that was submitted to the City over a week ago:
Administration:
The Tent City Facility located on the property owned
by St. Vincent De Paul and leased to the City of St. Petersburg, FL
will be a joint venture administered by Catholic Charities, the Refuge
Ministries, the homeless representatives, and FLASH Ministries to be
referred to as (Administrators).
The abovementioned Administrators will be
responsible for the day-to-day coordination of the facility, for all of
the intake procedures, coordination of service programs, and data
collection, and for all decision-making processes concerning both the
day-to-day operation of the facility and overall policy and
administrative decisions. All decisions by Administrators will be
made by consensus unless otherwise noted.
The City of St. Petersburg and all of its
representatives will honor all decision by the Administrators unless
such decisions are in contradiction to either current legal and health
regulations.
_________________________ _______________________
The Refuge Ministries
Catholic
Charities
________________________ ________________________
Flash Ministries
Tent City Representative
Approved by the City of St. Petersburg
_________________________ _________
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Tent City update, Feb. 13
Press Release
Equal Benefits for all - We the members of tent city refuse special privileges.
The Feb. 9th St. Petersburg Times article titled Complex may house
homeless states that there is a proposal to close the tent cities and
move all of us to the Graham-Rogall Housing project. We thank
Councilman Bennet for his concern, and respect him for all of he work
that he has done over the years to help the plight of the
homeless. However, we believe that this idea is wrong, and
although we recognize that it probably comes from a very humane place,
it in fact represents the policy of many of the city's leaders to see
tent city as a crisis. We state that the tent cities are not the
crisis- but the solution.
Here is why we are opposed to this plan:
* To give priority to those of us in tent city is
wrong! We are NOT special. According to the article,
Housing Authority must first change its procedures to move homeless
people to the front of its waiting lists, officials said. Nearly
1,500 people are waiting for federal subsidized housing in the
city.
Many
of the 1500 citizens have been waiting for years for affordable
housing. In Friday's tent city meeting there was consensus that
it would be disrespectful and wrong to cut in front of a line at a
grocery store, why would we even think of doing it to someone who needs
a place to live!
* The 90-day vouchers that they are promising are a sham!
Catholic Charities who is handing out $150,000 given by the City has
made it clear that the money is to get rid of the tent city in front of
the Sophie Sampson Center . In fact, the CEO of Catholic
Charities has posted a sign at the 18th St. Tent City that notifies
only 16 of the over 80 people there that they MIGHT be eligible.
The criteria to receive housing assistance is solely at the discretion
of Catholic Charities- this is wrong.
* Individual privacy is necessary for good mental
health! There is a thought amongst many that the best thing for
us is to get us out of the tents and onto mats in shelters. You
are wrong! Next time that you close your front door to your
house, or close the door to your room, think how important that privacy
is to you. We are no different.
* Tent City provides us a place to live safely while we
work and save our money for a decent apartment. Working full time
at minimum wage, one will make $6.67 or 266.80 a week. After
taxes, this comes to about $790 a month! For many of us it will
take 6-12 weeks to make enough for first/last/security on an apartment,
another $200-$400 for water and electric deposit, and then we need some
furniture. There are over 3,000 homeless people in St.
Pete. When we make enough for a decent apartment, we leave our
tent and our community to others who needed the same help that we
did. Tent City offers a model to allow working homeless to
maintain dignity and privacy as we work towards saving enough for our
own apartment.
Here are our suggestions for a solution:
* Have the politicians and social service agencies spend time at tent
city and learn from us. Let them hear our successes - that tent
city is a model. Tent City offers the love and support needed in
any community. We have been able to place a number of our
community into drug and alcohol treatment centers. Instead of
being arrested, they were able to ask the community for help and
support. We look forward to their success!
* Have the city provide three to five acres for a
permanent tent city. There is property that is close to social
services, food pantries, health care, and job banks that are NOT in
residential or business areas. We do NOT want to cause problems
in peoples neighborhoods nor negatively affect small businesss
customers; we simply want a safe place to live while we work to make
enough money to rent an apartment. There is such property and we
have located it IN St. Petersburg .
* Recognize that we the homeless know what is best
for us! We are homeless not stupid. We are homeless for
many reasons, most of them economic. Most of the citizens of St.
Petersburg are only two paychecks away from being homeless. If
that happened to you- would that make you stupid or lazy? We
should not only have full access at all meetings concerning the
homeless both at City and County level, but we should have equal
participation and VOTING rights at these meetings where decisions about
our lives are being discussed and implemented.
* We request that the City Council, Mayor, and
County Commissioners begin to seriously address the necessity for a
living wage for all working people, and affordable housing for all.
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February 7, 2007 update from Rev. Bruce Wright
The recent arrests of suspects in relation to the murders of 2
homeless men has been touted as something that should cause relief to
the homeless community. However, while these arrests may result in the
conviction of alleged suspects, they do little to stop the spread of
violence against the homeless. Just in the last few weeks, including
reports given today, 4 homeless individuals have been victim of
muggings and beatings. In 2 of these cases, they came to stay at Tent
city for safety. They were asked if they wanted to report it, but
declined because they do not trust that the Police will do anything,
especially in lieu of the recent slashing of the tents by the Police
ordered by the Mayor and the Chief. What the homeless want, as
expressed to city officials, the Homeless Leadership Network, the
Homeless Coalition is a SAFE ZONE to sleep immediately, public
bathrooms open 24/7, Rent Vouchers for a least 3 months( with
guarantees of safe and sanitary places to use them at), a moratorium on
all arrests related to ordinance violations, just compensation for the
attacks on the tent city by Police, and direct say so in their own
futures. This is not unreasonable, if given a site, the homeless will
go to it. They have shown, with the support of advocates and providers,
that they can govern themselves. If you have any questions,
please call me at 727 278 1547.
Next week, Monday or Tuesday, Michael Stoops with the
National Coalition for the Homeless, will be unveiling the National
Report on Hate Crimes against the Homeless, which will include St.
Petersburg. Florida is number 2 in the Nation in Hate Crimes against
the homeless. This report will be unveiled here in St. Petersburg.
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February 2, 2007 update from Rev. Bruce Wright
Hello everyone, I am sending a brief update:
Refuge Ministries now has a paypal site at stpeteforpeace.org
for funds to be raised for tent city. Also, we are going to having a
benefit show at the State Theater towards the end of February and one
at Skipper's Smokehouse on Sunday, March 11th. Bands will be announced.
Refuge is definitely in need of support at this time, so please help in
any way you can. Our mailing address at this time, though we will be
moving soon, is The Refuge 33 4th St. north, Suite 203, St. Petersburg,
Florida 33701. Call 727 278 1547 for more info.
Tent City Update: At the Homeless Leadership Network Meeting today,
Mayor Baker brought forward his "plan" to solve the "tent city" crisis,
with no mention of homeless individuals input, no guarantee of places
that will take the voucher. We brought forward several things: We
called for no more arrests of the Homeless for ordinance violations (in
keeping with the Public Defenders statements to the press), open public
bathrooms or provide portalets immediately, create a "safe zone" for
homeless to sleep, unharassed in tents or some other structure, give
just compensation to property lost or destroyed, as well as emotional
damage, to both organizations and individuals. And, that housing
vouchers given will be for places that will use and that said places
will treat the voucher users justly.
Also, there is going to be a protest against the advocates and the
residents of tent city tommorrow from 1 - 4pm. We have chosen to not
respond or counter demonstrate, but to go about our business and
respond peacefully. Anyone who wish
Press Release January 26, 2007
New Tent City Formed
We are mostly the original members of tent city. Some of us are
still currently homeless and some of us have been able to find
temporary housing by combining the one-month voucher and the money that
we had been saving. We stand together to do this press release as
we all recognize that whether homeless or temporarily housed, that most
of America are only two paychecks or a catastrophic illness away from
being homeless themselves.
In less than a month, we have moved from in front of St. Vincent's to
the tent city on 4th Ave N, back to in front of St. Vincent's, and now
to this new location. We would prefer to live in a warm clean
apartment with a bathroom and kitchen. Many of us have lived in
beautiful homes with wonderful families. We are living in tents
not because we want to but because there is no available low cost
housing, and tents, clustered together provide us with both some safety
from the weather and more importantly safety from those who would want
to harm us because of their prejudices and ignorance. Many of us
have been offered mats to sleep on the floor of the cafeteria of St.
Vincent's as an alternative to living in the tents. Given the
choice between sleeping 20-30 in a room on mats on a floor where we
have to leave by 5.30 AM taking all of our possessions with us, or
living in a tent in a community where our possessions can be left in
the safety of our tent while we work, is an easy choice.
We are not trying to make a political statement or to embarrass
anyone. It was never our intent to make our plight political, but
tent city has become political because our existence reflects the
inadequacy of this city to provide low cost housing. We are just
the most vivid examples of the city's failure to address the issues of
inadequate low cost housing combined with low paying jobs.
We are moving from the site in front of the St. Vincent's for TWO
reasons. First: We came together after of the tent city on
4th Ave north was forced to shut down when St. Vincent De Paul refused
to fight a City zoning ordinance that was ridiculous if not
illegal. The 60% of the residents in tent city that work daily
had even offered to pay the fines from our paychecks if St. Vincent's
would fight for our constitutional rights. Instead, they conceded
and we were forced to move. We did; back in font of St. Vincent's.
Problems have plagued us since. First, the City decided to cut
down our tents. This is AFTER a promise that if we consolidated
the two tent cities to one IN FRONT of St. Vincent's that they would
allow us time to negotiate with them over the fire marshals'
concerns. WE complied and they lied! The police destroyed
the only safety we had. We rebuilt, and as the destruction of our
tents by the police made national news, hundreds of people came forward
with love, support, and more tents; and we thank each one.
However, the media attention also brought a few who saw this as a way
to exploit our situation; and this is the reason that we are setting up
another tent city.
Holy Ground, a religious homeless shelter from Hudson arrived last
Friday with 6-8 tents, a porta poty, and fire extinguishers, and we
thank them. They also came with the intention to "save" us at any
cost. Many of us have been threatened by them if we disagree with
these so called "advocates" from another county. We have been
intimidated, trespassed illegally, and in some cases physically
threatened. Tents, blankets and food that were donated by many
wonderful people have been taken by them and used to make us comply
with their desires. Holy Ground has even worked out a
relationship with St. Vincent's where Holy Ground now serves many of
the meals outside through Holy Ground. Many of us have been
denied food, blankets, and tents donated by others if we disagree with
their heavy-handed behavior.
We have always been a self-governing community. We have our own
contracts that we wrote for the residents of the original tent
city. In the 4th Ave main tent city, we have had our own security
that worked together with the City of St. Petersburg police force, and
most importantly, we had a community that worked on consensus and
respect. The residents of tent city made the decisions and took
the responsibility, and the advocates who chose to help, worked WITH us
to create a model community respected and listened to our wishes.
Holy Ground has made a pact with the St. Vincent's to intimidate us and
the advocates that we have chosen. It is because of these
conditions that we have chosen to set up the new tent city at 18th St.
between Central Ave. and 1st Ave. N. Holy Ground and St.
Vincent's are using us as pawns and worse, and we will not accept that-
we are human beings. WE will not be used by Holy Ground as a
bottom line. According to their Director – Lisa, Pasco
County pays over $400 a month rent voucher for up to a year for each
resident of their shelter. Most of us are from St. Petersburg,
have family and friends here, and want to make our permanent home
here.
We have enough problems in our lives working 40-80 hours a week at day
labor trying to save enough for first, last and security for an
apartment. We fear for our lives as the murders of two of our
fellow ex-tent city residents still roam the city. We leave the
tent city in front of St. Vincent's not as a protest, but as an act of
survival and human dignity. We worry about our friends who may be
taken to Hudson by Holy Ground, and condemn St. Vincent's for their
collaboration with this group.
We ask the media to investigate the collaboration between St. Vincent's
and Holy Ground, and ask you to investigate Holy Ground's homeless
shelter in Pasco County that many of those in tent city may be taken
to. We are being told if we don't take a one-month voucher
that is essentially useless in St. Petersburg, that we either have to
go to Pasco County to the Holy Ground shelter or face a repetition of
our tents being destroyed and the possibility of us being jailed.
We ask you also to investigate whether St. Vincent's has abused their
responsibility to their Government funding by their current actions in
collaboration with Holy Ground. However, most importantly we ask
the media to please keep telling our story. You have shared our
stories with the people of St. Pete, and treated us with the dignity
that all human beings are due, and we thank you. And so we move
to this new tent city in the hopes of reestablishing our initial goal,
to create a safe and democratic community that will allow us to
continue to work and partake of the American Dream, and then allow
others to replace us as we move into apartments and homes. We had
a model that worked and we hope to reestablish it again on 18th
St. WE invite the press, all social service agencies and
any advocates who want to participate. We have only one criteria,
respect us as equals as we do you.
With love,
The residents and ex-residents of the 4th Ave. St. Tent City
COPS SLASH TENTS OF HOMELESS.
Updated Jan. 20, 2007
St. Petersburg police raided the two tent cities late Friday afternoon and destroyed all tents by slashing them. WATCH VIDEO.
Statement from Rev. Bruce Wright, Friday, January 19, 2007
Hello, I am sorry you haven't heard
from me in whilel. I have been very busy with other advocates trying to
fend off the Mayor's and others attempts to shut down the 2 new tent
cities on public land. Well things have come to a head and we need
everyone to participate now!! In the last 24 hours The Fire Marshall
and the Police department have taken down tent cities at both sites
(15th st./4th ave. North and 9th st. and 4th ave. North) under the
guise of saying they were "safety" hazards. Of course, no thought to
the safety hazard of the homeless being exposed and without protection.
Or, not much thought about murderers being on the loose that killed 2
homeless men (one of which was a tent city resident). But we put the
tents back up, as a protest. Both sites were, of course, on public
land. This morning, we (myself and Eric Rubin) were asked to meet with
law enforcement and the Fire Marshall to discuss a resolution to the
"problem". It was agreed at this meeting that the tent site on 9th
street would be taken down and moved to the other site and
consolidated. We brought this to the homeless, and they agreed with the
understanding the homeless community was going to work on complying
with Fire Marshall's concern and that now action would be taken without
notifying the advocates/supporters (Eric and myself), and we would
inform the homeless residents of tent city. Well, we were betrayed. In
a late afternoon secret meeting, that was leaked to us, the "higher
ups" ordered that the tents be taken down immediately. They then
proceeded to attack the tent city, without letting us know, even though
they promised to tell us. In matter of less than 5 minutes, the police
and fire officials in a cowardly move went with lightening speed and
slashed around 15 tents with razor blades, in half, in some cases, with
the homeless still in the tents. Before most of us could be there and
before the media could be there. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE AND A CRIME AGAINST
HUMANITY!! THIS IS A VIOLATION OF THE UN DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS!!
We
are calling upon all people of good conscience to protest this crime
that leaves the homeless vulnerable to the elements, lack of privacy,
with murderers of the homeless still at large, to join us in PROTEST!!
Please come to tent city with tents and a willingness to sleep out with
us at 15th St. north and 5th Ave. North at St. Vincent's. Call me at
727 278 1547 or Eric at 727 560 9716 for details tonight. We have conclusive footage (Fox News 13 coverage)
of the slashing of private property by the police in this ATTACK on the
poor and homeless. Please do not stand for these Gestapo tactics by the
police, as the Mayor's "Goon Squad"!! We will also be looking at
protest the Mayor directly at a site to be announced. Thank you, yours
in the struggle for Human Rights for all, Rev. Bruce
Wright PS. We are also pursuing legal action.
Friday, Jan. 19
City
officials are attempting to close down the two new tent cities.
People threatened with arrest if tents aren't removed. BAYNEWS 9 FRIDAY MORNING COVERAGE. Tents
were ordered removed by the city Thursday evening, but a group of
people are standing their ground at 15th St & 5th Ave N,
and 9th St & 5th Ave N.
Evicted Tent City Resident & Another Homeless Man Were Murdered in St. Pete on Wednesday
Two homeless men were murdered and one beaten in St. Petersburg early Wednesday morning (read).
At least one of the men was a former resident of Tent City and was
working full time. Had St. Pete mayor Rick Baker, Sophie Sampson
& St. Vincent de Paul not closed Tent City and evicted all
residents, the individual may not have been out on the street, and thus
may still be alive. As you'd expect, the homeless people in the
two new tent cities are outraged at Mayor Baker & Sophie Sampson,
and are very concerned for their own safety. Steps are currently
being taken to ensure the safety of the residents of the two new tent
cities, as well as the other homeless in the area.
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Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007
St. Petersburg -- TENT CITY CLOSED, BUT TWO MORE START UP
Watch Bay News 9 coverage
Tent City Tribute video on YouTube
Recap & photos from protest at mayor Baker's church
On
Saturday, January 13 the Tent City located at 4th Ave. North and 12th
Street was disbanded on the order of Sophie Sampson and St. Vincent de
Paul, and St. Petersburg mayor Rick Baker. The order, which went into
effect Friday at noon, was delayed until Saturday morning due to heavy
media and activist presence on the site.
When the eviction process actually began, the media were long gone, and
no one except a handful of advocates and residents were left to
document the event.
| NOTE: The St. Petersburg Times ran a couple positive articles (1, 2) about Tent City -- certainly your letters helped! |
Although the original Tent City was forced to shut down, it is
interesting to note that two more were created by departing residents
on the same day the eviction occurred – one is located in front
of St. Vincent DePaul and the other is located at 9th Street and 5th
Ave. North. Unable to find a place which would take the flurry of
useless rent vouchers passed out by Social Services, residents resorted
to smaller encampments on public sidewalks. And as the homeless
continue to struggle and the Mayor’s policies continue to fail,
we anticipate that more Tent Cities will arise as “communities
within communities” in an attempt to find the security and
stability that current social programs do not afford.
While Sophie Sampson and mayor Baker worked hand in hand to evict the
residents of Tent City and return them to the old, non-working model,
grassroots advocates will continue to partner with the homeless to
create new and innovative solutions that strike at the root of the
injustices that create homelessness, poverty and hunger. They remain
hopeful that, given the overwhelming support received from the
community, the Tent City model, and the ideas that this model provoked,
will not only not be forgotten (in a way that differs markedly from the
Mayor’s op-ed of the same name), but be propagated by all those
who are tired of expensive, ineffective and bureaucracy-laden social
programs that exacerbate an already dire situation.
Those new and successful models are only as limited as our imaginations
and our hearts. Please continue to monitor this website for updates. We
have only just begun to fight.
For more information on creative programs that offer long-term, viable
help to the homeless, please contact Rev. Bruce Wright at 727-278-1547.
Volunteers and donations are always welcome!
(Statement from Rev. Bruce Wright) Hello everyone, I want
to thank everyone for their support of Tent City. Unfortunately, we
were unable to keep it open. When it came right down to it, St. Vincent
De Paul did not want to fight the city on the citation. And while we
appreciate St. Vincent for the time we had there, they were not willing
to challenge the ordinance in court. It should be noted that at the
peek of Tent city, there were more than 150 residents. As many as 60
people went back to the street when the original news of the shut down
came. The remaining 90 or so, as of last week whittled down to 63 that
were on a list. Of the remaining 90 all were offered some kind of help,
but only 50 or 60 were offered some kind of housing. Of that number,
many were given one month rent voucher's that could only be used in
places that approve vouchers (which meant that only between 2 and
5 would take them.) A significant number of people could not
even qualify for vouchers and were offered mat spaces on the floor for
up to 30 days. It should be noted that more than 50% of the people
either had regular jobs or worked day labor. And, that even before the
Social Services came in, some had gotten jobs or were working day labor
and some had been placed in a recovery program. This Tent Community was
already a functioning community and working well on it's own, with
Michael Amedei of FLASH ministry and myself of Refuge Ministries
overseeing it, along with Gregory Lockett helping, until he took a
break. They had created their own rules and organization. And, I
believe that the powers that be were threatened by the fact that the
community could do for themselves. In the end, many have went back to
sleeping on the streets or sleeping across the street on public land
from St. Vincent's, which is where they were to begin with. It is
unfortunate that St. Vincent's did not want to fight this and in the
end trespassed even Michael, all the advocates and myself during the
last day. On their last night at tent city, the number that remained
(12) slept in their tents and many advocates and supporters slept on
the street outside in solidarity with them. This morning the remaining
amount moved out.
Now comes some of the hard work, we
are trying to raise funds for ministries involved and some of the
people on the street or in limited housing. The ministries needing help
are Refuge Ministries and FLASH. We received very little support
financially, St. Vincent's may have gotten some money and it probably
would be good for people to ask where it went, if St. Vincent's did
receive money.
We are in need of many things, please call me at 727 278 1547 for more info. Thanks, Bruce
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Photos from January 12, 2007
Read letter written by Tent City residents to the St. Pete Times, Weds. Jan 10
"Shelter, empathy for those in need" - St. Pete Times opinion, Mon. Jan 15
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Jan. 4, 2007, photo by Chris Ernesto
NOTE: Sophie
Sampson of St. Vincent de Paul (pictured at right) demanded that St.
Pete for Peace remove the statement that she was selling out the
homeless or else she would trespass activists involved in
keeping tent city open (she trespassed several activists earlier
in the week for taking photos at the tent city). Ultimately,
Sampson trespassed all activists from the property. ALSO:
the identities of police officers in this photo have been concealed out
of respect, since they have been reasonable during this situation.
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Wednesday, Jan. 10 update from Rev. Bruce Wright:
Okay, here is where everything stands at this time:
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