The Homeless in Tulare and their Allies Organize for Change

The Union of Hope in Tulare filled the City Council chambers with an overflow crowd. There was standing room only. This was the statement they delivered to the mayor and council members:

April 21, 2015

Dear Honorable Mayor, David Macedo and City Council Members

We thank you for this opportunity to address this issue that we want to bring to your attention. The issue is the poor treatment of houseless people here and the lack of a long term solution to the problem in this beautiful city. According to the Homeless Central California Area Social Services Consortium 2015 there are 595 houseless persons in our County, and in our city of Tulare there are 100. We find it deplorable that three houseless persons have died already this year, and Raul Galegos encountered a houseless mother with her 8-month-old child who were both as cold as ice. The houseless have reported being assaulted, having bones broken, and their belongings taken. These people are residents of Tulare and as such deserve to have access to shelter and provisions in their time of need. They deserve to be protected and not assaulted. They are human beings and they need to have access to emergency shelter in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. It is time to stop kicking this particular can down the road. The houseless need solutions, not a cold shoulder.

Since the problem needs a long-term solution there will need to be a two tiered approach to it, dealing with the short-term needs and issues until the long-term solution can be put into place. We need to be more creative about how to get them into homes of their own for the long run. And we need to ensure that the current efforts in their behalf are of a nature that the houseless are helped toward a better life with what we do to help. We want them to be productive in our community, not a nuisance. This is what we think needs to be done on the short term issues: current, available facilities need to be reviewed from their budgets and expenditures, to the services they provide, so that we know we are meeting the reasonable needs of this population. Many of the houseless are willing to work, we can create jobs for them to do and earn self-respect.

As per your request we have put together a proposal to address specific concerns in our city. The houseless people of this city have united to improve their living conditions. They have founded an organization called the Tulare Union of Hope. They have partnered with the ACLU and held a series of stakeholder meetings and needs assessment. As a result of this needs assessment the houseless have identified several needs; to be treated fairly, to have a safe place to exist free from harassment, to have access to restrooms and showers, and to have lockers to keep their belongings free of seizure. These houseless people have united to develop this needs assessment, meet with key members of the community, and solicit signatures.

They have found that 9 out of 10 Tulare citizens agree that there is a problem in Tulare that needs to be addressed and have collected over 1000 signatures of support. These signatures of support highlight the thoughts and feelings of your local constituents and residents. They show that a vast majority of citizens are in favor of assisting the houseless and there are many ways you can help. There are two things you can do now that will cost the city nothing. You can adopt a resolution to support the rights of the houseless in Tulare, Ca. You could also change existing ordinances to allow houseless to pitch tents between the hours of 9pm – 6am.

So we, the citizens of Tulare, urge you to take action, do something. Do not ignore this issue, do not let it grow. Fresno has been sued and has been forced to compensate the homeless 2.5 million dollars. Don’t let that happen in Tulare. Be proactive. Whether it is passing ordinances, funding lockers, increasing police training, or funding non-profits, we, as residents, urge you to do something.