top
Santa Cruz IMC
Santa Cruz IMC
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

River St. Shelter Waiting List UpDate

by Robert Norse (rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com)
The City's camping ordinance MC 6.36 was amended in 2010 after successful protests by PeaceCamp 2010 to require dismissal of all MC 6.36 citations if one was on one of two Waiting Lists--the Paul Lee Loft or the River St. Shelter [or if the Winter Armory is full] Though both agencies refused to give those signed up evidence to show to the police that they were on these lists, the City Attorney's office did dismiss some if not all citations for those who were on the Waiting Lists. The River St. Shelter is the only "emergency shelter" currently operating in the City of Santa Cruz. Paul Lee Loft still closed except to those taken into the program with a "path to housing" as part of what appears to be an intentional decision to "disinvite" homeless people not in programs likely to get state or federal programming. This has resulted in a cut-off of laundry, shelter, socializing, bathroom, and meal services to the majority of homeless people in Santa Cruz. The one "service" remaining is dismissal of camping citations.
river_st._shelter_short_call__em_flier_revised.pdf_600_.jpg
On the plus side, River St. Shelter now allows folks to sign up for their Waiting List by telephone on a 24-hour answering machine (though the machine says their "office hours" are 2 PM to 8 AM, so it may be best to call during those times). You give to the machine your name and ask to be placed on the Waiting List. You can also ask for a call-back for confirmation.

Freedom Sleepers tested the process on Friday and found they got a callback when they called to get an unhoused person on the list. It's not clear when they actually pick up the phones there. I say it's "24-hours" because we actually called them outside their peculiar 2 PM to 8 AM hours (around noon) and got a call-back confirmation for the person we put on the list.

I was also told that at an earlier point that you must call back every three days to keep your name on the list.

On the negative side, it's hard to physically access the River St. Shelter with the new prison-like gate, guards, and ID cards. The management there advised us by phone last week that they still won't write letters documenting that their shelter is full on any particular night, even if it is. This does not serve the many--which includes those who just got into town, who doesn't want to take up space which more disabled or vulnerable folks might need, or who simply believe in providing their own shelter (whether that be the stars, a tent, or a vehicle). In the past such a letter (usually from the Homeless (Lack of) Services Center's Paul Lee Loft was sufficient "evidence" for Commissioner Kim Baskett of Dept. 10 to dismiss MC 6.36 citations.

If you find yourself one of the hundreds who get camping tickets every month in town, contact HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) for info on how to subpoena the records of the River St. Shelter into court to document that there was no legal shelter and so invoke what's called "the necessity defense". Our phone number is 831-423-4833. It's not a cell phone so leave a message and/or come to our weekly meeting at 11 AM Wednesdays at the Sub Rosa Cafe, or check us out at Freedom Sleeper Tuesday nights at City Hall where we challenge the Sleeping Ban.

It's best to get on the Waiting List even if you have no intention of using the River St. Shelter, feel you are likely to be ineligible for any reason (pets, partner, too much stuff, etc.),or whatever. Because simply being on the list means that MC 6.36.055 requires the City Attorney to dismiss your citation (if it's a MC 6.36 citation).

For your own use, I include a flier to download and use or pass on to those who might find it useful.

The River St. Shelter number is 831-459-6644.
Add Your Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
wondering
Wed, Oct 7, 2015 7:48PM
Razer Ray
Mon, Oct 5, 2015 8:33AM
Robert Norse
Sun, Oct 4, 2015 11:09PM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network