WHATS SAD ABOUT THE BRILLIANT IDEAS, ART & ARCHITECTURE TO HOUSE THE HOMELESS IS that the homeless themselves are only too able and glad to invent, build and live anywhere. But in this country and many others, thats simply not allowed! WHAT isnt allowed? Pretty much anything, any structure -even using an umbrella is a ticketable offense. Even having one. I saw clergy taken away from their umbrella in the park... And a man is in prison now -forever I suppose- busted off parole for possession of a blanket I gave him. Ah, who doesnt love a cart you can live in? Marvelous! Lovely! But theyre not allowed to live in carts. Carts would be confiscated. (I myself once created a bedroom hidden inside what looked like a pile of lumber on the back of a truck . Its fun! Its art!I But none of this is useable til everyone has the right to exist. Really! The art says, See There should be no problem! I couldnt agree more. It makes no sense. We live in the midst of Plenty. How can there even be a problem? But what can humans do when theyve no money, theres no hospitality but its illegal to camp or sleep in public? After the no sleeping ordinance was passed, some folks in Santa Cruz just couldnt stay awake any longer. Finally they fell asleep... and woke up in jail. The denizens of the beautiful art-rich wilderness of the Albany bulb were permitted to stay another year when a lawyer made a case that the residents had no alternative but to exist in the final literal dump theyd been chased to. And yet, theyre all gone now. Im sorry to say that as much as we need art and brilliance, even more we need the _right _to apply them, possibly also with some ordinary carpentry and tent raising and barn raising child rearing and eyebrows raisin... and while were at it, lets make chicken soup. Spiders made webs, birds build nests, polar bears make snow burrows, humans assemble shelter. So it has been since the before cavemen found caves, and every day since, the lovely, comforting human scale of every sort of dwellling, huts, yurts, tipis, and greek courtyards, the lean-to, the long house, the log cabin, the cottage and the condo. We not only like to make things, we need to. Its what we do. If you couldnt afford a home you could go to the outskirts and hew a place to be. But not any more. In fact, the hodge-podge look of a tent city or shanty town or crudely divided shelter so upsets people, it seems to the so uncivilized that outlaw any of this that gives people a bit of privacy or separation. Because _theyre_ horrified. Why not provide a few warehouses if everyone must be out of sight? But no. No solutions allowed. Ever hear that phrase, Lets nuke em into the Stone Age? Instead of bringing everyone into the longhouse, weve blasted our own people, shamed our own townfolk so far back in time, so far before the Stoneage, before even the Age of Shrubs, Twigs and Leaves that no one will ever figure out how we survived at all..... ::sigh:: Plenty of folks would be content to live in a heated cupboard, in a capsule hotel, or a spiffy shed. People rmostly want a hot beverage, a computer or phone, maybe pet and/or a book... Oh, and maybe the occasional pastry. No we dont need much. But what little we do need -so affordable!- would be, ala carte, illegal. After all, we have housing code enforcement, in part for good reason. Good luck finding a closet to stay in in exchange for chores. And then comes Winter. Try not looking homeless if you want anyone to speak to you much less consider hiring. But mostly, people dont hire people who dont already have a job! And youre expected to live somewhere, too. So, in winter, if you happen to find yourself without a good job and address you can prove have held steady 2 or 5 years, plus a top credit rating, nothing hinky in the credit report like being broke, well if thats your sitch, thats just too bad. Go live in a puddle. Dont let anyone see you. Itll screw up your credit rating. Whats amazing is that most people areonly homeless for a few months. of course in expensive regions like this, it can take longer. So try to stay healthy! I know people who have died of pneumonia. Do you? Pneumonia! In the twenty-first century! There SHOULD be no problem! Of course, pneumonia is legal. A one inch camping pad for a bad back- illegal. An umbrella with a bit of tarp on it- illegal. Not everythings illegal. What about those award-winning lifesaving [yes Imm jealous of their cool thing] Aussie swag/bivy shelters that feel nearly roomy as tents once you tie the header up to a branch, and tie the footer out to another tree. Hold it. Thats Molesting the wildlife– another ticketable offense, So live in a tree, why not? Running Wolf did that at Occupy until Oakland got a crane, pulled him out and brought him to jail. Yes there IS space for whole tiny house villages in in any parking structure. An architecture class had fun with that. Too bad no one is working on even just late-night permissions, scheduling porta-potties and cleanup... Not happening. But once again its been proven: There SHOULDNT be a problem. In my town, during rainstorms, the homeless are often ticketed for taking shelter in church doorways even if they have permission. For a while it was illegal to sit in this town! We went and voted. Of course dog forbid you live in your vehicle, But dont worry, without money it will soon be towed away, no appeal system in place, no recourse but money money money. So what may the homeless do? Nothing! Most places, thats apparently the plan. A conspiracy of scorn and arrest for simple things everyone else is allowed to do. Sleep. Carry a bag. Its hoped the homeless will be harassed out of existence, or at least the region, to uhhh head North and freeze to death faster? But being harassed is awfully tiring, and people are freezing to death right here this month no joke. A while back I asked Councilman Kriss Worthington & his since-blossomed former assistant Alejandro Soto-Vigil if our city couldnt have a fix-it ticket system, like proof of a car repair- theyre both misdemeanors, right? So instead of the DMV, property owners could sign off on the ticket [stating the person was _allowed_ to sleep on church stairs during a storm.] And we could canvass, too, compiling a longer list of permissions and locations. I can even provide black rain ponchos marked SECURITY in white- Atlast , my night watchman program. Better than electronic security, and the Security ponchos are ready.] With a fix-it ticket, the matter could drop, precluding warrants, arrest, weeks or months locked up in Santa Rita jail after which theyre released 50 miles away with no sleeping bag [tossed out in the park], no nothing, told to watch for a postcard in a couple weeks entitling em their own backpack. A postcard received where? Meanwhile they need to try to recreate the basics they had.] As for the fix-it tickets, Kriss and/or Alejandro were interested liked the idea. Hey Asa Dodsworth I mean Commissioner Asa Dodsworth, Fred Dodsworths kid. What do yathink? Can we institute the right of each household to 3 or 5 yearly festival camping days to express their personal religious or nonreligious rituals? A lot of folks would like to come help camp and celebrate ! Thered BE places to be. I believe each person needs time to left in peace. Otherwise, you may have noticed, people go mad. We need PLACES we can put little shelters, those things called playhouses, for one example for our Night Watchmen. This fits with American land law: Relax, its neither an easement nor a tenancy, its a volunteer duty... its a chance for time alone, its a tiny patch of heaven we all need and all deserve.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 05:33:22 +0000
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