Police in Jacksonville, Florida attempted to stop a?group, which included some members from Veterans for Peace, from handing out food and other items to the homeless on Saturday afternoon. To be fair to the police officers, they were polite and certainly only carrying out orders of the city. But, the problem rests with just that ? the city leaders who are putting forth these types of restrictions on helping fellow man.
The female police officer can be heard on the video, saying,
?So it kind of hinders, instead of forcing people to try and work their way up, it kind of keeps them from doing that.?
Yeah, because I know if I was homeless, a free cheeseburger would completely satisfy my need and ?enable? me to live the high life of a homeless person.
Rethink Homelessness Jax has launched a much needed awareness campaign in the city. It’s obviously needed.
The organization 904 Activists Alliance?organized the?event titled Homeless Holiday Event Jax. The goal was to distribute sleeping bags, backpacks, shoes, blankets, pillows, towels, and a myriad of other items, in addition to food, to those in need. Unfortunately, shortly after the event started, the police showed up to shut it down.
A spokesperson for the group said,
?I personally just don’t believe bureaucracy should be necessary to do kind things for people in your city, there are always ways to make a positive impact despite it all. In the way nature finds ways to break through the concrete which blocks the sun, love will always find a way to emerge and rise.??
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, Jacksonville has had some trouble with their food-sharing ordinance,
?In 2004, the Jacksonville City Council passed an ordinance that prohibited the distribution of food on private or public property without a proper city permit. Religious groups objected to the ordinance and filed a lawsuit claiming that it violated their First Amendment rights. In May 2007, an apparent settlement was reached under which the city would amend the ordinance to allow religiously motivated sharing of food without a permit. However, by the end of July, the two parties still had not agreed on appropriate language. The city insists it is working on an amendment that will pass constitutional muster. Meanwhile, the religious groups have threatened to re-instate their lawsuit.?
They’do not have a very good track record with how they treat the homeless in the city. Not only did they reduce the visibility of a large portion of their homeless population during Super Bowl XXXIX by opening a temporary shelter for two weeks before the Super Bowl, only to close it a day after the event, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, they also are allowing politics and special interest to dictate who is permitted to feed the needy.
?With the help of some local shelters, two new ordinances went into effect in October 2005 to stop street and park distribution of food.? The more established shelters have been complaining about several church outreach programs that feed and distribute personal items on the street and in parks.
The established shelters are complaining that the street programs are reducing their numbers of service recipients, which could have an effect on future grant applications. There is a segment of the homeless population that will not enter the shelters because of their strict conduct rules or indoctrination programs.?
Fortunately, no arrests were made on Saturday and the group stuck to their mission and continued to hand out items while being confronted with police, and even after they left.
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Elizabeth Preston is a thirty-something wife and mother of three living in Florida. She is a fierce liberal with a passion?for equality and justice. She is a skeptic by nature and often the Facebook friend that rains on the urban legend parade with fact checking. Give her?Facebook page?a?like, follow her on?Twitter?and check out her personal blog,?My Four Ha? Pennies.
