HOMELESS CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT
Advocacy Priorities:
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Advocacy to include homelessness to Sacramento City's Non-Discrimination & Equality Municipal Code;
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Moratorium to the County's anti-camping ordinance until enough affordable housing units are created in our region. This would include protection of the property of homeless people seized by law enforcement;
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Oppose any efforts to criminalize homeless people including anti-homeless laws such as anti-panhandling ordinances;
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Continue to monitor Sacramento Park Rangers monthly anti-camping citations and homeless camps closed;
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Advocate for Safe Parking Zones for Vehicle Residents
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Continue to participate in National House Keys Not Handcuffs Campaign
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Work with LSNC and ACLU- Northern CA to determine if SRCEH will sue either the City and/or County on homeless issues
SUPPORT SRCEH'S CALL FOR AN
IMMEDIATE MORATORIUM ON THE
CITY'S ANTI-CAMPING ORDINANCE
Department of Justice and 9th Federal Circuit Court stated "...until there is enough housing, anti-camping ordinances violate the 8th Amendment as cruel & unusual punishment"
Sacramento: Criminalizing People Experiencing Homelessness:
The City of Sacramento has 11 municipal codes criminalizing daily activities associated with homelessness:
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5 codes criminalizing standing, sitting and resting in public places;
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3 codes that criminalize camping and loddging in public places;
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3 codes that criminalize begging & panhandling
Sacramento City: Sacramento City Code Section 12.52.030 bans camping on public or private property - unless lawfully authorized.
From 2004 - 2014, of the 1,201 crime reports on "homeless offenses [standing, sitting, camping, panhandling] 69% [831 reports] of the Sacramento Police Departments crime reports
were for this one code: 12.52.030
Sacramento County: Between 2012 - 2014, the Sacramento County Park Rangers have issued approixmately 2,700 illegal camping citations - an anverage of almost 4 citations a day for 730 days [2 years]