“Souper Bowl,” “home snatchers”, and a not so small victory.

I thought I was going to have to suspend this blog for a while, due to internet access problems and a temporary return to work for the tax season. But I have connectivity, at least for the time being, and there’s been a lot of homeless news already this year.
Read up, get involved, volunteer or donate if you can. As hard as we have it in our warm caves, it’s even harder on the street.

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Well, we have a lot going on so far in 2011: Dying animals, killer floods, deranged gunmen. That is not the worst of it. According to the latest findings by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, “The New Depression” (as I am wont to call it) has led to a great increase in people experiencing homelessness. Of course, that’s something you and I already knew, innit? The stats are broken down into regions, states, and subcategories such as families, unsheltered, and youth. Go to the NAEH website for a summary of their data. You can also read the entire 48-page study, The State of Homelessness in America, or download it for later if you have that capacity. Click the image above and use the “interactive tools” page to view maps charting economic indicators, demographic drivers, and states with multiple risk factors in relation to homelessness.
With things going on like the shameless shenanigans of voraciously greedy financial institutions reported in an article from the November 25, 2010 Rolling Stone, it’s no wonder there are more people on the street. Subtitled ...how foreclosure courts are helping big banks screw over homeowners, Matt Taibbi’s Invasion of the Home Snatchers is jaw-droppingly unbelievable. Let’s hope the expose, which accuses our courts of complicity in pushing through obviously fraudulent foreclosures, to the banks’ favor, rings some bells.
With nosebleed seats for Super Bowl XLV starting at $2586 each, I don’t know anyone who is going to Arlington, TX on February 6. How many children could the price of one crappy ticket feed? Well, you don’t have to pony up that kind of dough to make a difference. Beginning Monday, and ongoing until the game day, you can donate some of the money you would have spent on partying to help homeless people in Salt Lake City. Just $1 from everybody is all they’re asking. More details on The Road Home’s “Souper Bowl of Caring” here, or on Facebook.
Also Salt Lake City Mission’s, ABC News Good Morning America and Burlington Coat Factory’s Warm Coats & Warm Hearts Coat Drive has been extended to February 13th. Join these fine organizations in helping to keep our homeless friends warm through this exceptionally cold winter.
Last, but not least, is a tale of great victory for three homeless panhandlers who were cited by Salt Lake City police officers for holding a sign to solicit funds. Even though the Salt Lake City Council suspended a December vote on a new panhandling ordinance, I guess the cops were already enforcing one of their own. Well, Terry Lee Wilkinson, Patty Eagle, and Jackie Sanchez filed a lawsuit against the city, the police chief, the mayor, and the state’s Attorney General. With the help of Brian Barnard and other attorney’s from Utah Civil Rights & Liberties Foundation, Inc. THEY WON! The plaintiffs now have to pay the legal costs, and it’s still our 1st Amendment right to ask for help. Click here to view Judge Ted Stewart’s ruling, or read my recent Special Bulletin. You can read the ridiculous proposed ordinance in yet another recent post.

Some of us lucky enough to be employed have a three-day weekend, so enjoy it, remember what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought and died for, and do something to make the world a better place.
Until next time...
---your editor
Next Report: Hate crimes against homeless people.

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Related links:
Salt Lake Street News and related local news coverage
North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA)
Salt Lake City Mission
Rescue Mission of Salt Lake
National Coalition for the Homeless