Illegal to be Homeless

Submitted by anitalawbeaty@a... on April 27, 2007 - 7:04pm.
login or register to post comments

This session will be on: June 28, 2007 - 3:30pm

It will be held at: Large Dining Room room at the Task Force for the Homeless

View schedule

Organization Description

The Task Force has served for twenty-six years as the central coordinating agency through which the needs of homeless men, women and children are recorded, resources assessed, and gaps between needs and services for homeless people are documented for advocacy. We are striving to achieve our mission through direct emergency services, technical assistance and planning, and legislative policy advocacy. In 2006, between 48,000 and 68,000 persons experienced homelessness in the metro Atlanta area. The Task Force for the Homeless serves a minimum of 800-1000 individuals every day, that is between 23 and 35 percent of all homeless people in the metro area. Some of the greatest challenges for homeless individuals include finding shelter and resources; meeting the reqirements to receive shelter and services; creating enough stability to find employment and permanent housing; knowing application procedures and having access to mainstream resources and, in the majority of cases, trying to discover what resources exist. For many, that challenge is voiced with the question, “What do I do now?” The Task Force uses a comprehensive approach to assist homeless individuals. The initial point of contact is often through the 24-Hour Homeless Assistance Hotline or Street Outreach. Once needs are assessed through the completion of Intake, each person is referred to appropriate shelter and resources as they are available. The next point of contact may be through the Task Force Transportation Program to access shelter. When emergency shelter space is full to capacity, Outreach or Hotline Staff offer refuge in our Overflow Program. During the night, homeless people receive sanctuary; during the day they are able to begin looking for employment, housing, identification and general assistance through our Day Service Center. Our Transitional Housing Program has become an important step for many individuals seeking to transition back into the community in a stable environment with support services. Direct experiences with thousands of homeless men, women and children, provide the Task Force with documentation about the causes and conditions of homelessness and the gaps in housing and services. With that information we are able to advocate on the local, state, and national level for changes in public policy and legislation to prevent and end homelessness. The issues of affordable housing, livable-wage employment, universal healthcare, and civil rights are our core values. We believe that in order for an agency to advocate, it must offer services; and if you offer services, you must also advocate. The Task Force for the Homeless is the heart and soul of the Community at Peachtree-Pine, which is being developed as a sustainable community within a smart, green building, including homeless, formerly homeless, never-been homeless people living, working, playing, learning and helping each other.

Session Description

Illegal to be Homeless

Getting and maintaining identification in Atlanta, Georgia is difficult enough. If you move here and want a Georgia identification, you must obtain a "clearance" from your "state of origin" that you are not a security risk. If you are a person of color and carrying your belongings, you will be stopped and required to produce identification. If you cannot, you will be taken in for determining your identity. If you are without identification because it has been stolen or lost or confiscated by the police in a previous encounter, you may be held as a "security risk." If you ask for money in the "tourist triangle" you will be arrested for "commercial solicitation." Beware of the fact that there are no public toilets in Atlanta. If you are arrested for "public urination," you may be charged with "exposure," which is a kind of "sex crime."

Participants will hear from citizens who have experienced these injustices and who then have "criminal records," which prevent them from getting housing and jobs. Stories from other cities and countries will be shared as well as the Declaration of Human Rights, which is affirmed as the model for civil and human rights assertions and protections around the world, but which is routinely violated in the "land of the free."


First Name

Anita

Last Name

Beaty

Contact E-mail

anitalawbeaty@aol.com

Proposing Organization

Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless

Organization Website

homelesstaskforce.org

Position or Title

Executive Director

Contact Telephone

404-729-5366

Alternate Telephone

404-730-5007

Event Day

Thursday, June 28th (Consciousness + Awareness Raising / Current Struggles)

Contact Address

477 Peachtree Street

Contact City

Atlanta

Keywords

Advocacy
Antifascism
Antiracism
Civil Society
Class struggle
Common goods
Democracy and politics
Development
Equality
Gentrification (see also Inner City & Tenants)
Homelessness
Human Rights, Civil & Political
Inner City (see also Gentrification, Tenants)
Poverty
Social exclusion
Urban Issues (see Gentrification, Housing, Inner City, Local Development)

Contact State

GA

Contact ZIP

30308

Person Reviewing

jerome