Homeless Voice

by National Coalition for the Homeless

On June 12, 2007, Berkeley’s City Council unanimously passed the “Public Commons for Everyone” initiative to “clear the streets of aggressive and disruptive behavior.”

This law targets a wide range of behavior, including lying on or blocking the sidewalk, smoking near doorways, having a shopping cart, tying animals to fixed objects, littering, drinking in public, public urination and defecation and shouting in public.
The two-part law authorizes penalties for minor public offenses while extending funding for services including public restrooms. Critics say the law is unfairly aimed at homeless individuals, but defenders argue that it will affect everyone: college students are caught doing these acts as often as homeless people. Berkeley has long had a reputation as a liberal, open-minded town that provided plenty of social services, which in turn attracted a large homeless population. According to one study, although it represents just 7% of Alameda County’s total population, Berkeley now hosts 40% of the county’s chronically homeless people.

Osha Neumann, an attorney who defends homeless individuals, told Indybay.org that homeless people are frightened by these measures and many are thinking about leaving town. He also indicated that funding for meals and other services for homeless people have been reduced, and there are not enough shelter beds.

Homeless advocates fought vehemently to stop the Public Commons initiative because they believe it victimizes the defenseless. Additionally, they argue that the $2 million in annual funding for the initiative would be better spent on homeless services. The Los Angeles Times reported that council member Dona Spring abstained from several votes because “there is no detox available, there are no (new) services. I see no place in this package to help people get out of poverty.”

On June 8, 2008, the Berkeley City Council passed an ordinance repealing a 1946 loitering ordinance, which made it “unlawful for any person to loiter about any school or public place at or near which schoolchildren attend.” The City Council acted after Kim Nemirow filed a suit challenging the law as unconstitutional. Nemirow was issued a citation in 2007 for loitering while resting on a blanket in Berkeley’s Willard Park with her wheelchair nearby. After the repeal, the Oakland Tribune quoted Nemirow saying, “It makes it a little more difficult to criminalize homeless people.” Osha Neumann,

46 Nemirow’s attorney with the East Bay Community Law Center, agreed and said, “This one just didn’t make any sense at all. What the heck are parks for, if not for loitering?

It’s only poor people who loiter. The rich never loiter. They just engage in leisure time activities.”