Erica Aitken
Banished to a choice of 4 parks, people who sleep outdoors will be required to walk 75 feet away from the trail to pitch their tent or lay down their sleeping bag.
Tuesday, March 9 is an important day. That's the day when our hard-hearted City Councilmembers are likely to vote in favor of the Temporary Outdoor Living Ordinance (TOLO) in spite of massive community opposition and in spite of the cruelty that such a law will inflict on already vulnerable people.
Imagine this. You're told to take yourself and your tent to one of four parks, walk 75 feet away from the trail and pitch your tent. For the night. At 7am, you're out. No bathrooms, no water, not nothing. Just woods. You will be expected to do this every day. How long can you last, do you think?You wont' get much time to voice your opinion. Rumor has it that the Mayor wants to pare comments down to 1 minute, maybe less. Put yourself in her shoes. Who wants to listen to hundreds of people tell her and her colleagues how inhumane they are!
Scrambling to find alternative solutions, the Santa Cruz County Supervisors are also meeting Tuesday. On the agenda, a motion to support temporary camping programs for safe sleeping in Santa Cruz county. Please write to the County Supervisors in support of item #10315.
Summary of #10315. "Consider directing the Housing for Health Division of the Human Services Department to work with other County departments exploring the creation of policy recommendations related to the development and siting of temporary shelter, safe sleeping, and safe parking opportunities; to identify and prioritize available public, County and private property outside of the cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Capitola and Scotts Valley that could be used for temporary shelter operation, at least 120 units for homeless households shall be located within the urban services line in the unincorporated part of the County; and during the 6-month work plan update, include information on any barriers to achieving these goals and recommendations to effectuate the goals stated above, and take related actions, as outlined in the memorandum of Supervisor Koenig and Supervisor Coonerty. “
Contact info for the Supervisors is:
Phone: (831) 454-2200- OR Fax: (831) 454-3262
Emails for the County Board of Supervisors:
There is also a protest organized for Tuesday afternoon. Please be there and take a stand against a harsh, unacceptable ordinance. Remember that what the City Council does, it does in our names. And the changes proposed in TOLO will cause illness and maybe death. Not in my name!
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