War against the homeless???

[seeking truth]

Over the past year or so I've been noticing that laws are being passed that are essentially criminalizing aid to the homeless.

So, I thought to start a thread on this subject, to provide an archive and to open the subject for consideration and discussion amongst fellow brethren.

This is a most recent article I have come across, but there are more.....

Three arrested, accused of illegally feeding homeless:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/crime/os-homeless-feedings-arrests-20110601,0,7226362.story

[seeking truth]

City puts a stop to homeless outreach

Couple must have proper permit to continue feeding dozens each day

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7381016.html#ixzz1O9NR9rjP

"Anyone serving food for public consumption, whether for the homeless or for sale, must have a permit, said Kathy Barton, a spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Department. To get that permit, the food must be prepared in a certified kitchen with a certified food manager.

The regulations are all the more essential in the case of the homeless, Barton said, because "poor people are the most vulnerable to foodborne illness and also are the least likely to have access to health care."

So......I guess it's better for them to eat out of a dumpster???

In a so called 'free society', what right should the government have to regulate how people can share food?

Do we need government permission before we can share food made in our own "uncertified" kitchen without the oversight of a "certified food manager"??

Edited June 2, 2011 by seeking truth

[PeterH]

The regulations are all the more essential in the case of the homeless, Barton said, because "poor people are the most vulnerable to foodborne illness and also are the least likely to have access to health care."

So to this person thinks letting someone starve is better than letting them take the slight risk of getting food poisoning? No it's more likely they think that the homeless are a blight on their "pretty" city and think that by letting people feed them it keeps them around. This stuff makes me sick.

[oldzimm]

This pass weekend, I was talking to a fella that was out in Los Vegas this past year. The man said he was only there about three hours playing a slot machine, pulled a five dollar voucher from it and walked outside. There was a homeless man there and he gave the voucher to him. At that time the cops came running up arrested the homeless man and chased this fella down. The cops asked him what he given the homeless man, he said all he did was give him the five dollar voucher. The police said it was illegal to give money to beggars. Being a tourist and only being in Vegas for only three hours, he didn't know that and the police left him go.

So the bottom line is, in Vegas you can't give money to the poor, but it is okay to give money to prostitutes. Go figure!

[Guest uriahswan]

Over the past year or so I've been noticing that laws are being passed that are essentially criminalizing aid to the homeless.

So, I thought to start a thread on this subject, to provide an archive and to open the subject for consideration and discussion amongst fellow brethren.

This is a most recent article I have come across, but there are more.....

Three arrested, accused of illegally feeding homeless:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/crime/os-homeless-feedings-arrests-20110601,0,7226362.story

[Matthitjah]

Actually, a case of food poisening can kill you. It can especially kill homeless people with immune compromised situations.

I am both a Chef who is a certified food service sanitation Mgr. with the State of MD and a minister to the Homeless.

As evidence of how food poisening can kill I would urge you to look at the headlines in Europe today about the E-Coli outbreak.

[seeking truth]

The regulations are all the more essential in the case of the homeless, Barton said, because "poor people are the most vulnerable to foodborne illness and also are the least likely to have access to health care."

So to this person thinks letting someone starve is better than letting them take the slight risk of getting food poisoning? No it's more likely they think that the homeless are a blight on their "pretty" city and think that by letting people feed them it keeps them around. This stuff makes me sick.

Yes. there are other articles I recall reading where laws are being passed where you cannot feed homeless in certain areas of the city, areas that are central to tourism. Apparently it causes homeless people to congregate there and this 'looks bad' to visitors.

Also, if you think about it....if the government is saying we cannot feed homeless with food prepared in our uncertified home kitchens........how is this really any different from having someone over to your house for dinner, serving them a meal prepared in the same kitchen? Seriously.

What right should the government have to tell us where, when , how and to whom we can give charity ?

Lord have Mercy.

[seeking truth]

This pass weekend, I was talking to a fella that was out in Los Vegas this past year. The man said he was only there about three hours playing a slot machine, pulled a five dollar voucher from it and walked outside. There was a homeless man there and he gave the voucher to him. At that time the cops came running up arrested the homeless man and chased this fella down. The cops asked him what he given the homeless man, he said all he did was give him the five dollar voucher. The police said it was illegal to give money to beggars. Being a tourist and only being in Vegas for only three hours, he didn't know that and the police left him go.

So the bottom line is, in Vegas you can't give money to the poor, but it is okay to give money to prostitutes. Go figure!

Illegal to give money to beggars? Unbelievable.

Eze 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

[Guest LadyC]

This pass weekend, I was talking to a fella that was out in Los Vegas this past year. The man said he was only there about three hours playing a slot machine, pulled a five dollar voucher from it and walked outside. There was a homeless man there and he gave the voucher to him. At that time the cops came running up arrested the homeless man and chased this fella down. The cops asked him what he given the homeless man, he said all he did was give him the five dollar voucher. The police said it was illegal to give money to beggars. Being a tourist and only being in Vegas for only three hours, he didn't know that and the police left him go.

So the bottom line is, in Vegas you can't give money to the poor, but it is okay to give money to prostitutes. Go figure!

i live in vegas, and i give money, food, and clothing to homeless people all the time. i've never had a cop get onto me for it at all. they DO have a city ordinance that you can't set up and pass out food in public parks though.

there are certain places that the city does not want to see the homeless population. is in city parks, because frankly, the homeless crowd does tend to leave behind a lot of dangerous stuff on the ground... broken bottles, dirty needles, etc. hence the ordinance banning distribution of food in public parks.

the other is on the strip harassing and scamming tourists. THAT is the reason the guy you were talking to got questioned by the cops. if he'd been two blocks off the strip, nobody would have questioned him. nobody would have cared. hundreds of homeless people stand on every street corner imaginable, holding signs, walking among cars, hanging out in parking lots to beg. the cops are well aware of their presence and unless a store owner complains, they're left alone. so are the people who stop to offer them money or food.

and if you drive down las vegas blvd (aka the strip) further north, away from the tourists, you'll see thousands of homeless, hanging out under bridges or in fields, sitting outside their tents that line the main streets just trying to get a bit of fresh air, and getting their needs tended to by the nearby salvation army and free clinic.

FYI, prostitution is illegal in vegas. anyone caught giving money to a hooker here is going straight to jail, not just getting pulled aside for a talking-to. it's one of the most common misconceptions about vegas, the whole 'prostitution is legal' thing. truth is, it's not legal in ANY populated part of the state.

[seeking truth]

Zoning restrictions limit feeding the homeless

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=1082024

Government bodies are making it difficult for volunteers to provide for the needs of the homeless at public sites or their own facilities, such as churches.

A study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP) confirms the results of a 2007 study, but civil rights director Tulin Ozdeger tells OneNewsNow that cities are continuing to pass restrictions.

Those range "from limiting the number of people who can be served at a given time, to using zoning laws to prevent local churches from serving food out of their facilities, to just flat-out prohibitions on sharing food in certain locations," she reports.

She feels that people seem to be telling local governments to send the homeless to some neighborhood other than their own.

"The problem has been that once provision of services is proposed in a given area or is happening in a given area, a lot of times there'll be opposition from neighborhood residents or businesses that it shouldn't be happening there," Ozdeger explains. "But if we're going to address the problem of homelessness, services have to be provided somewhere for folks."

And that, she argues, turns the issue from a social one into a political one. The NLCHP director adds that the report also argues that governments should not be penalizing groups that want to help, but it should actually see them as a resource and collaborate with them to provide for the homeless.