“The sun beams down on a brand new day, no more welfare tax to pay, jobless millions whisked away, convinced the liberals it’s okay, so let’s get dressed and dance away while they kill, kill, kill the poor tonight.”
—Dead Kennedys’ “Kill the Poor” (1979)
On Dec. 17, a coalition of activists that included We Are Not Invisible, the Fresno Homeless Union, the Fresno Tenants Union and Peace Fresno joined with unhoused members of the community to protest the City of Fresno’s harsh no camping ordinance that was implemented on Sept. 23.
The group convened at City Hall and then marched to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting to speak to the supervisors on the need for the County to improve access to mental health services, drug treatment programs and other social services. People also spoke of the dire need for more low-income housing, rent control and open warming centers through the winter months.
A similar no camping ordinance was implemented in July 2023 that did not include up to a year of jail time and/or a $1,000 fine as does the current ordinance. The County ordinance calls for up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. However, the County is not aggressively enforcing its ordinance. Sheriff John Zanoni recently said that the Sheriff’s Department “really doesn’t want to arrest [unhoused] people.”
Unlike the County, the City is aggressively enforcing its ordinance. Since implementation, 181 unhoused community members have been arrested. The legal team working to defend these arrests and citations estimates the number of citations could be three times higher than the number of arrests. A CPRA (California Privacy Rights Act) request has been submitted to ascertain the number of citations.
Stolen Lands
The Fresno demonstration and march was part of a statewide effort called “Stolen Land Liberation.” Longtime advocate Dez Martinez of We Are Not Invisible led the efforts to challenge the City and organize the demonstration.
She addressed the gathered demonstrators in front of City Hall. “These struggles are deeply tied to a history of colonization, forced removal and systemwide inequities that began with the displacement of indigenous people from their lands.
“We honor the resilience of the Yokuts people and other indigenous communities who continue to protect their cultures and steward their land despite continuing injustice.”
We See the Humanity in This Fight
“In the same spirit, we commit to advocating to end homelessness that upholds dignity, justice and the right for people to live without fear of displacement,” said Martinez. “We persist because we are committed to this fight.
“We see humanity in this fight. We see the mother trying to shield their child from the cold. We see the veteran, fighting battles from within. We see the teenager who ran away from the violence, only to find it on the street. We see them, and we refuse to look the other way.
“I am frustrated by those that don’t see them. I am frustrated by a system that dehumanizes the most vulnerable, frustrated by leaders that speak but do not act and frustrated by a world that normalizes suffering. But, I’m also determined because frustration can fuel change; it can sharpen resolve and remind us why we started this fight in the first place.
“I ask everyone listening, do not turn away, do not let your discomfort lead to a lack of concern. Stand with us, fight with us, demand better from your leaders, your community and yourself.
“The unhoused are not the problem. The problem is a society that has allowed its most vulnerable to fall through the cracks. Together, we can turn frustration into action, and action into change.”
The Legal Fight Continues
Attorney Kevin Little and his legal team are waging a struggle to take on the City’s criminalization of unhoused community members. Addressing the crowd at City Hall, he said, “Thanks for being here and joining in solidarity with people around the state to stand up against the oppressive regime that the Supreme Court brought forth with the Grants Pass v. Johnson decision.
“On June 28, the Supreme Court decided that cities, counties and municipalities can punish people for being homeless. It decided that the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides no protection from cruel and unusual punishment. Within a few months of the decision, the City and County passed ordinances to criminalize the homeless.
“Essentially, if you are anywhere sitting, lying, sleeping or camping on public [or private] property in the eyes of our government, you are a criminal and you need to be arrested.
“I want to make it clear that Fresno was not obligated to do what it did. There was nothing in the Grants Pass decision that said that cities had to criminalize the unhoused. Fresno made a choice, and they made that choice knowing that we have about 4,500 unhoused people [here].
“We have 842 shelter beds. We have been on the streets [interviewing people], and we know that 85% or more are on wait lists for housing and services. Yet, the City is arresting people, claiming they are refusing to accept services and then arresting them. The City is telling the public that they are housing people, and that is a lie.
“What the City is doing is sheltering people on a short-term basis and saying they are making progress; they’re not. Fresno made a choice [whereas] other cities have made different choices. Atlanta made a different choice and is making inroads to solve the unhoused crisis. Salt Lake City has made different choices, Houston has made different choices.
“Here in Fresno, we have decided that we are going to respond to the least of us with hatred and criminalization, which does nothing to solve the problem. Criminalization and jail is so much more expensive than establishing permanent supportive housing like other places have done [that] are making progress.”
Little and his team have been surveying street family members and taking depositions and statements in an effort to wage a legal challenge to the ordinance. The Public Defender’s Office and pro bono attorneys are gearing up to fight the ordinance with jury trials. These and other actions by the public will save lives.
Take Action to Save Lives
In an article published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Dec. 13, 2024, cited with permission, titled “More Californians Are Freezing to Death, Experts Point to More Older Homeless People,” by Phillip Reese states that “a growing number of people—many of them older and homeless—are freezing to death during winter.
“Hypothermia from exposure to cold temperatures was the underlying or contributing cause of death for 166 Californians last year, more than double the number a decade ago, according to provisional death certificate data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The age-adjusted rate of 3.7 deaths per million residents in 2023 was the highest in the state in at least 25 years…
“The increase in hypothermia deaths is linked to a rise in homelessness, especially in California, which has the nation’s largest homeless population, experts say.
“Homeless people are particularly susceptible to hypothermia because so many older, vulnerable adults live outside, where they are exposed to the elements. Government officials have largely responded to hypothermia deaths by opening warming centers where homeless people can stay on cold nights…
“Older adults are most susceptible to hypothermia, with people 55 and older accounting for more than three-quarters of hypothermia deaths in California from 2021 through 2023.
“‘There is a massive increase in the aging homeless population,’ said Margot Kushel, director of the UC–San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. She said the proportion of single homeless adult Californians who are 50 or older has increased from 11% in 1990 to nearly 50%.
“And as the number of deaths from exposure to cold has risen in the state, so has the number of deaths from exposure to heat in the summer. ‘A changing climate, more temperature extremes, more soaking rains—people are older and thus unable to even tolerate it, so they get much sicker, faster,’ Kushel said…
“Bob Erlenbusch, an advocate at the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, said that many homeless people are cold because local authorities have confiscated items including blankets, sleeping bags and tents during sweeps.
“‘They’re not supposed to take people’s stuff,’ he said. ‘They’re supposed to tag it and store it, but that doesn’t happen.’”
The same is happening in Fresno. On a daily basis, the Fresno Police Department is stealing unhoused community members’ property and throwing it away. This property includes basic survival gear, such as blankets, tents, sleeping bags and clothing. The police are leaving people to die from hypothermia and exposure.
These are crimes in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and there is a pending lawsuit, Lewis Brown et al. v. the City of Fresno, working its way through the legal system. The City is arguing for dismissal based on the Grants Pass decision, however, this case raises Fourth Amendment violations. The city of Los Angeles has lost two cases at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the issue of Fourth Amendment violations.
Taking Action!
Legal challenges are under way, but they take time. You can act now. Contact the mayor of Fresno and your City Council member by e-mail @fresno.gov, via fresno.gov/citycouncil/ or by phone at 559-621-8000.
Ask them to rescind the no camping ordinance. It will cost taxpayers. Real solutions such as permanent supportive housing are less costly than jailing people and definitely more humane. Be part of real solutions, and act now.
