I decided to add Ms.Susan Johnson, Vice President and Director General International Operations and Movement Relations at the Canadian Red Cross to the list of all those being petitioned. My reasons are as follows: 1) To my knowledge, Ms. Anna Nelson (Spokesperson & Head of Communications of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Washington D.C.) has NOT responded to the homeless crisis in Los Angeles. 2) The mantra of the Canadian Red Cross is "when the world needs us, we're there". 3) The Canadian Red Cross HAS an International Disaster Relief Fund which "allows the Canadian Red Cross to support life-saving activities within hours of an emergency and well before any money has been received from supporters." "It also allows the Red Cross to respond to emergencies that may not make headline news but have devastated hundreds of thousands of people." Source: http://www.redcross.ca/how-we-help/international-programs/emergencies-and-disasters-worldwide/responding-to-international-emergencies With about 44,359 homeless people (as of June 2015); an increase of 55 percent (since 2013), and over one-third of America's chronically homeless people residing in California, I feel strongly that this qualifies as an emergency that has "devastated hundreds of thousands of people". Source of statistics: US Housing and Urban Development Department What's more: a few days ago, I read this urgent post from Mr. Summers: "I NEED A LICENSED NURSE OR PARAMEDIC IN THE LA/INGLEWOOD AREA ASAP! IF YOU ARE ONE, OR KNOW ONE WHO IS WILLING TO MAKE A HOUSE CALL, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CONTACT ME OR Marisol Medina." Source: https://www.facebook.com/StartingHuman/posts/1568037456843144 Clearly, thousands of people are in need of emergency services! Oh and I want to let you know that I can ONLY post three petition updates per week. Initially, I thought it was "one update every 24 hours". Also, thank you Denise Keeran, Meilyn Portillo, and Marisol Medina for trying to come up with ways for how we can enable the homeless to sign this petition. I took those ideas to Change.org and here is what they said: "I understand you would like homeless people to sign your petition during an event using a single device. Supporters can sign your petition with a unique email ID and a valid zip code – though, most likely our system will identify those signatures as 'Spam' because of the same IP address and remove them. To make sure that signatures are not removed, each user should log into the laptop with a different profile and then sign the petition with a unique email ID. I can understand this is tedious, but this will save your signatures." Hmm, I was afraid of that. So, I am hoping that multiple devices can be brought to the rally (and other events). Or (in the least), I know members of the same family can sign (it's not just one per household that is allowed). So perhaps we can call upon our family and friends to "sign for a homeless person" that cannot? In the meantime, we are definitely making headway (evidenced by onslaught of naysayers) lately. You'll probably see me comment on various articles and news posts (as Rose Webster). Lastly, I want to share some great comments from this petition (and an NPR post by Anna Scott) with you: missu2003: "VOUCHERS? lol. I was homeless in LA. A voucher lasts a maximum of two weeks. Please tell me how you survive the rest of the winter after your two weeks are used up, the shelters are full and you are tired of sleeping on urine soaked concrete, possibly comforted with a cardboard box? Unbelievable. They are in complete denial." Jack Nickleson: "I've heard it all now. Let me get that right - the custom built homes are not safe - but the ground is? This shot called by Mayor Garcetti is disgraceful, and he should be ashamed of himself. It's no wonder he had his "spokeswoman" do his dirty work instead of coming forth himself - any person in their right mind knows that line of reasoning is not grounded in sensibility. And, the "official resources" that Llanos thinks the homeless community should take advantage of don't exist! With approximately 44,000 homeless people in Los Angeles, people are turned away from the woefully inadequate shelters - and one call placed to 211 to inquire about the housing vouchers will tell you that they don't exist now either! Llanos - you're livin' in a dream world - and it's glaringly evident you have no idea what's really going on in the streets 'cause how can an individual "take advantage" of something that doesn't exist? Oops! It's absolutely reprehensible; taking those little homes from the few who were lucky to get them. And the disrespect the action shows Elvis Summers, the kind gentleman who exerted all the effort undertaking the task of building these little homes is unforgivable. The mayor is effectively rendering these people homeless again by taking their homes. It's no wonder our country is going to hell in a hand basket, with people like Garcetti at the helm - truly; what is he thinking??! I am embarrassed for him putting himself out there like this, for all the world to see." Tommy Prancer: "Unless they are going to drive these homeless people to their new home, they shouldn't take away their current home. Shelters aren't homes. They are crime riddled, understaffed, underfunded places where you can't store your stuff when you aren't there. Shelters are avoided by many homeless people because they have had horrible experiences in those places. You can't take someone's only home, peace of mind, and safety net away and replace it with nothing." Source of above three comments: http://www.npr.org/2016/03/03/469054634/la-officials-bring-the-hammer-down-on-tiny-houses-for-homeless From this petition (and I intend to read each and every comment and "like" it): "I would like to challenge city officials to live like a homeless person for one week and then re-think their mandate." ~ Dr. Megan Mekoli, Beltsville, MD "If there were actual public housing/shelters that were safe and in numbers adequate to meet the need that is one thing. But that is current most definitely not the case. This bill is beyond callous and cruel and to pretend that it is being done in the name of protecting people is clearly not true and insulting to expect to believe such codswallop." ~ Sandra Kicklighter, Glendora, CA "Shame on your for forcing people back into the street.. If you don't have a solution for the problem, what gives you the right to denigrate someone else's efforts?" ~ Susan Ayers, Burleson, TX "Every little bit helps. Taking these homes directly hurts people who were off the street. This is tragic. :( Their hopes for a better life were dashed." ~ Bonnye Bauerle, Austin, TX "The confiscations of what little these people have is inhumane!" ~ Dyna Amaya-Lainez, houston, TX Also, I just found out there is another petition (started by Kevin Mathews) and it has a whopping 15,886 signatures (so far): http://www.thepetitionsite.com/872/014/733/dont-steal-and-destroy-the-homeless-tiny-houses-los-angeles I signed that one too. Take good care everyone, Rose P.S. I cannot italicize on petition updates, hence the "all caps" on words I wish to emphasize.