A sign of success is when detractors show up. Earlier today, Marisol Medina, Tiny Homes architect and homeless advocate, was assaulted by a woman. This woman deceived Marisol into believing she was attending the rally in front of LA's City Hall to help the homeless. Turns out, all she wanted to do was testify on behalf of the mayor and find out where the Tiny Homes were stored (so they could be destroyed). If you have a Facebook account, you can view the assault for yourself: https://www.facebook.com/events/242764772727461/permalink/250486238621981 Marisol took the high road and didn't press charges. The day was met with about a hundred supporters and some powerful speeches. You can view them here if you create a Livestream account: http://livestream.com/accounts/18288571/events/5011924 On another note, three more people have been added to those already being petitioned: 1) Eric Tars, Senior Attorney, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty I added Mr. Tars is because of what he stated in this Vice News video by David Enders (scroll to the 9:50 mark if you don't have time to watch it all): https://plus.google.com/u/0/107889574670988423996/posts/SJKpVS9YSYj Later, I found this December 23rd, 2015 post by Mr. Tars called "Arrested Just For Being Homeless" and I knew we needed him to be on board: http://www.impactfund.org/social-justice-blog/arrested-just-for-being-homeless Two key points he made in his insightful article: "People experiencing homelessness do not lose their constitutional rights when they lose their homes" and "... our long term goal is to ensure the right to housing for all, so that no one need fear sleeping on the streets in the first place." 2) Vanita Gupta, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division She stated: "Criminally prosecuting [homeless] individuals for something as innocent as sleeping, when they have no safe, legal place to go, violates their constitutional rights." Special thanks to Sue Hecht, who informed me: "Cities who continue to criminalize homeless people will lose their federal government funding." Read all about here: http://denverhomelessoutloud.org/2015/10/02/after-doj-ruling-hud-mandate-to-cities-very-clear-stop-criminalizing-homelessness-or-lose-funding So, it's important to note that we are winning victories for the homeless all over the United States (and soon, the world). And speaking of other places, in this Statement of Interest of the United States (Bell v Boise): http://www.nationalfairhousing.org/Portals/33/2015-08-06_US_interest_Bell_v_Boise.PDF check out the following: On page 10 and 11: 1) Because sleeping is unavoidable, the court then considered whether the plaintiffs had a choice to sleep somewhere other than in public, concluding that they did not: “for homeless individuals [in Los Angeles'] Skid Row who have no access to private spaces, these acts [sleeping] can only be done in public." 2) As a result, the court found that sleeping in public is “involuntary and inseparable from” an individual’s status or condition of being homeless when no shelter space is available. The court concluded that, under those circumstances, “by criminalizing sitting, lying, and sleeping, the City of Los Angeles is in fact criminalizing homeless individuals." 3) It should be uncontroversial that punishing conduct that is a “universal and unavoidable consequence of being human” violates the Eighth Amendment. On page page 14 and 15: "... the 2010 Hunger and Homelessness Survey conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that 64% of cities reported having to turn people away from their shelters." [Obviously people need to sleep somewhere then; even if that means outdoors.] On page 17: "As noted by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), “[r]ather than helping people to regain housing, obtain employment, or access needed treatment and service, criminalization creates a costly revolving door that circulates individuals experiencing homelessness from the street to the criminal justice system and back." Source: https://www.usich.gov After I looked at California's State Data and Contacts Map on the USICH website, shown here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/107889574670988423996/posts/N72EBH6eSf2 I decided to also add Amy Sawyer, a USICH Contact and Regional Coordinator to our petition. Next, here are some incredibly supportive comments. Every signature matters. And remember, each time someone signs (even a family member) those 14 people being petitioned receive an email prompting them to deal with our humanitarian crisis. "I've been homeless. It is not right to treat human beings like this." ~ Michelle Dearman, Arvada, CO "I'm disgusted with the complete lack of humanity Curren Price and his henchmen possess. Curren needs to be replaced, call for his dismissal." ~ Oscar Mellors, Devizes, United Kingdom "People are trying to solve a problem, and you are trying to destroy their solution? You should have your home bulldozed and then come back and tell the rest of us how it helped." ~ Louis Carrozzi, Bellevue, WA "WTH??? These are citizens of their City! How dare you! For a least one year you should be forced to see how these citizens are being treated! You're One Sick SOB who thinks obviously you own a city! Guess what...You don't, You don't even deserve to be anyone trying to make decisions for anyone! Period!" ~ Holly Smith, Monroe, American Samoa "This is inhuman and disgraceful! Reverse your order on confiscating these "tiny" homes..! Its getting harder and harder to be proud to say I'm an American!" ~ Sheryl Berberich, Sioux City, IA "Garcetti should be fired." ~ Marianne Perret, Galloway, OH Final point: Around half of US citizens are living at or below the poverty level. Income levels have not been keeping up with the rate of inflation (not even close). Minimum wage should be triple what it is right now. Add to this out-of-control rent increases and short-term vacation rental deals, and anybody can become homeless. Now, it appears that when everyday citizens come together to solve a societal problem (such as homelessness), some people in government think they have found a way to criminalize it and profit from it. We are not going allow the government to dehumanize the homeless. We are better human beings and we are much smarter than that. Right?! Take good care, Rose P.S. A powerful, must-see video is next by Welcome Home: A Tiny House, Huge Purpose: https://www.facebook.com/mythpla and be sure to visit their Starting Human website: http://www.startinghuman.org