Homeless Community

I, Larry Milligan, began a continuous fast with just water on October 11, 2004, at 10 p.m. I went before the San Diego City Council on October 12, 2004 at 10 a.m. requesting a safe place for homeless people to sleep in the city. I am fasting until a declaration is given by the City to the homeless concerning a place where they can sleep safely. The question I am asking is: Where in the City of San Diego tonight, with the shelters full, can a homeless person go and sleep that's legal? I would appreciate any support you can give me. You can start by signing the following petition/open letter.

We, the signers of this petition, recognize that sleeping is a necessity for sustaining human life. In many cities across the United States, including San Diego, there are not enough beds in shelters to accommodate all of their homeless people. Most homeless people do not have the financial means of paying for lodging. Many have no other recourse but to sleep on the streets.

We contend that if a city cannot provide adequate shelter for its homeless population, it should not prevent unsheltered homeless people from sleeping on the streets. Unfortunately many such cities in the United States have illegal lodging ordinances or municipal codes. When these codes and ordinances are enforced, homeless people are ticketed and often have to move in the middle of the night. A homeless person ticketed for illegal lodging can only avoid paying the hefty fine by going to jail. In our opinion such laws constitute cruel and unusual punishment and go against the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. Enforcement of such ordinances and codes criminalizes homeless people.

Since there are currently an inadequate number of shelter beds for the homeless in San Diego, we, the undersigned, request that the City of San Diego set aside City property that is well lighted and patrolled by the police where homeless people can safely camp at night without being ticketed for illegal lodging.