Wednesday, June 29, 2016

SANTA CLARITA EXPUNGEMENT WORKSHIPS - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS and GET ASSISTANCE to CLEAR YOUR RECORD

CITY OF SANTA CLARITA EXPUNGMENT WORKSHOPS


SANTA CLARITA WORK SOURCE CENTER
COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS UNIVERSITY CENTER #250
26455 ROCKWELL CANYON ROAD, SANTA CLARITA


661-799-9675  to sign up


In collaboration with AV-East Kern Second Chance


Part I: Know Your Rights
1st, 2bnd, 3rd, Wednesdays  1 PM to 3 PM


Early Termination of probation,  expungements include infractions, misdemeanors and felonies.  Sealing of Juvenile Records, reducing felonies to misdemeanor, Certificate of Rehabilitation/ Parden and Prop 47 - petition for retroactive eligible felonies to misdemeanors.


YOU MUST ATTEND ALL THREE CLASSES TO QUALIFY FOR Part 2.


Part II: Expungement Assistance
4th Wednesdays 1 PM to 3
PM Bring copies of your Minute court orders/ rap sheet and receive help filling out your petition.   You'll need to get these documents from the court - Los Angeles County Clerks Office.

CALL FOR FULL INFORMATION and SIGN UP



Tuesday, June 28, 2016

DIRE SITUATION for PASADENA HOMELESS - SHUT DOWNS! CHARLIE SANCHEZ SALINAS SPEAKING OUT!




CHARLIE SANCHEZ SALINAS speaks out.  CITY OF PASADENA NOT ADDRESSING THE SITUATION.... SKID ROW COMING ON GOLD LINE METERO TRAIN.


Starting late last  year UNION STATION in PASADENA used to feed the homeless and let them take showers... SHUT DOWN...


SALVATION ARMY used to have a SATURDAY AM FOOD TRUCK at MEMORIAL PARK and feed...  SHUT DOWN...


MARCH 17  VILLA PARK COMMUNITY SERVICES  (Community Center) had a Thursday evening dinner.... SHUT DOWN


JACKIE ROBINSON...  feed... SHUT DOWN...


FEED LA COUNTY. ORG and the HOLY ASSEMBLY CHURCH  CONTINUE TO FEED THURSDAY LUNCH 12-1.


at Raymond and Villa  NOT SHUT DOWN


FEEDLACOUNTYORG






HOLY ASSEMBLY CHURCH PASADENA

Sunday, June 26, 2016

LA TIMES VIDEO - ON THE STREETS - YOUNG and HOMELESS




EXCERPT:
Published on Jan 11, 2016
Lisa Biagiotti joins homeless youth social workers with Covenant House as they canvass Hollywood for 18- to 24-year-olds. An estimated 2,000 young adults sleep on the streets of Los Angeles every night. Down alleyways and side streets, Lisa meets Kristyna, Rimecco and Ray, and learns about what it's like to be young and homeless in Hollywood.

'It's just me, myself and I [on] these cold, hard streets.' -- KRISTYNA

ON THE STREETS is an ongoing video series on homelessness in Southern California

In this video series, Lisa Biagiotti sets out to put faces to the statistics. But 'the homeless' are united only in that they have no place to live. She meets people on the streets, learns about their experiences and explores the issues they face. Biagiotti is collaborating with Times reporters and our data team to plot where to take her camera next.


COVENANT HOUSE   link to locations in many states
Here is Hollywood
Covenant House California (Los Angeles)
1325 N. Western Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90027
(323) 461-3131

Friday, June 24, 2016

MAINE PLANS TO KEEP THE POOR POOR - MORE THAN $5000 in the bank? FORGET SNAP!

Washington Post and MAINES PLAN TO KEEP THE POOR IN POVERTY by Roberto A. Ferdman


EXCERPT: a $5,000 cap on the savings and other assets of residents enrolled in the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Those whose bank accounts, secondary vehicles and homes, and other assets considered non-essential by the government, exceed the limit will no longer be eligible to participate in the food stamp program. An individual's primary home and vehicle won't count toward the limit.




****
Here in California, a person on General Relief (a single individual) pay not have more than $1200 in the bank, even though a typical apartment costs almost as much and the first and last rent keeps people out of housing, so they stay on the street or in a shelter for YEARS hoping to save enough in a trust account somewhere for their deposits.  ON SSI/SSDI an individual can have more - $2000.  If you sold your car or your home because you wanted to use that money for renting or an RV or whatever, there is a slippery slope of loss when you need repairs.  We know of homeless people who are homeless due to job loss, age discrimination, sexism, loss of apartments due to tear downs, and so much else.



Wednesday, June 22, 2016

SOME STATS SAY 3.5% OF THE RUSSIAN POPULATION IS HOMELESS! VALERY SOKOLOV - NOCHLYAZHKA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and OUR MESSAGE TO RUSSIA

SHARE INTERNATIONAL  read the full, heartbreaking, article Homeless in Russia.


  

A visit with Valery Sokolov  who was homeless in Russia for six years, from 1986 to 1992. Sometimes he slept in a railroad station and sometimes in the forest. For him, the most difficult part of homelessness was earning money to buy food. 

Valery Sokolov, journalist and president of the fledgling Nochlyazhka Charitable Foundation in St. Petersburg, tells about homelessness in Russia and his surprise at finding homelessness in the United States. 

EXCERPT:

There are between 30,000 and 50,000 homeless people in St Petersburg. They are called bomzhi - having no fixed abode - the official status of those who lack the propiska - a stamp in the internal passport verifying an official place of residence. Without a residence permit, the homeless are deprived of employment, medical services and social welfare, and can be sent to prison for up to two years for "vagrancy, begging or leading a parasitic life."

The Municipal Mortuary reported 3,515 homeless deaths in St Petersburg in 1994. The bezrodniye, or social orphans, are buried with headstones bearing numbers instead of names and dates. St Petersburg has 250 beds for homeless children, but none for anyone else. In a report last year to the United Nations Committee on Human Rights, Valery clearly states: "The Russian Federation authorities pursue policies which can be defined as little other than latent genocide based on a social discrimination."

In 1996 the local government of St Petersburg gave Valery 20 million rubles - about $4,000 - as the first social contract for the homeless. "Mayor Sobchak has looked me in the eye," mentioned Valery, "and said, 'homelessness is the invention of the journalists.'


***

WE KNOW RUSSIA if not RUSSIANS is reading us, so here are our suggestions should you be a human being hitting our blog to learn about poverty in America.

We know many homeless hate census and hate registering with police or other agencies, but we suggest that by NOT having such a registration and giving people the papers that they NEED in order to obtain employment, medical services, and social welfare, RUSSIA IS KILLING THEIR OWN PEOPLE OFF.  That is shameful.  We no longer think of RUSSIA as a poor country, not with extremely wealthy RUSSIAN businessmen buying massive boats, exclusive homes - even islands, and all the rest!

We also know that here in the United States many people who are homeless can only make some money legally through jobs that have high turnover and are physically difficult.  But sometimes it's enough to sleep in a motel and eat. SIGN HOLDING, BREAKING APART CARS FOR PARTS, LOTS OF TELEPHONE SALES, CLEANING HOTELS and MOTELS (and ironically HOUSES), being UNPAID CARE GIVERS and NANNIES, HANDING OUT FLYERS TO TOURISTS etc.  Dead end jobs usually. But when you refuse to let a person legally work, RUSSIA, you should not be surprised when people turn to cash jobs and crime.

Finally, the general consensus even among homeless who have a very difficult time here in America, is that RUSSIA has NO HEART because it has now a HISTORY OF OUTLAWING RELIGION and part of COMMUNISM.  Many of us are not religious, or sick of being prayed over, however, even a HUMANIST has a HEART.  As you read through this blog you will learn that there is not enough help for the many (possible 55,000 homeless just in Los Angeles) but also that there are MANY PEOPLE and SOME ORGANIZATIONS that do have HEART.  So in reading about these in our blog, we hope you will be inspired to know that there are giving and caring human beings here.

We suggest that you OPEN OFFICIAL DAY WORK CENTERS where homeless or anyone else that needs to make the money to stay in a motel or other legal place at night can work.  Day work can be anything from secretarial work to farm labor.  The employer should provide at least a hearty and nutritious lunch as part of the pay and you should be careful that the employer knows that he or she may not exploit these people as slave labor and monitor them. ONE WAY TO DO THIS IS TO PROVIDE A GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY TO THE EMPLOYER OF OFFICIALLY REGISTERED HOMELESS.


We want RUSSIAN WOMEN to know that Southern California is the SEX TRAFFICKING CAPITAL of the country, and also the PORN Capital.  Russian women who are thinking of coming to the United States should be EXTREMELY CAREFUL in accepting ANY offer of employment to come here, as there is a strong criminal element among both Russian and Armenians immigrating to Southern California.   We suggest that applying for the immigration LOTTERY may be a best idea! We HAVE met RUSSIAN WOMEN WHO CAME HERE, WERE TURNED INTO PROSTITUTES, and BECAME DRUG ADDICTED and HOMELESS!


By the way, RUSSIA, we like that you are willing to populate your eastern barren lands by allowing people to have acreage to make their own.  This was also done in the expansion of the United States, historically.


SOME VIDEOS FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS










Sunday, June 19, 2016

HAS ANYONE GONE CRAZY ON YOU? VERBAL ABUSE WHEN THEY SEE YOU'RE USING FOODSTAMPS or WIC IN THE CASHIER LINE?



DAILY MAIL UK WALLMART BEZERKER FOUL LANGUAGE ON FOOD STAMP USER

DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE IN THE UNITES STATES one in five to one in seven of your neighbors are getting at least some assistance with food purchases by using FOOD STAMPS.

FOOD STAMPS ARE AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO WORK -  THE AMOUNT OF YOUR INCOME and SIZE OF YOUR FAMILY and some other factors are considered.

Friday, June 17, 2016

ANGEL HANZ for THE HOMELESS - NO CITIZEN ACTIVIST IN THE NORTH HOLLYWOOD AREA HAS DONE MORE!






ANGEL HANZ for the HOMELESS AND THEIR PETS






Angel Hanz has attracted volunteers who not only groom the pets but also give HAIRCUTS to the homeless.  MARKS MOBILE DOG SALON... MISS DEBORAH THE BARBER, DOCTOR MAY a VEGAN VET...

Angel Hanz 
is working on being able to use a 
building for future gatherings 
so that weather will no longer be a factor. 
 (ANYONE OUT THERE WANT A BIG TAX DEDUCTION FOR PROVIDING A RENTAL FREE SPACE?  HOW ABOUT
SOMEONE READY TO GIVE OVER SOME REAL ESTATE!)

There will be an AA/NA Meeting right before the gathering each month.
Our new Angel Hanz Recover Meeting is from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
This meeting is only for the homeless.



Monday, June 13, 2016

SOVA NEEDS JEWISH PHILANTHOPIST TO BUY THEM A BUILDING FOR FOOD BANK AND SERVICES to REPLACE CLOSING METRO LOCATION

Bad news for those who have been going to the SOVA METRO LOCATION.  The landlord raised the rent to unaffordable and that location will close in a couple weeks..


Beginning in JULY 2016 there will be expanded hours at the other TWO EXISTING LOCATIONS in VAN NUYS and at PICO-ROBINSON.


SOVA NEEDS A JEWISH PHILANTHROPIST TO BUY THEM A BUILDING!  Come on!  We keep reading about Jewish Philanthropists in the Jewish Journal.  Millions going out of the country to Israel.  Philanthropists who are REAL ESTATE WEALTHY (while little to no affordable housing is being built.)  You'd think the GUILT FACTOR WOULD KICK IN and SOMEBODY would step forward and BUY SOVA A BUILDING.


The location at 16439 VANOWEN STREET at Vanowen and Havenhurst WILL BE OPEN  SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY starting July 5th.


JFSLA SOVA ORG

Saturday, June 11, 2016

THROWAWAY KIDS SEX TRAFFICKED - ONE IN 8 HOMELESS MINORS - HOLLYWOOD - COVENANT HOUSE

DESERET NEWS - LA SEX TRAFFICKING NOT LIKE IN THE MOVIES   by  Lane Anderson, Deseret News National Edition

EXCERPT:


There are between 4,800 and 10,000 homeless minors in Los Angeles on any given night, most of them concentrated around downtown L.A. and Hollywood, and many find themselves in a Dickensian scramble to survive. Some come from out of state, in search of warm weather and a better life, but most are local kids from Southern California’s poor neighborhoods. Many will fall into, or be pressed into, sex work.

Exact stats on minors in the sex trade are dicey — information is hard to get and tough to confirm. One oft-quoted but unverified figure says that one in three teens will be recruited into sex work the first 48 hours on the street according to the National Runaway Switchboard. Another embattled University of Pennsylvania study claimed that most kids enter the sex trade at age 13; a more recent peer-reviewed 2008 report puts the average age at 15. What is known is that homeless teens, at any age, are vulnerable...

And many of the young women and girls “in the life,” the insider term for sex work, have a history of abuse at home or in the foster care system before they ever end up on the tracks. Forty-six percent of runaway and homeless youths report having being physically abused, and 17 percent report being forced into unwanted sexual activity by a family or household member, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

This is part of what advocates call the “foster care to prostitution pipeline” that sets kids up from a childhood of abuse into a future in sex work...

Covenant House is a shelter and outreach center for homeless youth, with 94 beds. The vacancy rate is zero, and last month the waiting list had 100 names on it.

Bill Bedrossian is the executive director at Covenant House California, and if you ask him what would abate sex exploitation of young people, one answer is simple: beds.

Covenant House is on a short list of places that law enforcement calls when it is trying to place young people living on the street. “They have a scared kid from Idaho who they found in front of a store, or at the train station, or on Skid Row; that’s not a safe place for a young person to be,” he says.
About 65 to 70 percent of the youths Covenant House serves are locals from L.A. County, about 30 percent are from other states. Nearly all are coming from foster care, or are running from abuse, he says.
 


COVENANT HOUSE LINK

Thursday, June 9, 2016

GLASGOW WILL HOST THE HOMELESS WORLD CUP... CHECK THIS SITE FOR WORLD HOMELESS STATS!

HOMELESS WORLD CUP GLASGOW - 2016

EXCERPT:


The 2016 Homeless World Cup will take place in the heart of Glasgow, from July 10-16. For the duration of the seven day event, Glasgow’s George Square will be “the most inspiring place on the planet.”


In total, 64 teams, representing 51 countries, will come together to celebrate and highlight the year round life changing work of the Homeless World Cup National Partner network. Five hundred twelve players will arrive in Glasgow each with their own story to tell, their own point on a journey to create a better life for themselves.


George Square will be converted into an outdoor street football venue for the event, with three purpose built pitches with seating. Up to 100,000 of spectators are expected to attend the tournament. Entry is free every day, and tickets are not required.


HOMELESS WORLD CUP STATS


EXCERPT:


To help our supporters better understand this global problem, we have sought to compile the latest available statistics on the challenges faced by our National Partners. If you would like to learn more about – and help support – our partners and the countries in which they work, please join the Supporters Club.


The last time a global survey was attempted – by the United Nations in 2005 – an estimated 100 million people were homeless worldwide. As many as 1.6 billion people lacked adequate housing (Habitat, 2015.)


Getting an accurate picture of global homelessness is extremely challenging. Definitions of homelessness vary from country to country. Census data is typically collected based on household and, while most census data takes into account those living in shelters and receiving government aid, census takers struggle to count the “hidden homeless” – those who may be residing in inadequate settlements such as slums, squatting in structures not intended for housing, couch surfing with friends and family, and those who relocate frequently.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

AIRBNB LANDLORDS EVICTING RENTERS - STEVE HILL EXPOSES THE RENTER VICTIMS - LA CITY PROPOSES REGULATION

PROSPECT.ORG - EVICTIONS CONVERSIONS - DARK SIDE OF AIRBNB  full article by Steve Hill

EXCERPT:
But in touristy cities with housing shortages and hot real-estate markets—New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and many more—Airbnb plays a less savory role. Not only does Airbnb facilitate illegal conversions of entire buildings from tenant apartments to de facto hotels, it has also become part of the landlord lobby that resists enforcement of local laws prohibiting such abuses. To be sure, places like San Francisco would suffer the effects of conversions even without Airbnb, but the evidence shows that Airbnb supercharges the process.

Take the case of Chris Butler, who was evicted from his rent-controlled apartment on the grounds that the owner’s husband needed to move in (a legally acceptable reason for evicting a tenant, called “owner-occupied move-in”). Yet the husband never moved in, and instead the owner listed that unit as well as another on Airbnb for $145 a night, considerably more than the $60 a night the tenant paid. So the tenant sued the landlord for unjust eviction. “They forced me out of a home I loved,” says Butler. “It was incredibly difficult to find a place, especially because I have a really old dog. I ended up paying over double what I was paying there.”

In another lawsuit, tenant Susan Whetzel claims that she was illegally evicted from her rent-controlled apartment, which was then rented out via Airbnb. The owner claimed that he was converting his three-unit building into condominiums, but the building was never converted. Whetzel claims she was harassed by the owners until she finally moved out, and then discovered her apartment listed on the Airbnb website for $250 a night, more than four times her rent. With an attorney’s help, she filed suit, asking for her apartment back, plus damages. Her lawsuit is still pending.

GOV TECK _ LA SEEKS USER DATA TO ENFORCE CITY REGULATIONS  full article by Emily Alpert Reyes, of the LA TIMES

EXCERPT

The law would allow short-term rentals in Los Angeles but impose several restrictions:
People would be able to rent out only their primary residence, defined as the place they live at least six months out of the year. Hosts could rent out only that home, or a room within it, for up to 90 days annually.
 
They would be barred from offering apartments that fall under rent stabilization or affordable-housing covenants, and would have to pay the same kind of lodging taxes as hotels, which would go into a city fund for affordable housing.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

AMAZON FINANCES HOMELESS SEATTLE EMERGENCY SHELTER - BOZOZ DONATES A MILLION OF HIS OWN

DAILY MAIL - AMAZON TURNS HOTEL INTO EMERGENCY SEATTLE SHELTER
By Chris Pleasance   VIDEO PHOTOS and FULL ARTICLE AT THIS LINK

EXCERPT:
With spiraling housing costs driven by the tech industry boom, it is no wonder that many cities on the West Coast are facing a growing homeless problem.
 
In Seattle the issue has become so acute that mayor Ed Murray recently declared a state of emergency to help deal with it, prompting Amazon to step up to the plate.

Along with non-profit Mary's Place, the tech company has opened up an abandoned Travelodge on land it bought to house it's new headquarter campus to provide shelter to homeless families. ...
 
Owner Jeff Bezos even donated $1million of his own money to Mary's Place in order to help support the project.

Linda Mitchell, spokesman for the non-profit, told Dailymail.com: 'The homeless problem has been growing. Every year the county does a count and every year the number grows pretty substantially ...
 
The center will be open for a year, after which Amazon will develop the property into new headquarter space, but Mitchell said there is another facility the tech company also owns around a block away that they are considering moving into afterward.
 
Mitchell explained that the average family usually only stays with them for around 60 days before moving on, with economic issues being the top cause for their situation.

Parents find themselves between jobs, waiting on a first paycheck, and unable to pay rent and are evicted, or become homeless after a family member gets sick and needs care paying for.
 
However, she added that most families who end up on the street only stay for a short time, while 97 per cent are only homeless once without needing assistance again.