Houseless Struggle to Fulfill Basic Needs
For the houseless residents of Santa Cruz, meeting basic hygienic needs can be trying. Access to bathrooms, showers and clean laundry is often limited. Hygiene is imperative for those living on the streets due to constant exposure to disease and infection. Access to shelter, jobs…
City Council Approves Increased ‘Stay Away’ Penalties
Gary Curry is all too familiar with ordinance 2014-12, or the “Stay Away” ordinance — $7,000-in-tickets-for-sleeping-citations familiar. To pay off the fines, Curry worked 12 hour shifts, then panhandled afterward to make enough money to eat. The Franchise Tax Board once withdrew $800 from Curry’s…
From Soup to Solutions
Over a bowl of soup, Santa Cruz County residents considered their own role in addressing houselessness, while donating funds toward the Homeless Service Center’s efforts to provide the houseless with homes. The Homeless Services Center (HSC) held its 15th annual Soupline Supper on Thursday at…
100-Day Dash Aspires to House the Houseless
If all of the 2,895 unsheltered houseless individuals surveyed in Santa Cruz County were to line up for a shelter bed, they would make-up a line the length of over 17 football fields.
Houseless Protest Downtown Cafés Over Claims of Discrimination
Around 40 individuals who are houseless rallied downtown on Jan. 25 to argue that several coffee shops and cafés have discriminated them based on their appearances.
Warming the Houseless with Community Partnership
A community group known as Residents for a Coldest Nights Warming Center began both the conversation and the planning for a system of warming centers for the houseless in Santa Cruz.
A System of Support for the Houseless
Proposal promoting space for reintegration a step in the right direction
Permanent Camp for the Houseless Proposed
High school teacher Stacy Falls and filmmaker Brent Adams are working together to create an alternative solution for houselessness in Santa Cruz. However, before they can establish their vision for a permanent campground for up to 50 houseless people, Adams and Falls must gain support from the community and its leaders.