Our Primary Mission

In the County of Santa Cruz as many as 11,099 people experienced homelessness in the last year. More than half between the age of 30 and 50 and more than half have children. A conservative estimate for the City of Santa Cruz, is 1500 to 2000 people experience homelessness on any one night. The Homeless Service Center reports only 120 emergency shelter spaces are provided in the Winter and 39 spaces Spring through Fall.

According to the local Housing and Homelessness Report - 2005 as many as 1,100 of these individuals work, but due to high rents, tight rental markets, and low paying jobs, they have found themselves living on the streets, in cars, in shelters, in abandoned buildings, in motels, or in over-crowded, temporary accommodations with others. This report shows a sharp increase in the homeless numbers from the Homeless Census - 2000.

Are these heavy-handed (or should we say heavy-footed) methods really necessary?

The current economic downturn has put even more Americans one paycheck, one illness, or one rent hike away from homelessness. Over 50% of Santa Cruz County’s residents pay half of their income for rent. The Housing and Homelessness Report - 2005 showed that more than two-thirds of the local homeless population last had housing in Santa Cruz County.

There are six municipal codes in Santa Cruz that criminalize homelessness with attacks on conduct essential to health and life. Police use MC 6.36.010a (The Sleeping Ban), MC 6.36.010c (The Camping Ban), MC 6.36.010b (The Blanket Ban), MC 9.10.010a (The Begging Ban) MC 9.50.012 (The Sitting Ban) and (The Parking Lot Ban) MC 9.64.030 to arrest and harass the poor for the purpose of driving them out or otherwise render them invisible.

We believe these types of ordinances violate various provisions of the Bill of Rights. In these times of ever widening economic inequality the poor are not the only victims. Our sense of community and civil society is under attack.