Why am I here? Here's a reason:
A letter of condemnation was written to Sacramento mayor, Kevin Johnson, by a United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights. Catarina de Albuquerque visited Sacramento in 2011 and found it appalling that the city targets the homeless specifically by denying access to clean water and public restrooms. She called this treatment “cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment” under international law, comparing the homeless plight in Sacramento to that of a second world country.
That's right- Sacramento is violating human rights. The city shuts of water fountains, locks park and other local bathrooms, and tickets the homeless for public urination/defecation and illegal camping. SafeGround, the illegal tent city, has offered to pay for a portable bathroom if they were allowed to legally camp in a plot of land. The city denies them.
Now the U.N. has stepped in, and the mayor "understands the frustration" and the homelessness problem and it "has kept him awake most nights." He went on to say, "No one is more frustrated than me by the lack of progress in fully addressing our homelessness challenges."
Really? Well this is an election year. . .
Read for yourself-
Here's the Letter
Here is the best press release
Here's a general follow-up with links to other press
Here is a Huffington Post article
SafeGround held a press conference on this letter and little press coverage was given to this issue. Our major newspaper had a press clipping. This issue was not on the agenda to discuss in the city council meeting.
Our mayor loses sleep because of this issue, but is doing nothing to resolve it.
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