A CALL TO ACTION: Solutions Not Citations

Over the past two weeks, Project HOME and our friends and allies have been in full-gear advocacy mode, working to defend the rights and dignity of our homeless sisters and brothers. We were stunned when we heard that Councilman Frank DiCicco introduced a bill in City Council to amend the City’s 1999 Sidewalk Behavior Ordinance (bill #110386). The impact of his amendments would be to empower police officers to cite or arrest persons who are homeless on the streets of Center City without the previously mandated provision of social services. When we reviewed the bill, it was clear to us that in effect, it criminalizes homelessness and profoundly changes an important aspect of the City’s approach to homelessness.

We have formed the SOLUTIONS NOT CITATIONS campaign, with two key messages: Homelessness is Not a Crime and Keep the Focus on Real Solutions. You can read our full position paper online. We have had meetings and phone calls with almost all of the Council members on the Streets and Services committee, which will hear the bill tomorrow. Meanwhile, over 1,300 persons have sent letters to all City Council members and to Mayor Nutter. Two of the six committee members have stated they will vote against the bill, and two others are leaning toward voting against it. So we have a good chance to win this fight. But we need to keep busy these next two days.

• If you haven’t done so already, there’s still a chance to send an online letter to City Council and the Mayor.
• We also want to get lots of phone calls today and tomorrow morning to the three swing votes on the Committee: Councilman Bill Green (at large) - (215) 686-3420; Councilman Bill Greenlee (at large) - (215) 686-3446; And, if you are in the 8th district, call Councilwomen Donna Reed Miller - (215) 686-3424.
• Please join us tomorrow for a Press Conference/Rally at 1:00 at Dilworth Plaza outside City Hall. And help us pack City Council chambers for the 2:00 hearing. Bring signs and banners to get our message across. Spread the word to others!
• You can also help by sending a letter to the editor. For the Philadelphia Inquirer, email letters to [email protected] (200 words or less, include name, home address, and day and evening phone numbers); for the Philadelphia Daily News, email [email protected] (Put “Attention: Letters to the Editor” in the subject line).

This is not the time for us to recast homelessness as a criminal problem and to waste precious city resources on ill-advised, inhumane, and counterproductive measure like Councilman DiCicco’s bill. We’re better than that.  Fortunately, many of our City Council representatives know this, so we are hopeful the bill can be stopped. Let’s not take a step backwards in the struggle against homelessness. We must build on our track record of success and finish the job of ending chronic homelessness. You can follow our campaign on Facebook.