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Petition to Establish Humane and Affordable Housing Policy in the City of Fresno

We residents of the City of Fresno hereby petition the city government to establish a humane and affordable housing policies in the City of Fresno.

We agree on the following facts:

1. Demolishing homeless encampments is not humane or affordable and increases the risk that people will be harmed.

2. The current policy of demolishing homeless encampments is unjust and has not meaningfully protected public health or safety.

3. The current policy has resulted in public shame and civil liability on the part of the City of Fresno.

4. We agree with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness that, "Criminalization policies are costly and consume substantial state and local resources. In today’s economic climate, it is important for state, county, and local entities to invest in programs that work rather than spend money on activities that are unlikely to achieve the desired result and which may, in some cases, open the jurisdiction to liability." Searching Out Solutions: Constructive Alternatives to the Criminalization of Homelessness, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, p. 2 (2012).

BASED ON THESE FACTS, we demand that the City of Fresno do the following:

5. Immediately stop demolishing temporary homeless shelters and camps and request implementation of law enforcement training to prevent harassment of homeless persons.

6. Immediately call for an emergency open meeting of members of the Continuum of Care, and invite appropriate representatives of city, county, state and federal government as well as all local stakeholders and members of the public for the purpose of establishing and implementing a humane and affordable housing policy which includes adequate provision for emergency and transitional housing for homeless persons as well as permanent housing.

7. Immediately direct its liaison from the City of Fresno work in good faith during regular weekly and open meetings to coordinate emergency relief services to homeless persons, including shelter, safety protocols as part of a comprehensive emergency, transitional and permanent housing strategy for homeless persons and neighborhoods surrounding homeless encampments.