Breaking The Law To Help The Homeless

There is a war being waged against the homeless all across America. There are over 70 cities that have laws or ordinances that prevent people from helping the homeless. In Florida, Arnold Abbott, a 90 year old veteran was arrested for giving away food. In Denver, police have been stealing blankets and sleeping bags from people sleeping on the streets, leaving them out in the cold to die. Two weeks ago, police in Phoenix, Arizona shut down a non-profit organization that was feeding the homeless in their city. A man in Chicago was allowing homeless people to sleep in his basement at night to try to help them stay warm, and the city said that he wasn't allowed to do that! These are just a few examples of what is happening all across the country. People are being fined or arrested for simply trying to help others who are less fortunate. When my friends and I help the homeless in our city, we do it a little differently.

In my home town of Dallas, Texas they have made it illegal to feed over 75 homeless people without obtaining a permit first, while stealing the homeless's possessions and constantly forcing them to move. It seems like every year they find out where the homeless are living, pass a city ordinance making it illegal for them to live there and then they take a bulldozer to it and then fence it off so no one can return. My friends and I are part of an activist group, called Don't Comply. We believe what these cities are doing to people is disgusting and don't understand how someone could do such things to other people. Call us crazy, but we also believe we shouldn't have to ask the government for a permission slip and pay a fee in order to help out our fellow man.

(Patrick Smith's video from Feed The Need 2017)

After hearing about some of these horrific stories going on in other cities, and then Dallas passing the law which criminalizes feeding the homeless, we decided to do something about it. Every December for the past 5 years, Don't Comply has openly broke the law, Texas style. We openly carry our firearms while we feed and clothe those in need and when we are approached by police or city officials we refuse to comply with this bad law. Even though they have threatened us with fines and the possibility of arrest over the years, they haven't actually stopped us like they have done to many activist groups in other cities. When you have a large group of activists who are all armed, it seems to level the playing field a little, and you don't get pushed around so much. The police do show up every year to watch us and have brought code enforcement out before, but we tell them that we are going to continue to help these people, no matter what the consequences are, and they don't pursue it any further than that.

Our group does a pot luck lunch and clothing give away near the homeless shelter, in downtown Dallas. We usually feed and clothe around 300 people each year and for the past 2 years we've been able to purchase tents and sleeping bags, thanks to people sending us donations. After our main event of giving away food and clothes, which we do from mid morning to early evening, we then take a break to grab a bite to eat, and usually a couple of beers, and then we walk around the city to find those people who are sleeping on the ground, out in the cold, and not able to find shelter. We then set them up a tent and give them any other supplies we have to help them stay warm and more comfortable through the night. Last year, we even started small controlled fires for groups of homeless people to stay warm and cooked them hot dogs as a late night snack.

(Starting a fire under the highway to keep people warm.)

After doing this for years now, we have made relationships with some of the homeless in our city and have listened to their stories. Many of them want to work but are victims of the drug war and unable to find good jobs after they have a criminal record. Some are just down on their luck, disabled, or mentally ill, and then some are there by choice. Most of them are good people and do not deserve the treatment they are receiving from our city. I mentioned before that every year the city forces them to move. When we first started this event, which we call Feed The Need, there was a large encampment under I-30 and I-45 which was known as "tent city". There were hundreds of people that lived there and tents were under the highway as far as you could see. According to several of the people we've talked to that lived in tent city, they had lived in Fair Park before. They were forced out when politicians promised to clean up the city and fix the homeless problem. Of course, politicians don't usually keep their promises. Instead of helping the homeless, they just force them out of the areas they are living in. Several of the homeless people we have talked to had said this has been going on for years and it usually happens around election time. In July of 2017, they once again forced the homeless out of tent city, took bulldozers to everything that the homeless couldn't carry or left behind, then they put up fences with barbed wire underneath the highway.

(Part of tent city in 2016)

(Here is a Local news story on the closure of tent city)

Not only has all of this cost tax payers money, but it hasn't helped the homeless at all. It has made things worse. Every time these people have to move, it breaks up their communities, they lose possessions due to the city taking them, destroying them, or by them simply not having means to transport them before the areas are bulldozed and fenced off. It also makes it harder for people that want to help, to be able to find them when they get dispersed around the city.

(Video from Feed The Need in 2015, shot by Brett Sanders)

By putting on our Feed The Need events every winter, and participating in civil disobedience, we hope to bring light to this escalating war on the homeless. We hope we will inspire others to take action in their communities, and to refuse to be pushed around by police and city officials for simply helping other people. Are we really going to allow our government to tell us who or how many people we are allowed to help? If there are laws against helping the homeless in your city, don't comply!
-Eric Haley



(Links to more information on events I mentioned in this post)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/06/us/chicago-homeless-basement-weather.html
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/04/justice/florida-feeding-homeless-charges/index.html
http://www.westword.com/news/videos-of-denver-police-taking-blankets-from-homeless-have-gone-viral-8582970
https://soaznewsx.com/71-cities-have-made-it-illegal-to-help-homeless-people/
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/12/24/non-profits-slam-police-closure-phoenix-street-feeding-event/980222001/
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Latest-Dallas-Tent-City-to-be-Shut-Down-Tuesday-436478493.html