Did you know there is a community called Tent City, 40 miles east of Los Angeles?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www2.sbsun.com/sanbernardino/ci_8589023

Many eyes watch Tent City evolution
Andrea Bennett, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03/15/2008 08:59:16 PM PDT


ONTARIO - When the city launched its plan Thursday to organize Tent City, a homeless camp that has gained national attention since expanding to an estimated 400 people, it stepped into uncharted territory.
And everyone is watching.

"I think it's a really great first step and a chance to do something really worthwhile," volunteer Jane Mercer said. "I think it took a lot of political courage for people to step out to do this."

While there has been criticism about some of the rules the city will impose starting Monday - such as no pets, no children and no one without local roots, many credit Ontario for taking a chance few other cities would.

"I'm not aware of another municipality that has confronted this unique situation," City Attorney John Brown said. "We may very well be charting new ground here, and I believe the city is up to the task."

The effort to reform Tent City became imperative when a dirt lot set aside for Ontario's homeless last summer drew people in need from all over the region, flooding the area with tents and campers, raising health and safety concerns and irking some Ontario residents.

Brown said the city began planning its strategy when it first directed a handful of homeless who lived by the railroad tracks to the city-owned property.

Efforts accelerated, though, when the population spiked in recent months, he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7297093.stm

Tent city highlights US homes crisis

The meltdown in the US mortgage market has led to record foreclosures and forced thousands from their homes. In few places is it worse than southern California, where the BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani reports on an extreme consequence of the downturn, but one that some observers fear could grow.

Forty miles east of Los Angeles, on a patch of waste ground, is the place they call Tent City.

Sandwiched between the local airport and the railway line, this really is the wrong side of the tracks.

We are on the outskirts of Ontario, a functionally pleasant commuter-city in southern California.

Last summer, local officials established this camp as a temporary base for the city's homeless population, then around two dozen.

[shadowknows69]

1. There's an Ontario California?

I did not know this.

[NNN0LHI]

2. Yes, as it says ...

... We are on the outskirts of Ontario, a functionally pleasant commuter-city in southern California ...

Don

[Iggo]

69. 909, woot-woot!

I'm a former Rancho Kook. I couldn't handle the Redness of the 909, though. I'm back in Whittier now, which is more, shall we say, Bluish?

:hi:

[nealmhughes]

26. That is where the John Wayne airport is, in Orange County. Very popular with those going

to the tourist attractions in Anaheim or not wanting to deal with LAX or Long Beach airports, sorta like MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma for those wishing to avoid LaGuardia or Newark when you are specifically going to Nassau or Suffolk Counties and not into the City of New York.

[Marr]

27. John Wayne's down in Irvine or Santa Ana.

Ontario's got Ontario International though.

[A HERETIC I AM]

30. Yup. John Wayne is right on the 405, south of downtown LA. Ontario is bisected by I-10

straight east of downtown LA. Ontario Airport and John Wayne are 40 miles apart.

[Yael]

31. I always fly into Ontario when I am heading to LA

Much easier to get in and out of.

[Raksha]

67. Yes, there's an Ontario, California.

I used to live there, in a rented room in a house just south of the airport, after I lost my own house to foreclosure. It's a long, sad story, but not related to the current crisis.

[musiclawyer]

79. The Ontario Airport

handles a lot of traffic that LAX cannot.

[Vinca]

3. I applaud the locals, but isn't this sad? In the United States of America

we have a city where people are living in tents.

[NNN0LHI]

4. About 400 people at this one Tent City and I bet there are more of them

:scared:

Wonder why this hasn't been reported on cable news?

Don

[Vinca]

6. There's a crazy black pastor in Chicago . . . didn't you hear? nt

[NNN0LHI]

8. Ontario Tent City Residents To Be Kicked Out Monday

http://www.knbc.com/news/15600317/detail.html

ONTARIO, Calif. -- Each day at an Ontario homeless encampment, hundreds of people line up for meals or whatever food local churches and volunteers may bring, KNBC's Mary Parks reported.

"They're in a survival mode," said volunteer Paul Varner. "All they can think about is the safety and out of the weather."

During the last six months, more than 400 homeless people have pitched tents near Ontario Airport, creating a "tent city" that sprawls across vacant lots and side streets.

For many people, it was shelter from the elements and better than sleeping under bridges.

By Monday, anyone who can't verify they are locals will be bused to the cities they came from, Parks reported.

Tent city resident Akimi Onyemes said his official residence is Riverside.

"You're busy all day, dealing with dirt, trash, going to fetch water," Onyemes said.

Of the 400 people, about 140 have been documented as locals.

Patty Barnes said she couldn't pay rent after her husband died, so she was evicted and walked to Ontario from Fontana.

[Vinca]

13. This is sickening. But you know what? If another Republican

is elected, it's only going to get worse. McCain loves the trade agreements and isn't particularly concerned that factories are closing their doors. Maybe a Democrat won't make much of a difference at this point either. It seems the "haves" are the ones with the power and the "have nots" are lucky to find tents. They're only working on the mortgage mess because the investor class is screaming about it. At this point, in this country, if you are unable to make it on your own for any reason, you're as good as dead. At the very least you're invisible.

[NNN0LHI]

14. And McCain is all for continuing to spend $Trillions that we don't have in Iraq

These idiots are going to bankrupt us.

Thats what the Dems need to hammer home.

Don

[Raksha]

68. WALKED to Ontario from Fontana???

Re >>Patty Barnes said she couldn't pay rent after her husband died, so she was evicted and walked to Ontario from Fontana.

That's a hell of a long walk! Didn't she even have money for bus fare? I've lived in both places, and while they aren't far apart by freeway, that would still be a very long walk.

I'm not too far from there now...I think I'm going to have to see this local Bushville with my own eyes, and maybe take some pictures.

[acmavm]

18. It just too damn bad some of you people just can't FOCUS on what is

being discussed.

Medication might help.

[Champion Jack]

12. same reason they kept telling us

"there's no recession! eveything is OKie Dokie!"

[dajoki]

52. Because its like...

the coffins coming home from the war, they are not allowed to cover it. Too embarrassing for our government.

[Johonny]

82. If you've been to Santa Monica or downtown LA

you don't have to bet.

[dajoki]

46. Yes it is sad...

While there has been criticism about some of the rules the city will impose starting Monday - such as no pets, no children and no one without local roots, many credit Ontario for taking a chance few other cities would.
Maybe next they will hire Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona to oversee the pris...er the people. I am not homeless but EVERYONE deserves to be treated with respect and allowed to have their personal dignity!! Turn the tents into permanent housing!!

[Spider Jerusalem]

5. Shades of the early 1930's.

THIS was the first thing I thought of when I read this.

[myrna minx]

7. George Bush's economy has brought back the Hoovervilles. Thanks President Hoover the 2nd.

:puke:

[NashVegas]

9. God, They Look So *Young*

In your sig photo. Couple of vagabonds. Down By Law or is it even older?

[myrna minx]

15. They do look like babies.

I think it's from the down by law era.

[galledgoblin]

55. Hoover was a better president

a number of similarities between the two; both inherited the system of rules they operated by which were flawed and would inevitably lead to problems, both entered office in a "gilded" age which people seem to think was better than it really was, both tried the usual fixes that previous administrations used, etc

but Hoover was a Quaker who didn't try to change the law to fit his own narrow interpretation of morality, and he didn't involve us in a pointless colonialist war.

[robertpaulsen]

84. In honor of Dubya, Hoovervilles should be renamed Duburbs.

I read that somewhere else, hope it catches on!

[midnight]

10. Tent City is another symptom of compassionate conservatism.

[NNN0LHI]

11. This is happening all over and we get daily Brittany updates on CNN

http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/388375.html

Lacey council stalls on rules for tent city


At issue: Push for homeless to reside in a church building

Christian Hill
The Olympian

LACEY — The City Council is deadlocked on a proposal to regulate temporary homeless encampments.

The sticking point is whether the city should require the homeless to reside inside a church. The cities of Olympia and Tumwater have adopted laws without such a restriction.

Three council members favored the restriction, and three opposed it. Deputy Mayor John Darby was sick and didn't attend the meeting. He didn't return a message left on his cell phone seeking comment late Thursday.

The debate has become the most contentious issue the council has confronted in at least five years.

The council had a work session on a draft of the law recommended by the Lacey Planning Commission last month and sent it back to staff members to address numerous issues.

On Thursday, the council was able to reach consensus on all of those issues, except the indoors one.


There is more:

http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=HPIA,HPIA:2006-34,HPIA:en&q=tent+city&um=1&sa=N&tab=wn

[rosesaylavee]

16. "when it first directed a handful of homeless ... to the city owned property"

WTF is that all about? Are there NO shelters in this town? No churches willing to help a HANDFUL OF HOMELESS? What are the churches thinking? What is the city thinking? Obviously they are thinking this Tent City is a good thing since they allowed it to grow in this way. Perhaps what they are thinking is 'Let's keep these people out of our lives and sight and make sure they don't bring any disease into our town or cause us more trouble than they already have.'

Whatever happened to the much touted Christian kindness and charity?

[NNN0LHI]

17. Hate to say it but Bush has turned it into every man for himself these days

That is what it seems like.

Don

[rosesaylavee]

19. That's not how we survive as a species though.

We can afford that attitude less than feeding and sheltering these people.

[bobbolink]

36. It's handy to blame it on *, but that isn't the whole story. DEMS have been complicit.

The biggest reason for homelessness is the lack of low-income housing.

HUD has been cut over 65% in 25 years.

Dems were in power many of those years.

We need to stop blaming it all on *, and get busy solving this!

[TomBall Democrat]

54. You're right - what did Henry Cisneros do for HUD?

Wasn't he in charge of HUD for Bill Clinton?

Seem to recall another scandal involving Cisneros.

Our "governors" seem to be so focused on self-gratification - they've forgotten they're public servants.

And we have all allowed it to happen.

But, I'd love to hear some positive ideas about how to get a politician to respond.

My Republican senator, Hutchison, sends a form letter in response to anything sent her.

My Republican congressman, McCain, returns silence.

Any ideas on how to get their attention?

[bobbolink]

60. "Any ideas on how to get their attention?" It will take NUMBERS and

persistence.

Those of us working for poverty issues are the stepchildren of the progressives and Democrats.

We're swept under the rug, because there is so much more "important" issues to be dealt with, we're told, time after time.

I'm trying to think of the name of a former Dem representative who worked strongly for poverty issues. He talked about the need to GO IN PERSON to your reps office. He also said that if a rep gets 1,000 pieces of mail on an issue, you can bet s/he will take serious note of it.

So, I think that is the point we need to addresss... getting enough "progressives" to take this seriously, and then going in groups to the offices.

Of course, some are going to be more amenable than others, but that is where we start.

Not fast enough for me, but there you have it.

thanks for your obvious concern!

[bobbolink]

61. Take a look at this, TomBall Democrat..... I think there's a clue in these lyrics:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3023335

[NashVegas]

21. Shelters Have Rules, Too

Keep putting people in shelters, and most "upstanding" people get to avoid the issue of homeless. Tent cities are usually a form of protest.

[bobbolink]

37. ABsolutely! You NAILED it!!

:applause:

[il_lilac]

24. most homeless prefer this option

than having to move from shelter to shelter carrying their belongings. They usually have to be out of the shelter at 7am or so and back on the street with no "base". As sad as it is this at least allows them to leave belongings somewhere and out of the elements. Sounds like local churches are trying to help by bringing food to them.

[OnionPatch]

28. There are churches that help.

I live in So Cal, about thirty miles east of Ontario. I don't know about Ontario, but we have our own population of homeless who live in the veteran's park. There are churches that offer help, but many of the homeless don't want the preaching that goes with taking help from the churches. They'd rather rough it out in the park. :shrug: There are shelters across from the park that open on cold nights. I see people bringing truckloads of food to the park for them, too. So there are SOME people and churches offering help. It's just not enough.

[bobbolink]

38. Charity is NEVER enough.

It's time to move BEYOND charity, to justice.

These people are BRAVE to be living in tents like this, and need to be acknowledged for their efforts!

[bobbolink]

34. Shelters would be WORSE!

Please, we've GOT to start thinking beyond that word!

SHELTERS are NO answer!

"Whatever happened to the much touted Christian kindness and charity? "

It's all about Personal Piety, doncha know....

:cry:

[Raksha]

70. There are lots of shelters and food banks in this part of the world.

We've been having problems for a while now. This part of SoCal--roughly between San Bernardino where I live now to Ontario--is known as the Inland Empire. At one time not so long ago it was one of the very few affordable areas left in SoCal; consequently the housing bubble inflated VERY BIG for a few years, with home prices in Fontana (for example) practically doubling overnight. Now we are experiencing the "bust" part of the cycle, which has been going on for the last couple of years. It's just been getting noticeably worse lately.

My guess is that the demand for shelter beds exceeds the supply--it's NOT that the shelters don't exist.

[bobbolink]

75. MORE shelters are NOT needed! Really, shelters are NOT meant for permanent housing!

HOUSING is what is needed.

We need to get our minds onto a different track.

Wasting money building more shelters is just that... a WASTE.

[maseman]

20. Not to Exploit

But we need to get some cameras in TENT CITY and turn this into a commercial for the Democratic Pres nominee.

Fade up from black to the city while graphics talk about "Compassionate Conservatives...third-world country known as the US...etc."

Then simply "A vote for John McCain is a vote for more of the same..."

[bobbolink]

39. YES, that would be exploitation. NEITHER dem has made homelessness a big issue.

As I keep saying, Dems are complicit in this problem, and USING homeless people would be shameful.

[maseman]

42. It's not using homeless people

It showing the world what the fuck is going on. It is REALITY! We are quick to show a fatal car crash on TV and call it "Extreme Crashes" for ratings. That is exploitation.

Showing hwo people are living because of the policies of the Republicans is reality.

[bobbolink]

43. You can show the world what's going on just fine without EXPLOITING it for politics!

"Showing hwo people are living because of the policies of the Republicans is reality. "

I guess you didn't read what I wrote.

DEMS are complicit in this!

ONE MORE TIME..... the main problem with homelessness is the lack of low-income housing.

HUD has been cut over 65% in 25 years.

DEMS were in power during that time.

NOW... can we back off this crap of blaming everything on the RW?

WE are the ones who MUST take action!

[maseman]

44. Yeah we need to action

Go post that in the GDP. We are more interested in tearing apart two Dem candidates than taking action.

What is the difference showing a kid sleeping at three AM and the WH phone ringing (fear and appeal to emotion for people with children) than showing what is going on because of BAD economic policies.

We wouldn't need HUD if we had jobs in this country. I don't blame the RW for everything but I think you would agree their fiscal programs and slashing of social programs are a little more ahrsh than the Dems no?

[bobbolink]

48. You don't seem to want to hear what I'm saying, and I resent being told to post somewhere else.

"We wouldn't need HUD if we had jobs in this country"

SO.. people like me can just jump off a fucking cliff???

that attitude is conservative, and I'm really tired of dealing with it.

If you insist that there are NO problems with the Dems, then it's unproductive to keep talking.

And, your idea is EXPLOITIVE, would turn off the homeless people (and rightfully so!) and it makes me very sad that you don't want to help them because they deserve help, but only to further your own cause.

That's EXPLOITIVE.

You had it right at the beginning of your post, but now you want to just keep defending yourself.

Defend away.

I'm done.

[maseman]

51. Good

[Two Americas]

41. that is exploitation

That is the worst sort of exploitation I can imagine - bordering on the cruel.

We want to use the politicians to help desperate, struggling, and suffering people, not use desperate, struggling, and suffering people to promote politicians.

That thinking highlights everything that is wrong with the party and with modern liberalism.

[bobbolink]

49. Thank you, Two Americas! I'm so sick of being used in this way,

and so are others.

Yes, it's CRUEL!

It's so sad that they can't even see the cruelty in their proposals.

:cry:

[dajoki]

50. Some things are or should be above politics...

like the DIGNITY of human beings!! These people should not be used as pawns in the presidential election. Why not use that money to at least try to give them some permanent housing?

[bobbolink]

57. Such a simple concept -- you are SOOOO on target!

:hug:

[liberal N proud]

22. bu$h gets his Grapes of Wrath

Check out this post on a thread yesterday by yorkiemommie1"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3227984&mesg_id=3228017


From it you can get:
.."Bush once sneered at Tsurumi for showing the film "The Grapes of Wrath,"

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. There was one in Portland at the time I left in 2003

I don't know if it's still there.

[il_lilac]

25. giving a k&r nt

[Joanne98]

29. Yes! I posted a video of that one night and someone said it was fake.

But it wasn't.

[bobbolink]

32. What's needed is for NON-HOMELESS people to get out there, participate, and support it!

Especially if BIG NAMES, which there are many not too far away, would participate in this, they not only would get much more attention, they would have more protection from discriminatory thugs!

It's time for ALL to recognize that homelessness doesn't just affect homeless people.. it affects EVERYONE, and EVERYONE should be out there supporting them!

[Two Americas]

33. Sicko

I watched Moore's Sicko last night again (I was fortunate to be among the first 200 people invited to see the film as a private showing before it was released, thanks to Moore wanting local activists to see it first).

Moore did not focus on those without health insurance coverage, or without homes, or without work. He talked about those WITH insurance, and the problems they faced.

It is absolutely vital that we see that we are all in the same boat, and that homelessness and the plight of those suffering the most is merely an extreme form of the same oppression we are all under.

It is a hideous trade off to accept a level of comfort and security, while throwing the most vulnerable among us to the curb, and then denying that we have systematic and institutionalized social problems and arguing against collective action to redress the injustice and oppression all around us. "They made the wrong choices" - do you find yourself thinking or saying that about the less fortunate? That is symptom of moral depravity, and physical comfort, prestige and status, and trinkets and baubles are not worth selling your soul to get, and turning your back on your working class brothers and sisters is the true root cause of poverty and oppression.

K and R, by the way. Thanks, Bobbie, as always for your tireless and powerful witnessing of the cruel reality of modern American society. You are the most valuable and important member of DU.

[goclark]

35. K and R

[Liberal_in_LA]

40. Yeah, it's been in the news lately. The city grew faster than the town intended.

[bushmeister0]

45. Sounds like the "Sancturay Districts" in Star Trek DS9

In the episode "Past Tense" the crew is accidentally taken back to 2024 Earth, where they land in San Fransico. There they are put into a Sanctuary District because they have no ID or money. In 2024, it turns out the US has begun locking mental patients, homeless people and the unemployed into ghettos because they can't figure out what lese to do with them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_Tense_(DS9_episode)

True stranger than science fiction?

[Cleita]

47. It's possible there because of a milder climate.

This however is not a good solution for homelessness as these camps can tend to become permanent if no one cares. People need real places to live and call their own. I saw footage that was filmed there. Sanitary facilities were really primitive and not acceptable in my mind for anyone, let alone elderly, children, the dysfunctional and increasing numbers of vets. However, I do hope authorities address the problem of relocating these people into real homes and apartments before they run them out of town with no where to go and that probably will happen down the line.

[TomBall Democrat]

53. Housing As a Human Right - forum in Houston next week

I received an invitation last week to an event at the Rothko Chapel in Houston.

Topic is the low income housing crisis.

http://www.rothkochapel.org/PublicHousing.htm

I'm more than a little uncomfortable with the notion that we are at a point in our evolution where we are considering a topic like this one. As if there might be a question that human beings have the right to shelter.

Now this topic, a tent city right outside LA.

How do we do better than this?

[bobbolink]

58. "How do we do better than this?" As a homeless person, this gives me REAL hope!

Real, authentic hope... I'm cheered that some group is actually taking this seriously!!

Thank you so much for posting this!

As for your parting question... we start where we are--educating people, first, about the HORRIBLE need for housing, and what needs to be done.

All people can think of now, and I include most of DU in this, is "shelter". We MUST move beyond that, which leads NOWHERE, and get to HOUSING!

I wish I could attend this event.

Will you please post about it?

Thanks so much!

:applause:

[bobbolink]

59. Welcome to DU, TomBall Democrat!

:toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce::toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce::toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce::toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce::toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce::toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce::toast: :bounce:

If this post is an indication of your future contribution to DU, you're off to a great start, and will be a welcome and very needed addition!

:yourock:

[blindpig]

56. The invisible made visible.

The shelters, the day labor joints, out of sight, out of mind. Maybe this is what it takes to get people's attention. It's a shame that it is so, homelessness has not suddenly happened.

[alfredo]

62. Ripstop shanty towns.

Here's a shanty town in Addis Ababa



Caracas



California





The new Hooverville

[Geek_Girl]

63. Yep I saw it reported on BBC

But don't expect cnn or msnbc to report this.

[katty]

64. yes, we have a tent city in LA-probably more to come

[blindpig]

65. Hooverville again....

Which side are you on?

[bobbolink]

71. Yes, the Bonus Army started the first Hooverville, as I was informed.

"Which side are you on?"

I'm one of the ones getting trampled.

Unfortunately, I don't think most people even KNOW about "sides", let alone decided which one they're on!

We're just invisible.

:(

[blindpig]

72. Not trampled, Bobbie,

fighting back.

[bobbolink]

76. "Will you join in our crusade?"

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!

"Can You Hear The People Sing" Les Miserable

[Mountainman]

66. It was done 70 years ago south of Bakersfield, CA. Weedpatch camp

Published in 1939, John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath drew attention to the hardships faced by the "Okies": poor farmers who moved from the Dust Bowl area to California in search of work. While writing the book, John Steinbeck visited Bakersfield, California and based his book on Arvin Federal Government Camp which he portrayed as "Weedpatch Camp."

This camp exists today and is still used by migrant workers.

http://www.weedpatchcamp.com/

[Echo In Light]

73. "Sounds like one-a-them wacko whining liberal conspeerisy theerees"

[annonymous]

74. There's a homeless camp in Baltimore near the JFX.

A local church allows the homeless to camp there. It's been there for a few years now. There used to be one under the JFX but it was cleared out late last year.

[GreenPartyVoter]

77. So where are the families with kids and pets supposed to go??

[bobbolink]

78. Off a cliff, unless "progressives" start getting active and outspoken about this horrendous issue!

Sitting back and waiting for some leader to "solve" it hasn't done anything but make it worse.

It's TIME!

[GreenPartyVoter]

81. It's way past time

[sweetpotato]

80. I suppose the *great idea* is that the pets could go to the pound

and the children could be sent to foster homes.

What a miserable mess this country is in. I am horrified by what we have become.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. These past several years have felt like a night terror you can't wake up from.

How long before the concentration camp/workhouses are put into use? Is that what they're for?

[bobbolink]

83. And the parents can kill themselves.

Who comes out best in this?

The animals.

As always.

[sweetpotato]

85. It is truly disgusting

Thank you, Bobbolink, I have learned a lot from you by reading here. You have opened my eyes even wider than before.

I am trying to have hope for the future - but its hard.

take care of yourself out there.

[bobbolink]

86. thanks

:pals:

I wish that weren't reality.

Just so you know... I don't enjoy having to keep talking about reality.

I really wish I could just toss flowers and candy.

:cry:

I thank you for listening.

It means more than you know. :pals:

[sarcasmo]

87. Kick since it is to late for me to rec.

Don't forget, a cot is a good idea too as it will keep you off the ground.