Latest Homelessness Report in Pasadena

There is good news and bad news about the homeless housing crisis in Pasadena.

The good news is that our city has done an outstanding job in addressing the homelessness crisis and our numbers are not going up, as they are in the rest of the county

It is also good to know that our City Council is listening to the homeless housing advocates, and vice versa. Mayor Tornek spoke very favorably about our Congregational Land Committee and was even open to reconsidering Safe Parking. There is also keen interest in motel conversion to homeless housing. And either affordable and/or homeless housing will likely be built on city-owned land next to City Hall. 

The bad news is with the economy going into deep recession, we can expect the numbers of homeless people to increase dramatically, especially among seniors. 

Today we took part in a conference call organized by Bill Huang, director of Pasadena's and learned that:

●      56% of residents are renters,

●      47% spend more than 50% of their income on housing,

●     there has been a 50% increase in chronically homeless people on our streets since last year,

●      there has been a 27% increase in homeless seniors on our streets since last year.

For more information follow this link to this year's Pasadena Homeless Count report.

As Rabbi Joshua Grater, director of Friends Indeed, pointed out: "There is a homeless crisis; there is an affordable housing crisis; there is a permanent supportive housing crisis. These are all interconnected and need to be addressed as a collective whole, even as each one requires different housing solutions."

Bill Huang also emphasized that other cities in the San Gabriel Valley need to follow the good example of Pasadena and provide homeless and affordable housing and services. We totally agree and are working with Everyone In to be supportive whenever such projects are proposed in adjacent cities. 

An important lesson we've learned from Covid 19 is that the pandemic doesn't care about city limits. As Dr. King observed: "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Response to the Murder of George Floyd from Jill Shook, Executive Director of MHCH (formerly GPAHG)

MHCH's Response to the Murder of George Floyd 

from Jill Shook, Executive Director of MHCH (formerly GPAHG)

The history of land and housing in the US is the history of exploitation and racism. The exclusion of Blacks from neighborhoods, homeownership, and opportunity has been woven into our legal system from day one of the founding of our nation; and the long shadows of racism persist (https://makinghousinghappen.net/2020/06/04/historical-factors-accounting-for-differences-in-black-and-white-wealth-and-home-ownership/) You can see the stark reality of this played out in racially divided cities across our land. Yet, many of us are blind to the causes of this pervasive systemic oppression, the cultural norms that enforce it. 

Growing up in Orange County in the 50's and 60's I was blind to all of racial injustice.  Not one Black attended my schools from kindergarten to high school. Not one Black lived in my hometown. Today I understand the exclusionary policies that have created whole cities of white folks like myself. From 1971 to ‘76, only one Black person attended my college, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Racism was not studied as a sin in my Bible college or seminary training. Coming to Pasadena and being mentored by an African American leader John Perkins opened my eyes. For my doctorate, I interviewed seven gang members in Pasadena, and found that unjust housing segregation was at the root of why they joined. See: "The Making of Ferguson: Public Policies" at the Root of its Troubles" https://www.epi.org/publication/making-ferguson/

In 2012, after the police shooting of unarmed 19-year-old Kendrec McDade, I spent countless hours at the City Hall and organized folks to join me. We wanted to know the truth. We asked for an independent audit, but it took over a year of letter writing, meetings, and organizing. We even had a "Walk the Second Mile" parade on Palm Sunday, with Anya Slaughter, Kendrec's mother, leading the way as over 100 of us silently entered Sunset Ave. from Orange Grove Blvd., to the spot where Kendrec was shot--seven times--by the police. Black pastors broke the silence with powerful messages. Praise dancers enacted the death and resurrection of Christ. Finally, after more organizing, the police report was released, but redacted in a way to coverup wrongdoing by the police. There are more laws to protect police than to protect college students like Kendrec. Kendrec’s future was cut short by police who reportedly made deadly "mistakes," yet were allowed to continue serving on the police force.

I've shed many tears in the past week grieving the loss of George Floyd and so many other Black lives cut short. I've also shed tears of joy seeing the huge crowds across the US and the world, speaking out for racial justice. I recall how Americans along with others worldwide helped to end apartheid in South Africa.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of activists, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 (CAAA) was enacted by United States Congress. This act was the first in this era that not only implemented economic sanctions, but also offered aid to victims living under apartheid rule. The international outpouring today gives me cautious hope, but only if we all participate in the democratic process. We need to keep showing up at our City Councils, calling our elected officials, doing our homework, speaking with our hearts about the kind of world and cities we want. It is not easy, but it's worth it.

Jesus' called some of the religious leaders of his time "blind guides." His mission was to "bring good news to the poor, give sight to blind, release the oppressed from the oppressor..." God calls many cities throughout scripture to repent of oppression. I was blind to how my hometown had exclusionary laws and practices and later in Pasadena I naively became part of the problem. I was blind to this aspect of Scripture, and blind to Jesus’ core mission. Thanks to teachers like Lowell Noble and John Perkins, I began to see how "oppression", a common biblical theme, is a public sin cities need to repent of, and that we are the vehicles to bring about that change. We must not only repent of our complicity, but we do all we can to stop it.

Many aspects of racism need to be addressed. Our organization, MHCH is doing all we can to turn around racial inequities regarding housing injustice. More Blacks lost their homes due to the Great Recession of 2008 than any other group and 40% of those experiencing homelessness in the US are Black, even though they comprise only 10% of the population. We believe that everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, should have access to a decent and affordable home. Please join us on this amazing journey, what Dr. King calls “the beautiful struggle.”

Our next meeting will focus on racism and housing, June 23, at 7pm.

Please put this link into your calendars.

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYldumspjwtHdFFSmVAoLZNO1hWEcvGjsj7

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.Your coming out to make a stand in the last week gives me courage and hope.

Thank you!!            

Jill Shook, ED, MHCH-Making Housing and Community Happen, jill@makinghousinghappen.org

www.makinghousinghappen.org

(Jill and Anthony with Jill's mother Donna who just celebrated her 90th birthday.)

How you can support our work

What Quakers (and others) can do to address the racial justice crisis

I serve on the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Orange Grove Friends (Quaker) 

Meeting. Yesterday (June 8) this committee approved circulating the following statement recommending what Friends and others can do to address the racial injustice in our country and in our personal lives. 

RESPONDING TO THE CALL OF PACIFIC YEARLY MEETING CLERK REGARDING RACIAL JUSTICE

As Quakers are we hearing the call from God to witness racism, feeling the injustice in our 

bodies and then discerning ways to live into mending the harm?  We cannot be silent or complacent.  By virtue of our faith we are called to witness to white supremacy, domination, and disregard for humanity.   We are called to discern how we will live and speak so that all people have the space and air and choices that we all have been given by God.  

We must look consciously for and weed out the ways within the Religious Society of Friends of the Truth that constrict us in patterns of oppression or silencing of other human beings.  I ask that we reflect deeply, ask for guidance, and follow that guidance.

Sandy Kewman
Presiding Clerk of Pacific Yearly Meeting

In light of this call from Clerk of PYM, Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Orange Grove Meeting recommends that Friends follow her request and seek ways to witness to racial justice as led by Spirit. Here are some specific actions and resources for you to consider prayerfully, many of which are recommended by our Quaker organizations. Others are recommended by local activist groups.

1)       Invite for Adult Study a leader from your community who is a person of color concerned with issues such as police accountability. (Please feel free to make a recommendation.)

2)       Read and discuss  Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans, and the Myth of Racial Justice. By Donna McDaniel and Vanessa This book documents the spiritual and practical impacts of discrimination in the Religious Society of Friends in the belief that understanding the truth of our past is vital to achieving a diverse, inclusive community in the future. There is a common misconception that most Quakers assisted fugitive slaves and involved themselves in civil rights activism because of their belief in equality. While there were Friends committed to ending enslavement and post-enslavement injustices, Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship reveals that racism has been as insidious, complex, and pervasive among Friends as it has been generally among people of European descent.

3)       Support AFSC recommendation that we contact our Governor and tell him:  Invest in communities, not policing! This link makes it easy: https://www.afsc.org/action/tell-your-governor-invest-communities-not-policing

4)       Take time and read the excellent resources on the Friends General Conference (FGC) website: WAYS THAT WHITE PEOPLE CAN TAKE ACTION TO OPPOSE RACISM (Fundraisers listed below have no affiliation with FGC or OGMM.)

 ·   The Movement for Black Lives    https://m4bl.org/ 

·   List of Bail Funds for Protestors across the Country:   https://bailfunds.github.io/

·   Anti-Racism Resources for White People and Parents to Deepen our Anti-Racism Work:    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/edit 

·   Justice for Breonna Taylor;    https://justiceforbreonna.org/ 

·   Official George Floyd Memorial Fund:    https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd 

·   75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice:    https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234 

·   Floyd Murder by Police Officer Is an Outrage, Says National Council of Churches USA:    https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/floyd-murder/ 

·   38 Community Bail Funds to Support Right Now:    https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd 

5)       Go to https://fcnl.quorum.us/ and write your member of Congress asking them to take swift action in response to ongoing fatal and racist police killings and other violence against Black people across our country. Urge them to co-sponsor :

·     The End Racial and Religious Profiling Act (S. 2355): Bans federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies from using race or religion to influence police stops, searches, and immigration proceedings.

·     The PEACE Act (H.R. 4359): Establishes a national “necessary” use of force standard to prevent police officers from using lethal force unless all non-lethal methods have been exhausted.·     The Eric Garner Excessive Force Prevention Act (H.R. 4408): Makes it illegal for police to use any hold or grip that blocks the throat or windpipe. The sort of choke holds that police used to kill Eric Garner and George Floyd.·     The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act (H.R. 1714): Would stop military hardware from flowing into the hands of civilian law enforcement agencies by ending the 1033 program that provide such things as helicopters, armored vehicles and military guns.·     Urge your members of congress to cosponsor these bills and be a champion for racial justice and equitable policing.

5) Support the efforts of the Friends Committee on Legislation of California to address the needs of minority and low-income communities during the Covid 19 crisis. People of color have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic. Go to fclca.org to take action.

·        Tell your Assemblymember you support job protected paid family leave for all!

·        Add your name in support of a #SafetyNet4All - provide immediate support to undocumented workers in California

·        Tell Gov. Newsom to include all California Seniors in Medi-Cal regardless of immigration status

·        Tell legislators and the governor to include all income eligible tax-filers in the CA Earned Income Tax Credit and Young Child Tax Credit, including immigrants who work with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers

·        Register for the Work and Family Coalition's Virtual Advocacy Day on June 11- Sign up to advocate for paid sick leave and paid family leave - join virtual legislative visits and more.  FCLCA is part of the Work and Family Coalition -The COVID-19 crisis highlights the importance of Paid Sick Days and Paid Family Leave protections—no one should lose their job or face economic insecurity because they are sick, caring for an ill family member or complying with public health directives.

6)     Write to our local Pasadena officials urging them to reduce funding for police so there is more funding available to address crime prevention crime and disparity. For example, affordable housing is listed on the national crime prevention website as a deterrent to crime. We spend approximately $80 million on the police and $1.3 million to run our housing department. There is no dedicated funding source for affordable housing in Pasadena. Pasadena was once 25% African American, but today less than 8% yet a very high percent of the 527 counted this year as homeless are Black. Most Black have left due to gentrification, they have either been priced out or cashed out. Very little of Pasadena’s funding is spent on improving historically Black neighborhoods and density is kept low, preventing economic and housing development. Here are the email addresses of our City Council members: ttornek@cityofpasadena.net, thampton@cityofpasadena.net, mmcaustin@cityofpasadena.net, gmasuda@cityofpasadena.net, smadison@cityofpasadena.net, vgordo@cityofpasadena.net, awilson@cityofpasadena.net

7)       Urge our City Council to seriously a motion authored by LA County Supervisors Janice Hahn and Mark Ridley-Thomas calling for police departments in the county to include the following eight policies outlined by Campaign Zero:

·        Requiring officers to intervene to stop another officer from using excessive force

·        Restricting, or prohibiting, the use of chokeholds, strangleholds, and carotid restraints

·        Requiring officers to de-escalate situations, when possible, before using force

·        Using a Force Continuum or Matrix that defines and limits the types of force that can be used to respond to specific types of resistance

·        Requiring officers to give a verbal warning before using deadly force

·        Prohibiting officers from shooting at people in moving vehicles unless the person poses a deadly threat by means other than the vehicle

·        Requiring officers to exhaust all other reasonable alternatives before resorting to using deadly force

·        Requiring comprehensive reporting that includes both uses of force and threats of force

8)       Support the recommendations by Coalitions for Increased Civilian Oversight of Pasadena Police (CICOPP) that the Pasadena City Council:

·        create a civilian oversight commission, with the power to investigate police violence and abuse, as happened with unarmed Kendrec McDade,19 (shot 7 times by the police), Reginald Thomas and Christopher Ballew.  

·        revise its policy on the use of deadly force to reflect the legal language of police reform bill AB392 passed in 2019.