January, 2007

Homeless in Fresno win a victory, face new challenges

BY MIKE RHODES

Geno, a homeless veteran, is among those struggling with the city of Fresno, Calif. PHOTO/MIKE RHODES

FRESNO, Calif. -- Homeless people in Fresno won a victory last month when a federal judge ordered the city to stop taking and immediately destroying their property. Shortly after the ruling, no trespassing signs went up near homeless encampments that sit next to a railroad line. Geno, a homeless veteran who lives next to the tracks, said, "I have lived here for three years and never been bothered by the railroad employees. They would come by and we would talk, but they never told me to move."

A couple of days after the preliminary injunction was issued to the city, Geno says the signs went up. "A couple of weeks later, the railroad cops came by and told me to move on." The bulldozer, clean up crew, and police arrived on December 13. Geno and the other homeless people living in the area were told to get out or they would be arrested and their property destroyed.

After a two-day stand-off, the clean up crews swept through the area picking up trash and then disappeared. The threats and intimidation had not worked. The homeless stood their ground, and Geno's American Flag continues to fly over his home.

Mike Rhodes is editor of the Community Alliance newspaper in Fresno, Calif.