Legal Advocacy at Work
Feeding Intolerance: Prohibitions on Sharing Food with People Experiencing Homelessness.
The National Homeless Coalition and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty have just released a report entitled: FEEDING INTOLERANCE: Prohibitions on Sharing Food with People Experiencing Homelessness. This report features Orlando’s criminalization of feeding the homeless.
Attorney Jacqueline Dowd of Legal Advocacy at Work, Inc (LA2W.org) represents members of Orlando Food Not Bombs and Vagabond Church of God in a Federal Civil Rights lawsuit (click to view court documents). Jacqueline also represented Eric Montanez of Orlando Food Not Bombs in his criminal jury trial, where an Orlando jury found Eric not guilty of feeding too many homeless people in Lake Eola Park. LA2W provides free legal advocacy to homeless and low income families and individuals.
The NHC/NLCHP report features the ongoing issues around the criminalization of homelessness in Central Florida and quotes Jacqueline, “Instead of going after the homeless, they’re going after people who serve the homeless.”
Some service providers, who are largely dependant on local government funding, have taken the position that the ordinance is beneficial because it can be used to leverage homeless people into coming to their facilities. While these facilities do wonderful work for some poor and homeless individuals, it is morally dubious, to use hunger, sleep deprivation, and fear of arrest as a way to force them into a particular service provider network.
LA2W concurs with NHC/NLCHP’s position that instead of criminalizing food sharing, local government and tax funded service providers should collaborate with food sharing groups, to effectively address the problems of homelessness and hunger. If introducing people in need to existing programs is a goal, then these groups should reach out and embrace these ‘food sharers’ who have built trusting personal relationships, with these often service-resistant individuals.
At the most fundamental level we need to remember that a person being without a stable place to sleep, does not cause them to become someone who has abrogated their basic human and civil rights. Not being housed does not make someone incompetent or require someone to become their conservator or master.
LA2W’s advocates and lawyers are at Food Not Bomb, UCF Rock for Hunger, and other food sharings in the parks and downtown Orlando, providing free legal advocacy for the poor and homeless.
LA2W is a Florida Not-For-Profit, that is entirely dependent on donor contributions, and does not charge clients for service.