H.O.P.E. is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center sponsored organization whose members are exclusively people who are currently homeless or have formerly experienced homelessness. For over a year now, H.O.P.E. has been organizing and agitating around the issues that are a priority to the homeless community. For meeting times and dates, call 901-300-0006.Word on the Street: New Street Newspaper
A new publication scheduled to launch on March 20th aims to provide a voice as well as opportunity for Memphians with a personal experience of homelessness. ‘The Bridge: Memphis Street Newspaper’ is similar to street news publications in other cities like Nashville and Boston that seek to provide a safe and legal means of income for folks in a tough situation, as well as deliver the stories and opinions of the homeless community to the general public. H.O.P.E. is very excited to see this project launching in the City of Memphis. We see it as another example of how the conversation is shifting and developing around issues of homelessness and poverty in our city. We also see it as a way our members can share their talents and insights with the larger community. Like ‘The Bridge’ on FB
♥ Project Homeless Connect 3
H.O.P.E. would like to say ‘thank you’ to all our supporters & allies who volunteered last month on Valentine’s Day to show some love for the homeless community with Project Homeless Connect, a massive outreach and service event to break down barriers that make it difficult to leave homelessness. The event was a huge success, with more than 800 volunteers and 720 guests in attendance, 85 of whom were veterans. There were a total of 1049 interviews conducted for housing, 97 consumers assisted with legal issues through the Street Court, 229 vision screenings, 162 medical assessments, 50 prescriptions provided, 88 individuals received Social Security services, 140 people were able to obtain ID’s and 152 haircuts were given. Project Homeless Connect 4 is set for September of 2013. Check the Community Alliance for the Homeless’ website for more details.
Criminalization of the Homeless- H.O.P.E.’s Ongoing Internal Affairs investigation
On November 15, 2012, at roughly 7:15 pm, H.O.P.E. members were departing from a regular weekly meeting at the Manna House (1268 Jefferson) when they were stopped and harassed by two officers who accused them of ‘obstructing the sidewalk.’ Three members received citations to appear in court on these bogus charges. We had our day in court and the charges were dismissed. However H.O.P.E. members are not content to let this issue rest, as we realize that this type of targeted harassment is an everyday occurrence for many of our brothers and sisters on the street. On November 16th, the day following the original incident, H.O.P.E. members filed formal complaints at the Union/Crump Precinct regarding the harassment. Members of H.O.P.E. and witnesses also went to Internal Affairs and filed numerous statements and complaints in order to ensure that this matter was handled properly. After almost four months, we’ve learned a lot about this process and how frustrating going through all the proper channels can be. We plan on following up this investigation to the satisfaction of our members.
H.O.P.E. members have begun to meet every Friday to form a campaign called Street-Watch which will be doing outreach predominantly in the downtown area to document and address instances of police harassment, and will be working with the public defenders office to organize a series of ‘know your rights’ trainings. stay tuned for more details……………
Feeding the Movement:
H.O.P.E would like to once again thank Just for Lunch and Trolley Stop Market for showing some love by donating meals each month for our weekly H.O.P.E. meetings! We would also like to thank Memphis Center for Independent Living for providing us with space for our meetings while we seek a permanent location. There are lots of ways to feed the movement, and we would like to thank all of our allies for their continued support.
If you are interested in how you can support the work of H.O.P.E. members,please contact Paul Garner @ 901.725.4990 or paul@midsouthpeace.org and don’t forget to ‘like us’ on Facebook for more H.O.P.E. updates!