Blogging this morning from the floor of the city-county building, the scene of yesterday’s ridiculousness.
There are two guys on the steps watching the stuff outside, so it doesn’t get taken again, and we have to return it again.
At election time every year, the benches disappear. What we are doing technically is a violation of the city-county building rules.
8. Sitting on floors in corridors and stairways is prohibited. Loitering is defined as having no apparent official
business within the building after normal work hours and is prohibited.
People coming in and out of the building are making comments like “nice chairs, this is ridiculous . . . all this space” and giving me ideas about how we might creatively solve the problem (thanks! I will follow up!), many people thank me, say they are praying for me, a firefighter/ems person shakes my hand, people say hello and just smile. A few glares. Some are surprised because they thought they were in meetings where they agreed not to do anything. Some think I might get arrested (I doubt it.) I think the excitement is over. I note this particular irony . . .
YESTERDAY
So, what happened yesterday? Hard for me to know exactly, at some point, the maintenance people came and took all the belongings of people and were going to throw them away or keep them in a storage area that would be closed at 4:00. One of the guys that volunteers as the storage facility went and talked to them and talked them into taking it to the Social Justice Center Storage.
This is the way I saw things unfolding yesterday. Several of the volunteers from Sanctuary were concerned that they didn’t have room for all the stuff that was allegedly on its way to the Social Justice Center. Suddenly someone came rushing in with bags of stuff, I went outside and found this . . .
Two truckloads of people’s belongings . . . delivered by the county . . . one worker was really nice, the other was a little grumpy. Some of the volunteers went outside and started piling everything inside the storage area.
Unfortunately, they were in the middle of building shelving for part of the storage area and there just wasn’t room. And more practically speaking, people needed their blankets to sleep tonight and they would have to walk 16 blocks to go get their stuff and take it back to where they sleep. These were blankets and other things people need to survive the cold weather. Also, the main volunteers go to shelter and they didn’t know when people would be going back to the city-county building and discover that their items were gone. The volunteers that run the storage needed to get to shelter or Safe Haven by 9pm, and they couldn’t wait for everyone to show up to get their things. So, TRC staff, Sanctuary volunteers, SJC staff and anyone we could round up had a quick meeting around 1:00!
We had someone go and put up signs at the city county building and we called the media . . .
And we decided to go get the Occupy trucks and return everything at 3:30.
ILLEGAL?
This is what concerns me the most of the situation, beyond the tons of money small grassroots organizations spend on getting blankets and warm weather gear for people. These signs are posted inside, but not outside.
So someone has to stay there and watch the bags, including skipping hot meals and doing something productive (doctor appointments, laundry, showers, applying for jobs, etc.). As I’m sitting here, someone just returned so that the first two guys can leave and he will now watch the bags. He says “it’s going to be 17 degrees tonight, I need my blankets”. I introduced myself, told him I helped bring the blankets back, he gives me a hug.
What is concerning is that they think they can just destroy the items. We’ve been through this before.
State law says this:
170.105 Chattels found by public officials, employees or agents.
(1) Notwithstanding ss. 170.07 and 170.08, if an official, employee or agent of the state or of a county, city, village or town finds $25 or more or any goods having a value of at least $25 while acting within the scope of his or her official duties, employment or agency, he or she shall transfer custody of the found money or goods to the agency in the city, village or town where the money or goods were found that is designated by the city, village or town governing body to receive found money or goods. That agency shall post a notice of the found money or goods in 2 public places in the city, village or town.
(2) If the owner of lost money or goods appears within 90 days after the notice is posted under sub. (1) and makes out his or her right to the found money or goods, he or she shall have restitution of the money or goods or the value of the money or goods upon paying all of the costs and charges on the money or goods. If no owner of lost money or goods appears within 90 days after the notice is posted under sub. (1), the found money or goods become the property of the state or county, city, village or town whose official, employee or agent found the lost money or goods.
After last time, Madison passed a law that says this:
(3) Requirement.
(a) Except as provided in Subdivision (b), if any City employees, officials or agents obtain possession of Lost Property within
the scope of their public duties, the Lost Property shall be turned over to one of the Appropriate City Agencies.
(b) City employees, officials or agents may immediately dispose of Lost Property that either
1. Has an estimated aggregate replacement value of fifty dollars ($50) or less;
2. Consists of contraband or any dangerous materials, including flammable, explosive or incendiary materials, or other materials that pose a danger to persons or property;
3. Is perishable;
4. Poses a public health risk; or
5. Has no sentimental, medical or legal value. Sentimental items of value include but are not limited to photographs, family bible, jewelry, letters, drawings or children’s art.
(4) The Appropriate City Agencies shall develop, within six (6) months of the effective date of this ordinance, uniform city-wide procedures for the notification of the City’s impending removal of the Lost Property (where applicable) and the holding and disposal of Lost Property subject to Subsection (3)(a). The procedures shall include the following elements:
(a) Preparation and retention of an electronic log of Lost Property obtained and disposed of, to include a description of the property, where it was obtained, and how the property was disposed.
(b) Maintain a posting in one identified place in the City-County Building, with instructions for locating and accessing the electronic log of Lost Property.
(c) A method of ascertaining whether a person claiming Lost Property has reasonably demonstrated a right to the property, and a record of any Lost Property returned to such person.
(d) The methods of disposal of Lost Property that has remained unclaimed for a period of forty-five (45) days after acquisition of the property, which may include public auction, sale of the property through the Internet, transfer to non-profit entities, disposal as waste, or other reasonable methods of disposal. For purposes of disposal of the property, property that has remained unclaimed for a period of forty-five (45) days becomes the property of the City. For purposes of this subparagraph, Madison Metro may dispose of property that remains unclaimed after fourteen (14) days of acquisition.
(5) Property found by members of the public is subject to Wis. Stat. §§ 170.07-170.10.
The county, who actually removed the items, haven’t passed any new laws, so I think still have to follow state law. There were people’s medicines and other things that were in the bags, but they didn’t follow those rules either.
As I’m sitting here on the floor, a Street Pulse vendor stops in to warm his feet, but has no place to sit.
It’s snowing outside. I’m angry. Our community is better than this. I’m confused. I know alot of people agree with me and are equally embarrassed about our community, but where is the leadership to change things? Why don’t they care? What will it take to make a change?
I don’t get it. Are you trying to argue that homeless people should be able to just store their stuff wherever they like an expect that it will be there when they return? That is ridiculous. They should simply post signs that explain that any abandoned items will be thrown away. The City of Madison does not have a responsibility to store people’s personal items free of charge. Does this really need to be explained to people? Some of these people are homeless by choice, and every one of them has CHOSEN to live in Madison, where being homeless is gambling with your life.
You’re right about one thing, MadisonSteve, and only one thing: you don’t get it.
There is nowhere to store stuff; these are people without homes, remember? You seem to be so accustomed to having a place for your own stuff that you can’t picture being without it. And you seem to’ve skipped the part about it being ILLEGAL to destroy people’s property when it’s left somewhere.
We supposedly have a free country, and nobody has to answer to you, or to anyone else, about where they choose to live. Are you lining up with Vickie McKenna, who calls people living in Madison “Chicago residents” when she doesn’t think she can get away with calling them the N-word? If you lost your job and your home, who then has the right to tell you where you can live? Or are you just convinced that it can never happen to you?
Good luck, but start thinking — and fake some damn empathy.
Read the law. The law doesn’t say they can throw it away, it says they have to store it for 90 days.
Are you trying to argue that homeless people should be able to just store their stuff wherever they like an expect that it will be there when they return?
Are you trying to argue that homeless people should be able to just store their stuff wherever they like an expect that it will be there when they return? Empathy is not a pass to do whatever you like, and the City/County Building is not a campground.
No, I’m suggesting there should be a place for them to store it.
Should be, yes, but what is the solution today? If they shouldn’t be allowed to just store their stuff wherever they like, what does the City do with the campground that has sprung up on the City/County steps? The City only has two choices right now, either leave peoples personal belongings scattered all over City property, or pick it up for them. If the City holds it for them until they decide to come and get it, that is unlimited free storage for anyone who leaves their things lying around on City property, even if they are not homeless. That is not a solution to the problem.
See photos above, it gets picked up every morning and used to get stored in dark plastic bags, now it is on display for everyone to see. What they need is lockers downtown (in parking ramps for example) and then the problem will be solved. Day center downtown is an even better solution! More shelter space that isn’t so crowded with trained staff that are paid well would be the best! However, the county and city haven’t been keeping up with the demand and increasing costs of the nonprofits trying to do this work the best they can with the little they have. So, instead, we have the situation at the city-county building.
There is very little space for people to store their stuff if they’re homeless. As Brenda said, read the law: their belongings are not supposed to be summarily confiscated and destroyed. It isn’t about doing “whatever you like,” it’s about trying to survive, and you can’t drag everything you own around with you all the time. The actual campgrounds have been made off-limits to homeless people; there isn’t enough housing, much less affordable housing, and there isn’t enough shelter. People camp in front of the City–County Building because it’s well-lit and relatively safe, and it’s close to food and other services provided by churches near the Square. This has been going on for a long time; where have you been, MadisonSteve, if you’re just now noticing and getting outraged? Maybe you should be outraged about a wealthy country, a wealthy county and a wealthy city that don’t try to make sure that all citizens are housed. We used to spend money on housing as a society, but we’ve turned our backs on that for about 30 years. Wages have stayed level or even gone down, but rents keep going up. Treating or speaking of homeless people as if they’re worthless personifies the attitudes that got us to this stark reality — people camping out regularly in front of our City–County Building.