Tag Archives: Homelessness

PRISONERS UNITED IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY JAILS WIN 5 CORE DEMANDS & SACRIFICE 3 DAYS OF CUSTODY MEALS FOR THE HUNGRY

This is vile and this sheriff is the true criminal…I am honestly at a loss for words, all the information is below and on the original posts page, which I strongly encourage you to read and share….
This is vital and should be on international news… But if you watch “Fox News” or “CNN” chances are you won’t see this… They are for-profit media, controlled by greed, money and the government… Please check the below link for the full information…and please, share….

Silicon Valley De-Bug thanks Prisoners United on every floor in the Main Jail and housing units M-5 and M-8 in Elmwood D.O.C. for courageously sacrificing all their custody meals to be donated to the homeless and hungry at Emmanuel House Salvation Army.

We also appreciate all efforts made between jail administrators, community organizations and the jail population to come to an agreement to meet the 5 core demands to end meaningless classification reviews, indefinite solitary confinement, group punishment, cruel and unusual punishment during out of cell time, and rigid visitation policies.

FACTS THAT REFUTE SHERIFF SMITH’S COMMENT:

  • Over 70% of the Santa Clara County jail population is pretrial – meaning they have not been convicted of a crime.
  • Being in jail does not automatically mean someone is a gang member, according to the JFA Institute Jail Classification System Evaluation audit prepared by James Austin in 2016, there is only 21 verified prison gang members in Santa Clara County.
  • Prisoners United of Silicon Valley is the collective voice of the entire Santa Clara County jail population including all classification/security levels, color tops, racial groups (Black, White, Asian, Latino, Pacific Islander etc.) and creeds and is not lead by one man alone.
  • Salvation Army is a tremendous community resource for those in need, including programs for those who have been convicted of a crime.
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FURTHER DETAILS/CLARIFICATIONS:

Santa Clara County jail administrators came to an agreement to meet the 5 core demands to end meaningless classification reviews, indefinite solitary confinement, group punishment, cruel and unusual punishment during out of cell time, and rigid visitation policies. However, the administration stated it will take 3 weeks for the new classification system to kick in.

According to the agreement, the classification system will have face-to-face hearings, opportunity for prisoners to call witnesses to speak in their defense, the use of things such as education and rehabilitation certificates to have influence on their hearings, and the opportunity to contest anything.

The administration also agreed to suspend all in-custody inputs until the new system is in place. i

Prisoners in the jails should also be able to see what is in their file.

Captains Grumbos and Taylor finalized agreements with some of the prisoners inside.

The challenge of only having 35 classification officers is still a question. 

10/26/17 MEDIA UPDATE

Due to the understanding that there was an agreement made to avoid a hunger strike, Prisoner United in the 6C sureno unit, who were just recently rehoused to unsanitary cells in 6A in the Main Jail, ordered from commissary this past Sunday/Monday.

Due to Sheriff Smith’s comment, Prisoners United reverted their efforts to refusing all custody meals to see to it that their food is in fact donated to the homeless and hungry at Salvation Army who serve gang impacted, those recovering from drug and alcohol recovery and formally incarcerated.

Just last night when Prisoners United in 6A (formally 6C) received their commissary orders, prisoners protested and courageously left food items from their order, with some of their orders as large as $100, outside their cells to ensure that their commissary food is donated to the homeless and hungry at Emmanuel House Salvation Army, and prevent food waste.

Prisoners United in sureno units 6A Main Jail and M4B in Elmwood will continue to go on strike until they can sit down with jail administrators to guarantee inclusion that their Protective Custody status will be removed from their classification file in the new classification system set to be active in the next following weeks.

i “…another form of conduct that is reported by staff on inmates [are] called the Custody Input Reports or CIRs. These are used to record both positive and negative conduct behavior. Unfortunately, the CIRs are not part of the Custody Bureau’s database and cannot be analyzed for the entire jail population. However, as shown later in the report, these data were manually collected for the pilot test on the inmates who had been in custody for at least 60 days.” from Aug 2016 Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff Custody Bureau Jail Classification System Evaluation

Custody Inputs are basically an additional punitive tool that that does not fall under a rule violation/infraction or charge. The prisoner is given no notification, so the prisoner never knows what Custody Inputs are being put in their file. The administration agreed to give notice of every Custody Input in 3 weeks and to currently suspend all custody inputs so that it will not hold someone back from down-classing. Custody Inputs can also be used in the courts and follows you in prison. There should be no custody input. If its not an infraction or charge, then it should not be used as a tool of punitive action.

PRESS: JOSE (408) 661-2604 jose@siliconvalleydebug.org FAMILIES: BENEE (408) 529-5971 benee@siliconvalleydebug.org 10/25/17 Though a hunger strike in Santa Clara County jails could have been avoided after jail administrators agreed to meet the core demands during the week of October 16, 2017 — Prisoners United on every floor of the Main Jail and M-5 and M-8 lockdown […]

via PRISONERS UNITED IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY JAILS WIN 5 CORE DEMANDS & SACRIFICE 3 DAYS OF CUSTODY MEALS FOR THE HUNGRY — Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity

Hope- Feeding the Homeless Like They Aren’t Homeless… Check it Out

they treat me like i am not homeless.png

And this is how the world could be;
And this is how the world SHOULD be…”-Tupac Shakur

Sad something so obvious is amazing and wonderful… In the following tweet I link a video that shows what this CEO is doing to help homeless people eat, work and LEARN via vocational programs. They go out of their way to help give work experience and other aid to the homeless… Additionally,….The food is healthy food, served like you’d be served anywhere…treat the homeless GOOD and build a better world.png

I love that quote… How true…. Additionally, there are no trays, no lines, none of what the regular soup kitchens tend to be like. More people with money should be reaching out like this… Everything does come down to money, and that’s a problem. – Video follows in link ->

Watch the video by clicking the link above to see how the homeless are treated; fed and given a chance at this ‘soup kitchen’; they are treated like anyone else going out to eat…Exactly like the human beings they are. THE CEO HOPES TO EXPAND AND OPEN 5 MORE BY 2018. That is a real, respectable and good soul… Where are the rest?

What is wrong with this world; how can anyone be so cold as to turn down the simple act of giving and receiving respect, dignity, care and concern for fellow souls?

This life shouldn’t be about money. Yes, we need it, sadly. But making it all about the money, all about your ‘status’ or what you have…you are truly lost and need to do some soul searching, I’d say.

For those interested, here is a link to the above for more information and other resources -> click HERE.

 

Homeless Man Sets Self on Fire in NYC Subway; When is Society Going to Develop a Heart?? There is A CRISIS Happening RIGHT NOW-

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The above man set himself on fire at the Bleeker street subway in NYC on Friday…  That alone breaks my heart. Was he trying to harm himself? Obviously, if you are in NYC you know it hasn’t been and is not warm by any means. Everyone should have access to shelter, their own home, no one should have to suffer in this cold. Yet I know they do, and they will continue to do so…especially with the current state of the world and governments. *sigh* So… Continue reading Homeless Man Sets Self on Fire in NYC Subway; When is Society Going to Develop a Heart?? There is A CRISIS Happening RIGHT NOW-