This looks like an underhanded ruse to thwart,frustrate or harass the Occupy movement.Meanwhile,feed any other stray or derelict animal you want.

stupid story.

They are making a huge deal over nothing here…all they have to do is find an indoor place to feed the poor.

Throw Nutter in the Gutter,then see who wants to feed him.

“Protester Xio Martin defended what she called a right to serve and eat food on the Parkway. “It’s an obscenity, it’s a disgrace. People are hungry; you feed people who are hungry. There’s no harm or violence in the sharing of food.”

Yes you do Xio, yes you do…feed them. People are so stuck on that it’s about me and me only trip that they don’t care that that person laying on the sidewalk is going through something. It may be their fault and it may not be. But they’re hungry..feed them. I have a feeling whomever came up with this new ban has never gone hungry.

Enabling is not helping. Al-Anon 101.

Another reason to avoid Philadelphia like the plague. You are your own worst advertisement. Now feeding people is tantamount to feeding wild animals; don’t do it. Good grief what a hole.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the largest holder of U.S. debt is China, owning USD 1.1 trillion Treasury bonds and having received USD 27.2 million in foreign aid in FY2010. “Brazil held USD 193.5 billion in Treasury securities and received USD 25 million in foreign aid, Russia had USD 127.8 billion and received USD 71.5 million, and India held USD 39.8 billion and received USD 126.6 million from the U.S.,” the Senator said. n a letter to Mr. Coburn on May 13, the CRS said India in 2010 received USD 126.6 million — this includes USD 2.5 million for counter-terrorism, USD 700,000 for combating weapons of mass destruction, USD 30 million for fighting HIV/AIDS, USD 22 million for family planning, USD 19 million for maternal and child health and USD 13.7 million for fighting tuberculosis.

http://www.thehindu.com

11% of the homeless are Veterans.
16% Have a mental illness.
13% Are employed(this is from 2005 the % of employed homeless has increased.
In 2003, children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the homeless population; 42% of these children were under the age of five (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2004)
Families with children are among the fastest growing segments of the homeless population. In its 2007 survey of 23 American cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that families with children comprised 23% of the homeless population (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2007)

[...] Occupy Philadelphia Members Serve Homeless To Protest Outdoor Feeding Ban (philadelphia.cbslocal.com) [...]

maybe clooney should protest this

Big Global day coming up to have these anti food sharing laws rescinded on April 1, 2012 see link http://www.foodnotbombs.net/

The well-intentioned but non-professional feeders have to understand that if you give food to the homeless outside, you incentivize them staying out of the shelter system, where they are not allowed to bring drugs and alcohol in.

So they get to get using, and get a sandwich, and this prolongs their journey in active addiction.

It feels better for the amateur to give someone a sandwich outside and ignore the whole picture of where the person is on that addiction journey, but who is it helping? Are we handing out food on the parkway as the most effective response, or to stroke our own egos and say “I did these good things, so look at me?”

The thing the homeless need the most requires more from the giver than just handing them food outside. Will these groups grow into that role?

Totally agree with jarrett622 on this. The rational of lumping and stereotyping homeless people as all addicts is absurd.

Your syntex is awful, but I think I got the gist…many avoid shelters because of the conditions. Many in shelters have mental illnesses, are abusers, etc. They prey on others. Also, some outside the shelters think its fun to harasss and attack the homeless. Many avoid out of fear and self -preservation. Have you spent any quantity time observing the shelters? We have.

I’m probably one of the few on this board that has worked with this population. Enabling addicts to use by giving them a way to avoid the shelters prolongs their suffering.

That is what amateur outdoor feed groups don’t understand. Nutter is right to get this population to locations where professionals can work with the total person. That is proven to work.

Philly RN…not all homeless people are drug addicts. Get your facts straight before blowing up the board with things you don’t know much about. They should be allowed to serve food on the streets until an area inside for serving is provided to them. If somebody is hungry, you feed them because we’re humans and that’s what we’re supposed to do for one another. Not all homeless people are bad. Quit assuming. Some have fallen on really hard times and there aren’t enough resources out there to help them. As an RN (or so you claim), you should learn to be more sympathetic and understanding of those less fortunate than yourself.

I never said all homeless were addicts. But feeding them outside where they avoid contact with social workers who develop relationships and offer a plethora of services is the opposite of what they need.

Those of us who have had careers working with this population have the experience and maturity to have seen what works in practice.

Throwing a sandwich or a coin at someone makes YOU feel good. It helps the homeless live another day avoiding the hard work of getting it together with a professional whose job it is to coordinate services for them.

Nutter is a foool, he has harmed the city more than he has helped it, his bigoted ways have promoted a resurgence of racial tension among people that had none.
The City of brotherly Love has become a City of watch your back or you will get japed.

Why do you suppose they are now drawing people from all over?

If you give a sandwich or a dollar to someone in florid schizophrenia, you are helping them alright — helping them avoid going to a hospital, a shelter where they will be referred to one of the walk in clinics where the homeless can see a doctor and get medication, and avoid seeing a social worker who can coordinate their care.

So how is it you are helping them again? Outdoor feeding stations are more publicity and feelgoodism than they are effective. Far from being “racist” to clamp down on ineffective outdoor feeding sites, it is realistic in delivering a wholistic model of care.

People have a duty to educate themselves and develop a more sophisticated understanding of what is the most effective in treating the whole person who is homeless, otherwise you risk making the their plight more intransigent.

The Salvation Army has room if you are willing to abide by their rules. The person who wants to enter a program of sobriety has no problem finding space.

These are the facts. Confirm this with someone who works with this population, call the Salvation Army and ask them yourself. If you are ready to get sober, they have a bed for you.

Feeding people in the streets just gives the addict a way to avoid the hard work of entering a program. That is the opposite of helping them, that is enabling them to use and continue to be addicts.

That is incorrect, and yes, as an RN who has worked with this population, I am familiar with the literally hundreds of groups in Philly what work with the homeless.

So you are saying that all shelters are “glorified prisons?” Not even prisons are “full of violence, assault, and rape.” This is nonsense. Anyone who has worked in a prison (I have) know that they are more orderly and safe that the streets of Philly, by the statistics.

Peddling fibs is not going to get what you want because there are so many people who have worked with this population who are not buying it.

Sr. Mary Scullion runs a great system. So does the Salvation Army, and dozens of private nonprofits who coordinate housing, mental and physical health care, and other social services for the homeless. I defy you to name a city that does more for the homeless in Philly as effectively as we do.

People should get the facts. They are moving the location. That’s all. People act like they are shutting it down.

Which decision do you mean? The outdoor feeders come from outside the city. That has been the historic problem.. They don’t want to work with the groups here who are part of a comprehensive response.

you cant force treatment on someone that doesnt want it. what you see as a solution is just an opinion.

Nutter is regarded as a leading homeless advocate, so the claim that this is somehow “making giving someone food illegal” is silly.

The public space is still for everyone. But every city has permitting.

And isn’t Philly the city of Brotherly love. I guess only if you’re not homeless..

Drawing people from all over the city and the region to the Parkway is not helping them. There are shelters and outreach all over the city, and people should be helped in their own communities.

The reason that “advocates” want to do this is to try to create the impression that the homeless are this dense in population all over the city, and feel that it is necessary to “put it in people’s faces” to get people to care.

That is juvenile. Philly obviously cares and responds without making the Parkway a no-go zone.

Actually, courts can compel treatment. But I’m not suggesting that here. I’m saying that giving someone a way to avoid the more labor intensive option of entering a shelter by giving the a sandwich outside helps them to avoid getting the comprehensive help they need which is offered by the social workers in the homeless response system.

I’m very surprised at how uninformed about how the social services safety net really works.

I don’t know where you are coming from BUT the Salvation Army DOES NOT always have shelter available. We also have a community organizations that work with the homeless as well. I have dealt with many while trying to get my brother off the streets; both when he was clean and sober and when he was not. You seem to think there is plenty of help available for anyone who truly wants it and that is far from the truth. The waiting lists for those eligible for housing can take over a year. The problem is there will always be an OVER population of homeless. As a recovering alcoholic with 21 years of sobriety I know the systems very well and understand “enabling.” It’s nice to know that where you are coming from there is a solution always readily available.

The Mayor is only asking people to MOVE. That’s IT.

I didn’t say the whole Salvation Army all over the US has all the room in the world, I said the Salvation Army in Philly has a lot of beds. And there is usually always room, and they will even make arrangements for you if there is not a walk in bed or cafe.

But the Salvation Army program of getting sober is the real deal, and many guys walk out, because they know they can get a sandwich on the Parkway twice a day.

IF YOU HAVE A GOOD JOB ? BE HAPPY…25 MILLION AMERICANS ARE UNEMPLOYED, THERE JOBS GOT OUTSOURCE TO CHINA…IS HELL FINDING A JOB TODAY EVEN WITH A COLLEGE DEGREE…MANY COMPANIES ARE IMPORTING WORKERS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO REPLACE AMERICANS WORKERS….AMERICA IS DOOMED IN MY OPINION…..SO IF YOU HAVE A GOOD PAYING JOB LIKE YOU DO, THANK GOD…

MOVE ?? WE DO NOT WANT POOR PEOPLE IN VIEW …IT MAKE POLITICIANS LOOK BAD….MOVE TO A CORNER OUT OF THE PEOPLE’S VIEW.