Judge declares man's truck 'his home' in ruling that could affect hundreds of homeless people - Polidicks

[quote]SEATTLE - A Seattle man is celebrating after a judge ruled that the truck he has been living in is his home and the city can't sell it to pay for a hefty parking ticket and fines. The ruling could affect hundreds of homeless people living in their vehicles. The judge's ruling is based on the 123-year-old Homestead Act that says the government can't force anyone to sell their home to satisfy debts. This is apparently the first time anyone has successfully argued that a vehicle can be a home. Steven Long has lived in a truck on the streets of Seattle since 2014. But last year, when his truck was parked on Poplar Street South for five months, the city impounded it. He said living outside took a toll. "I had eight colds that year and pneumonia, to boot," he said. "And I normally have only one or two colds a year." Long is not alone. A 2017 survey by the nonprofit All Home counted more than 5,400 people living on Seattle's streets. Nearly half of them were living in their vehicles. "It's one of the first big victories in the area of vehicle residency in particular," says Columbia Legal Services lawyer Ann LoGerfo.[/quote] [url]http://www.fox13memphis.com/news/trending-now/judge-declares-mans-truck-his-home-in-ruling-that-could-affect-hundreds-of-homeless-people/711693182[/url]

While I’m happy that homeless people get something going for them(god knows how hard life already is when everyone treats you like a piece of shit), I’m worried about what this means for people who are squatting in their vehicles in one spot for a long period of time.

[QUOTE=aznz888;53181335]While I’m happy that homeless people get something going for them(god knows how hard life already is when everyone treats you like a piece of shit), I’m worried about what this means for people who are squatting in their vehicles in one spot for a long period of time.[/QUOTE] Isn't that the same thing?

[QUOTE=Problem;53181428]Isn't that the same thing?[/QUOTE] I think the implication in the ones [i]squatting[/i] with their vehicle is that they're parking their vehicles on private property. Hopefully there's no crossover that could be abused by advantageous squatters fighting to not get kicked out of somebody's back yard

Good. We don't need to take what little these people have and punish them further for being poor. They just made it illegal to sleep in your car in LA like they expect all the homeless people to just ~drive away~

[QUOTE=DOG-GY;53182062]They just made it illegal to sleep in your car in LA like they expect all the homeless people to just ~drive away~[/QUOTE] Honestly I thought LA was a liberal area

[QUOTE=DOG-GY;53182062]Good. We don't need to take what little these people have and punish them further for being poor. They just made it illegal to sleep in your car in LA like they expect all the homeless people to just ~drive away~[/QUOTE] Finland is doing a different approach to homelessness called Housing First, and Finland's homeless number is decereasing. [QUOTE]Last year, Finland was the only EU country not currently in the middle of a massive homelessness crisis. In fact, the EU homelessness organisation FEANTSA, which published the report, found Finland's number of homeless has been decreasing year-on-year. This is a complete reversal of what other countries do and although it might sound simple, it's also incredibly effective. When someone has a literal place to call home, it makes it a whole lot easier to solve any potential problems which lead to an individual becoming homeless in the first place. Finland even goes as far as assigning individual support to sort out the issues that have led to the person becoming homeless. The people pay rent and are given housing benefits. And while a lot is paid for by the local government, if they earn enough the people given shelter will eventually pay for the help they receive. The Y-Foundation is an organisation providing flats for Finland's Housing First and their CEO Juha Kaakinen said: "All this costs money, but there is ample evidence from many countries that shows it is always more cost-effective to aim to end homelessness instead of simply trying to manage it. Investment in ending homelessness always pays back, to say nothing of the human and ethical reasons."[/QUOTE] [URL="https://www.indy100.com/article/finland-end-homelessness-rough-sleepers-feantsa-housing-first-juha-kaakinen-8235086"]Source[/URL] (meh article, here's a another [URL="https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/mar/22/finland-solved-homelessness-eu-crisis-housing-first"]one[/URL] from 2017) Turns out giving people a solid foundation and giving emotional support helps people get out of homelessness, :thinking:

[QUOTE=Blackavar;53182081]Honestly I thought LA was a liberal area[/QUOTE] Lol it's got nothing to do with being "liberal". LA is ran by rich assholes who don't want those filthy poor people around them.

[QUOTE=Blackavar;53182081]Honestly I thought LA was a liberal area[/QUOTE] doesnt do a thing to stop the numerous tent cities [editline]6th March 2018[/editline] [QUOTE=TheBorealis;53182107]Finland is doing a different approach to homelessness called Housing First, and Finland's homeless number is decereasing. [URL="https://www.indy100.com/article/finland-end-homelessness-rough-sleepers-feantsa-housing-first-juha-kaakinen-8235086"]Source[/URL] (meh article, here's a another [URL="https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/mar/22/finland-solved-homelessness-eu-crisis-housing-first"]one[/URL] from 2017) Turns out giving people a solid foundation and giving emotional support helps people get out of homelessness, :thinking:[/QUOTE] yeah i remember this. there are a few places in the US also doing housing first. we desperately need it everywhere.

[i]"This is my own private domicile and I will not be harassed, bitch!"[/i]

[QUOTE=F.X Clampazzo;53182125]Lol it's got nothing to do with being "liberal". LA is ran by rich assholes who don't want those filthy poor people around them.[/QUOTE] You seem to have a very poor understanding of the politics of the area, so I'm not entirely sure why you're giving your opinion on the matter.

[QUOTE=Blackavar;53182081]Honestly I thought LA was a liberal area[/QUOTE] all the "liberal" cities (seattle, portland, san francisco, los angeles, new york) have extremely large homeless populations. rich people like to be performatively liberal but when it comes to people actually living on the streets they only see them as trash that should be removed.

Does that also mean that a car that's been recognized as a home would be eligible to the rights of any normal brick house (connection to utilities/mortgage/ability to rent out/...)?

[QUOTE=Blackavar;53182081]Honestly I thought LA was a liberal area[/QUOTE] socially liberal but fiscally, they don't want to put any money towards the homeless. Their idea of combating the homelessness problem is "keep making the homeless people go where we can ignore them better"

[QUOTE=LZTYBRN;53182265]socially liberal but fiscally conservative. Their idea of combating the homelessness problem is "keep making the homeless people go where we can ignore them better"[/QUOTE] What, lol? LA is taxed like crazy and has tons of burdensome regulations. It's the opposite of fiscally conservative. LA has an absolutely massive homeless problem and a huge housing shortage, which is continually exacerbated by very restrictive building regulations.

[QUOTE=Blackavar;53182081]Honestly I thought LA was a liberal area[/QUOTE] liberals care nothing for the poor and struggling, just basic lipservice to look nicer than the other side of the isle

[QUOTE=Blackavar;53182081]Honestly I thought LA was a liberal area[/QUOTE] In LA you can see the division between some of the lowest income areas in the world and some of the highest just by standing at an intersection sometimes.

[QUOTE=Judas;53182331]liberals care nothing for the poor and struggling, just basic lipservice to look nicer than the other side of the isle[/QUOTE] I legitimately cannot believe that anybody holds this stance. This is as much of a shitpost as if I were to say that "Conservatives don't care about dead kids, they just want to keep using their toys", but applied to literally the entire conservative political spectrum instead of just one issue.

[QUOTE=phygon;53182248]You seem to have a very poor understanding of the politics of the area, so I'm not entirely sure why you're giving your opinion on the matter.[/QUOTE] Ah yes what an insightful post that totally informs me why I'm wrong?

[QUOTE=Judas;53182331]liberals care nothing for the poor and struggling, just basic lipservice to look nicer than the other side of the isle[/QUOTE] hold on there honkey

the city (and by extension the state) should provide a home instead of tossing you on the street, but that's communism I guess, even though it works to cut the chronicly homeless

[QUOTE=sgman91;53182301]What, lol? LA is taxed like crazy and has tons of burdensome regulations. It's the opposite of fiscally conservative.[/QUOTE] That was the meaning I intended but I now realize that fiscally conservative doesn't mean what I thought it meant, my bad.

[QUOTE=aznz888;53181335]While I’m happy that homeless people get something going for them(god knows how hard life already is when everyone treats you like a piece of shit), I’m worried about what this means for people who are squatting in their vehicles in one spot for a long period of time.[/QUOTE] Vehicles move. They can just order you to move, and if you fail to do so, they can tow you to a new spot by court order.

[QUOTE=phygon;53182360]I legitimately cannot believe that anybody holds this stance. This is as much of a shitpost as if I were to say that "Conservatives don't care about dead kids, they just want to keep using their toys", but applied to literally the entire conservative political spectrum instead of just one issue.[/QUOTE] Democratic groups do pay lip service to these ideals, it's the sad truth. The US flavour of your typical democrat is soeone who pays lip service but little action is ever taken.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;53182555]Democratic groups do pay lip service to these ideals, it's the sad truth. The US flavour of your typical democrat is soeone who pays lip service but little action is ever taken.[/QUOTE] I wouldn't say its quite that bad but to really address these sorts of issues you have to commit to long term programs, which means large laws, lots of rules, federal oversight, and the next thing you know, the next party has come out against it and has sabotaged it or repealed it they went to the mat for universal healthcare and got destroyed, they went around again with a historic supermajority, and they got destroyed even worse, they passed medicare and it lead to Nixon. everytime the democrats have done grand action its been at great expense

[QUOTE=Sableye;53182595]I wouldn't say its quite that bad but to really address these sorts of issues you have to commit to long term programs, which means large laws, lots of rules, federal oversight, and the next thing you know, the next party has come out against it and has sabotaged it or repealed it they went to the mat for universal healthcare and got destroyed, they went around again with a historic supermajority, and they got destroyed even worse, they passed medicare and it lead to Nixon. everytime the democrats have done grand action its been at great expense[/QUOTE] This problem doesn't exist in California or in LA. Democrats have perpetual leadership.

Plot twist, now he has to pay property tax.

[QUOTE=Judas;53182331]liberals care nothing for the poor and struggling, just basic lipservice to look nicer than the other side of the isle[/QUOTE] Well look what we have learned, generalisations are bad go figure

Why are homeless people treated like shit anyways

[QUOTE=Citrus705;53183060]Why are homeless people treated like shit anyways[/QUOTE] Because often times, homeless people that are perpetually homeless are homeless for a reason- Drug addiction or serious mental issues are the two primary factors. This leads to many homeless people being aggressive and/or unpredictable. Of course, not all of them are like this, but there's enough to stigmatize the title.