New York City will temporarily house migrants at a cruise ship terminal to help handle the growing influx of asylum seekers, according to Democratic Mayor Eric Adams.
Adams shared plans for the 1,000-person shelter at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in a press release on Saturday.
“With more than 41,000 asylum seekers arriving in New York City since last spring and nearly 28,000 asylum seekers currently in our care, our city is at its breaking point,” Adams <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/050-23/mayor-adams-placement-new-humanitarian-emergency-response-relief-center" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
“We continue to surpass both our moral and legal obligations and meet the needs of people arriving in New York, but as the number of asylum seekers continues to grow, we are in serious need of support from both our state and federal governments. This fifth Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center will provide approximately 1,000 asylum seekers with a place to stay, access support, and get to their final destination,&#8221; the mayor added.
Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III also noted that the addition of the shelter is the fifth Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center.
“As the numbers and demographics shift, so does our approach. What remains is our focus on addressing their needs, providing them with critical services, and ensuring a foundation is there for them to begin building their new lives,&#8221; Banks said.
The city has already opened 77 hotels as emergency shelters, set up navigation centers to help migrants, and partnered to enroll children in public schools through Project Open Arms, among providing other forms of assistance.
Adams recently visited the southern border in El Paso, Texas, and declared a state of emergency last year over the surge in migrants. The mayor has repeatedly called for federal assistance, claiming that efforts have been blocked by Republicans.
“Just a few days ago, I was in El Paso to see for myself how the asylum seeker crisis is affecting our border states and our entire nation. What I saw was not a state problem or a city problem. It is a national problem, driven by global forces, impacting regular people,” Mr. Adams <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/nyregion/eric-adams-immigration-asylum.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a speech at the U.S. Conference of Mayors following his Texas trip.
“Every attempt to deal with immigration on a national level through legislation has been sabotaged, mostly by right-wing opposition. And cities are bearing the brunt of this failure,” he added.
Adams has also been a vocal opponent of Governor Doug Ducey (R-AZ) and Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) busing migrants to faraway cities.
Ducey&#8217;s busing program ended when he left office on January 2. As of mid-December, his office <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/texas-ariz-governors-bussed-16000-migrants-north-rcna61270" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it had sent 80 buses carrying 2,916 migrants to Washington, D.C.
Abbott&#8217;s busing plans have been more aggressive. Texas has transported more than 5,200 migrants to New York City since August.
In addition, Texas has bused 9,100 migrants to the nation&#8217;s capital since April, more than 1,500 migrants to Chicago since August 31, and more than 890 migrants to Philadelphia since November 15, <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/operation-lone-star-disrupts-cartel-activity-along-bidens-open-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> the governor&#8217;s office.
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-city-homeless-shelter-population-hits-record-numbers-following-influx-of-migrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that New York City’s homeless shelter population reached record levels in October, with more than 60,000 people in its shelter system.
“This is not an everyday homelessness crisis, but a humanitarian crisis that requires a different approach, and these humanitarian emergency response centers will take on a multitude of looks with the similarities that they will all help triage and provide immediate support to arriving asylum seekers. We will continue to respond with care and compassion as we deal with this humanitarian crisis made by human hands,” Adams <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/741-22/mayor-adams-placement-family-focused-humanitarian-emergency-response-relief-center" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time.

Eric Adamas

NYC To House Migrants At Cruise Ship Terminal, Mayor Eric Adams Confirms

Border Crisis

Eric Adams

Homeless

Homelessness

Immigration

Migrants

New York

New York City

Politics

A lot can change in two years. I would know.
Just two years ago, I sat in a treatment facility waiting for a psychiatric drug prescription, careless as the passing minutes slowly wasted away. I had nothing to live for.  The doctor finally returned, and I numbly looked up, unprepared for her explosive revelation: &#8220;We&#8217;re sending you home on prenatals!” she announced.
I was shocked.  I&#8217;d just gotten out of jail, and it couldn&#8217;t be possible that a brief rendezvous with my former drug dealer had resulted in a new baby.
Shock turned to panic. They’re going to take my kid. I’d already permanently lost custody of four children. The loss of another one would break me.
As I sat there crying, abortion seemingly my only option, I had no idea that a home called Bethlehem House would soon save my life.
Bethlehem House was founded in 2005 to shelter and heal pregnant women struggling with addictions, homelessness, poverty, and lack of family support – among other challenges. 
Sadly, I was the perfect candidate. My childhood was rife with trauma and abuse. I was sexually assaulted when I was only 14-years-old.  By the time I was 16, I was already living completely on my own, working full-time, and completing school. Against all odds, I graduated as valedictorian of my high school class. I then went straight into the workforce and got married. 
My marriage quickly devolved, as my husband became abusive and disclosed a serious drug addiction that he eventually passed on to me.  Five years and four children later, my addiction led me to lose my house, my job, and eventually my kids.
The loss of my children was by far the most painful blow of my life.
I spent months fighting to sober up, achieve housing stability, and regain custody of them – only for CPS to swoop in again and permanently tear my babies away even though at the time I was finally doing everything right.  After that, I felt acutely that I had nothing left to live for.
In despair, I spent the next 17 months destroying what was left of my life. I became a homeless criminal with two warrants in two different states, living on the run as I stole cars and sold drugs for a living.
It wasn’t until I was robbed at gunpoint that I finally abandoned this lifestyle. With nothing left to lose, I turned myself in to the nearest jail where I served 10 months. I was released on the condition I would seek treatment.
That’s what brought me to the treatment facility, where I sat crying,  terrified of losing yet another child.  Why should I carry a child to term, I wondered,  if the state is just going to take him or her from me in the end?
Yet despite my shock and fear, I wondered if  it could be possible that this unexpected pregnancy was instead a second chance at life.  I knew I wanted to keep this baby  — but how?
After learning about Bethlehem House, I visited. I was met with a familiar face in the home’s Family Life Director who had run my support group in jail. There I was showered with love, and the staff literally wept with me when I shared the painful history that had brought me to their doorstep. I knew from that moment I was in the right place.
I stayed at Bethlehem House for the next seven months, during which time they offered me professional counseling to heal my trauma and mental instabilities, as well as a wide range of practical classes to help me regain my confidence and re-establish myself: from parenting and sexual integrity to financial literacy and more. I grew extremely close with the other women living in the home at the time, and I flourished in the stable family structure I’d been lacking my whole life.
The strong  women at Bethlehem House encouraged me to set goals that would help me and my son Brandon in the long run. My determination to not only keep Brandon, but also to create a stable and healthy life for him motivated me to achieve those goals, and within two years  of the day  that  I first showed up homeless on  the doorstep of Bethlehem House I had — every single one. 
I acquired housing, completed my college degree, paid off $10k in debt, purchased a car, and got my license back. I got a job at Jiffy Lube,  and within a year I was promoted to store manager. I am currently pursuing a district manager position at the company, and I am working on my next goal: home ownership.
For the first time ever, I am completely free of government assistance. I’m also four years clean.
Looking back on the trajectory of my life, I am amazed to see my miraculous transformation from a broken, hopeless, and despairing woman to a sober, hard-working, and successful mom. 
All of this is thanks to the abundance of resources, support, and love Bethlehem House  showered on me, offering me a second chance at life. And all of it is for my beautiful, energetic, and smart 2-year-old son Brandon.
Francesca is a successful store manager and proud mother to her two-year-old son Brandon.
Friday, January 20th, is the 50th annual <a href="https://marchforlife.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March for Life</a> in Washington D.C..
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Newborn boy sleeping

‘They’re Going To Take My Kid’: How I Went From Homeless Convict To Successful Mother

'They're Going To Take My Kid': How I Went From Homeless Convict To Successful Mother

Abortion

March For Life

Pregnancy

Readers Pass

U.S.

A San Francisco art gallery owner hosed down a homeless woman whom he said refused to move from his storefront, had turned over garbage cans, and become belligerent, prompting the city to arrest him and charge him with battery.
Collier Gwin, the owner of Foster Gwin art gallery, sprayed the homeless woman on January 9. When interviewed after a video of the incident went viral, he said, “I totally understand what an awful thing that is to do, but I also understand what an awful thing it is to leave her on the streets,” adding that repeated attempts had been made to help the woman for weeks before the incident.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is horrible. This awful man is spraying a homeless woman down with a hose. You can hear her yell “Help Me!”
Does anyone recognize him? Is he affiliated with Barbarossa Lounge? This is inhumane and inexcusable.
Shout out to @briochessf for posting the video. <a href="https://t.co/3ZKeRP4gar">pic.twitter.com/3ZKeRP4gar</a>
&mdash; (((BrokeAssStuart))) (@BrokeAssStuart) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrokeAssStuart/status/1612853395345510401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
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“I said, ‘You have to move, I cannot clean the street, move down,’” Gwin <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/san-francisco-gallery-owner-sprayed-101855376.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAC_xdiBv7Lt4R5YRtb-LHjcxDt6VpVYie269mwGDqDwUycZzbty2mDCrdTOnEQ3dPPNOX0DqlciHg1k3w6KDzfpn6DPFA8fgdOQL4na6BQLWHu1aUItXQf2mI-9OgIk5vztLkL9gKx59jd8JyhjqEJDRfY8DQNa0-GqlikYwkemt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The San Francisco Chronicle. “She starts screaming belligerent things, spitting, yelling at me. At that point, she was so out of control &#8230; I spray her with the hose and say, ‘Move, move. I will help you.’”
“I&#8217;ve been here for 40 years,” he <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/san-francisco-gallery-owner-sprayed-101855376.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAC_xdiBv7Lt4R5YRtb-LHjcxDt6VpVYie269mwGDqDwUycZzbty2mDCrdTOnEQ3dPPNOX0DqlciHg1k3w6KDzfpn6DPFA8fgdOQL4na6BQLWHu1aUItXQf2mI-9OgIk5vztLkL9gKx59jd8JyhjqEJDRfY8DQNa0-GqlikYwkemt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> a San Francisco resident. “We have tons of homeless. But they haven&#8217;t been in a situation where they get that violent [within] 10 days of the neighborhood trying to do something. We have been able to get them taken to a shelter, which they leave immediately.”
&#8220;I&#8217;ve listened to her talk to the people and saying, ‘No, this is the way I want to live. My idea of cleanliness is not your idea of cleanliness,’” the resident replied.
“That&#8217;s fine, as long as she knows what she&#8217;s saying,” Gwin responded.
“We called the police; there must be 25 calls on record,” Gwin said later. “It’s two days in a homeless shelter’ it’s two days in jail, and then they drop them back off on the street. This woman is — it’s a very, very sad situation, and she’s very psychotic.”
“I find it hard to apologize when we’ve had no help with this situation,” he concluded.
ABC News Bay Area <a href="https://www.wbay.com/2023/01/12/man-seen-video-spraying-water-hose-homeless-woman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that multiple people in the area of the art gallery described the woman as a “nuisance.”
Following the incident, community and religious leaders, including San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins attended an event to discuss the fallout, and Gwin’s store was vandalized. Gwin offered an <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/S-F-gallery-owner-who-sprayed-homeless-woman-in-17723223.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apology</a> for the initial incident, saying, “There’s a breaking point. I have the video to constantly remind me that this is a large cross to bear.”
“Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions,” Jenkins declared.

Low Angle View Of Water Flowing From Hose

San Francisco Art Gallery Owner Arrested After Hosing Down Homeless Woman

California

Crime

San Francisco

Many cities that cracked down on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/homelessness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homelessness</a> have been hit with legal challenges over their new restrictions.
New York City, Dallas, and other cities that tried to aggressively address their homeless problem — and the drug, crime, and public nuisance issues that accompany it — are now <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-cities-get-tough-on-homelessness-legal-battles-follow-11673960273?mod=us_lead_story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defending</a> their policies in court.
In New York City, civil rights groups are attempting to block Mayor Eric Adams&#8217; initiative to hospitalize homeless people who are severely mentally ill and appear to be a danger to themselves.
“If severe mental illness is causing someone to be unsheltered and a danger to themselves, we have a moral obligation to help them get the treatment and care they need,” Adams <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/29/nyc-to-involuntarily-commit-more-mentally-unstable-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> when he announced the plan.
In December, several civil rights groups <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-plan-to-involuntarily-hospitalize-some-mentally-ill-homeless-faces-legal-challenge-11670540243?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> a federal judge to block the policy, claiming it is unconstitutional and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
New York&#8217;s policy sometimes involves confiscating homeless people&#8217;s belongings as they are removed from public property and taken to a hospital. The city&#8217;s move comes amid concerns that the city&#8217;s homeless crisis is becoming more visible and spiraling out of control.
Also last month, Dallas was <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-sued-for-banning-panhandlers-from-standing-on-medians-15486363" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> over its October policy restricting people hanging around road medians, where homeless people often panhandle. City officials said the policy is for public safety because people can get hit by passing cars. However, the homeless people and their advocates who sued the city argued the policy violates their First Amendment rights.
Albuquerque was <a href="https://www.kxan.com/news/national-news/ap-new-mexico-city-sued-for-hounding-harassing-the-homeless/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> last month by homeless people and the ACLU of New Mexico for removing homeless encampments and arresting and fining people living on the street, allegedly violating their civil rights.
Similarly, Phoenix was <a href="https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/aclu-sues-city-of-phoenix-stop-sweeps-homeless-camp/75-232de857-bdf8-411d-9e13-e8250fe89d70" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> last month by the ACLU of Arizona over sweeps of a huge homeless encampment downtown.
“Rather than confront its housing crisis head-on and invest in sustainable solutions to homelessness, the City is terrorizing the very people it should be helping,” the complaint reads.
In San Francisco, which has one of the nation&#8217;s worst homeless and drug crises, homeless people and their advocates sued the city for fining and arresting homeless people as a way to get them out of public spaces. They also complained that the city throws out homeless people&#8217;s tents and other belongings without enough warning.
Recently, the Ninth Circuit federal appeals court has limited what some West Coast cities with severe homeless crises can do to address the problem if they can&#8217;t offer appropriate shelter.
“It is a serious, serious, problem, probably the biggest crisis we’re facing right now, and I think these decisions are at the heart of what has gone wrong here,” attorney Theane Evangelis, who <a href="https://www.gibsondunn.com/lawyer/evangelis-theane/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defended</a> an Oregon city&#8217;s homeless policy in the 9th Circuit, told <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-cities-get-tough-on-homelessness-legal-battles-follow-11673960273" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
“They’ve caused paralysis at a time when we need action,” Evangelis said.
A federal judge has temporarily banned San Francisco from taking those actions to combat the homeless issue, citing Ninth Circuit rulings.
Back in 2021, Austin was sued for not doing enough to address the city&#8217;s homeless problem. A group of Austin business owners and others <a href="https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/save-austin-now-business-owners-say-austin-is-failing-to-enforce-camping-ban-in-new-lawsuit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> the city for not enforcing its public property camping ban.

Demonstration Held At NYC’s City Hall Against Mayor Adams’ Plan For Mentally Ill Homeless

Cities That Cracked Down On Homelessness Get Hit With Legal Challenges

Albuquerque

Arizona

Dallas

Mental Health

Mental Illness

New Mexico

A frustrated San Francisco art gallery owner has gone viral after video circulated of him turning his garden hose on a <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/san-francisco-cannot-clear-out-homeless-encampments-judge-rules/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homeless woman</a> who was sitting on the sidewalk in front of his establishment.
The <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/01/11/san-francisco-gallery-owner-soaks-homeless-woman-with-hose/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gallery owner</a>, identified as Collier Gwin, could be seen leaning against a fence and spraying her with a hose while she shouted back at him. The video was recorded by Edson Garcia, co-owner of the nearby Brioche Cafe, who said that she was yelling back at Gwin that she would move.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
San Francisco man sprays a homeless person with a hose after she refuses to move from the sidewalk. <a href="https://t.co/vnBmgJpwEJ">pic.twitter.com/vnBmgJpwEJ</a>
&mdash; Catch Up (@CatchUpNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/CatchUpNetwork/status/1613210907576008704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I turned to the side and saw the guy pouring water to the lady,&#8221; Garcia said, adding that he recognized the woman because he had seen her on the streets there before — and he said that to his knowledge, she had never been a problem.
&#8220;It was cold and raining. She was screaming saying &#8216;ok I&#8217;ll move I&#8217;ll move!&#8217; It&#8217;s not fair to see people doing stuff like that,&#8221; Garcia continued.
According to a <a href="https://abc7news.com/san-francisco-homeless-woman-water-hose-sprayed-by-art-galley-owner-collier-gwin/12685928/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the local San Francisco ABC affiliate, Gwin resorted to using the hose only after multiple attempts to get the woman off the street — and to get her help — had resulted in brief and temporary assistance at best.
&#8220;I totally understand what an awful thing that is to do, but I also understand what an awful thing it is to leave her on the streets,&#8221; he said, noting that police had been called multiple times. Each time, she had been taken to a shelter or jail for a day or two at a time, only to come back to the same streets afterward.
&#8220;We called the police. There must be at least 25 calls to police. It&#8217;s two days in a homeless shelter, it&#8217;s two days in jail, and then they drop them right back on the street,&#8221; Gwin added, claiming that he had only picked up the hose to spray her when she refused to leave and wouldn&#8217;t accept his offer to help her move her belongings to a different part of the street. &#8220;This woman is a very, very sad situation. She&#8217;s very psychotic.&#8221;

Cropped Image Of Man Washing Car Outdoors

Frustrated San Francisco Gallery Owner Turns Garden Hose On Homeless Woman

Social Issues

In Portland, Oregon, where the homeless problem has apparently mushroomed during the stewardship of Mayor Ted Wheeler, a 32-year-old homeless woman allegedly shoved an innocent 3-year-old child from behind on the platform, hurling her to the railway track below.
The incident occurred on the evening of December 28 at the Gateway Transit Center MAX platform in Northeast Portland, where a mother and her 3-year-old child, who was wearing a pink coat, were waiting for a MAX train.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Woman accused of pushing 3-year-old onto MAX train tracks" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MkrJyyvWfZs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“Brianna Lace Workman, 32, was arraigned on Attempted Assault in the First Degree, Assault in the Third Degree, Interfering with Public Transportation, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree and Recklessly Endangering Another Person,” the Multnomah County District Attorney <a href="https://www.mcda.us/index.php/news/da-mike-schmidt-announces-brianna-workman-32-arraigned-for-pushing-child-onto-max-train-tracks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a>.
“The child landed face-first onto the metal rail and rocks before being quickly rescued from the train tracks,” the District Attorney’s office reported. “The child reported a severe headache and had a small red mark on their forehead after the incident.”
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office requested Workman remain in custody and be held without bail. But Workman’s attorney stated, “At Ms. Workman&#8217;s request, I am not requesting her release at this time, but I am objecting to the state&#8217;s motion of preventative detention,” the Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11590747/Terrifying-moment-homeless-woman-shoves-girl-3-Oregon-train-tracks-without-provocation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Last May, Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) noted data <a href="https://www.portlandmercury.com/Housing/2022/05/04/41902801/multnomah-countys-homeless-population-up-30-percent-from-2019-data-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showing</a> homelessness had risen 30% since 2019. “The extent of homelessness in the community isn’t static, and the number of people experiencing homelessness who need services over the course of a year is much larger than any one-night number,” the county stated.
Last January, a 70-year-old nurse was hit in the face at a Los Angeles bus stop by a homeless person, officials said. Nurse Sandra Shells was hit in the face by a homeless man while at a downtown L.A. bus stop and fell to the ground, where she suffered a fractured skull, before dying at a hospital.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today, LAPD Central Area delivered a floral arrangement to LAUSCMC Staff in memory of ER Nurse Sandra Shells, who was violently punched, knocked to the ground and passed away, a senseless VIOLENT crime. RIP.<a href="https://twitter.com/LAPDChiefMoore?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAPDChiefMoore</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LAPDGirmala?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAPDGirmala</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LabradaAl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LabradaAl</a> <a href="https://t.co/TWYWPFS3qR">pic.twitter.com/TWYWPFS3qR</a>
&mdash; LAPD CAPT E. MORALES (@LAPDCaptMorales) <a href="https://twitter.com/LAPDCaptMorales/status/1483212547310321666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Two days later, a homeless man pushed a 40-year-old woman onto the New York City subway tracks, where she was struck by an oncoming train. She was <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-killed-pushed-nyc-subway-tracks-unprovoked-attack/story?id=82285898" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pronounced dead</a> at the scene. The suspect, whom the police believed to be homeless, was later apprehended.
In mid-October, a homeless man was <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/this-is-how-california-could-better-approach-the-homelessness-crisis-homeless-advocate-says/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> in Long Beach, California, after allegedly stabbing four people and murdering one; four days prior to that incident, a homeless man in the Los Angeles area was seen stabbing a woman’s head with a pair of gardening shears.

Railway tunnel

Video: Homeless Portland Woman Shoves 3-Year-Old Girl From Behind, Hurls Her Down To Railway Track

Homeless Portland Woman Shoves 3-Year-Old Girl From Behind, Hurls Her Down To Subway Track

Children

Portland

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/austin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Austin&#8217;s</a> spiking <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/homelessness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homeless</a> problem came to a head for the city over Christmas as temperatures dropped below freezing and many spent the night outside.
As an arctic blast hit the city over Christmas weekend, Austin <a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/news/city-austin-and-partners-shelter-hundreds-during-winter-weather" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opened</a> cold weather shelters and welcomed hundreds of the city&#8217;s thousands of homeless people between Thursday evening and Tuesday morning. The low temperature for Christmas Eve in the area was 12 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, and a freeze warning was in effect through Christmas night.
Homelessness has plagued the state capital for years, but the problem has gotten significantly worse in the last year. Nearly 3,500 homeless people now reside in the Austin area, <a href="https://www.austinecho.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AustinCoCDashboard_20220524_update.html#current-homelessness-snapshot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to ECHO, an Austin homelessness nonprofit. That number has risen over 20% between last year and this year.
On Tuesday, the Texas Department of Transportation conducted a cleanup of a homeless encampment in south Austin in the South Lamar neighborhood. The department initially pointed to the city of Austin when asked about cleanups, but later confirmed Texas DOT was responsible for the cleanup.
Texas DOT <a href="https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/slap-in-the-face-austin-homeless-camp-swept-same-day-cold-weather-shelters-closed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it &#8220;typically&#8221; conducts cleanups on Tuesdays and that when crews arrive, homeless people are given the opportunity to remove their belongings beforehand. Whatever is abandoned will be cleaned up, and there are signs warning people that state law prohibits camping on public property posted at all cleanup locations, the department noted.
This means that homeless people who went to a shelter during the freezing nights of Christmas weekend and Monday found their belongings gone when they returned on Tuesday. The cleanup also <a href="https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/local-non-profit-reacts-to-city-of-austins-homeless-winter-response" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appears</a> to have swept up the blankets, jackets, and other supplies that hundreds of volunteers provided to homeless people before the storm came.
The city of Austin was not involved in that cleanup or any other Christmas week cleanups of homeless encampments, a city spokesperson <a href="https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/slap-in-the-face-austin-homeless-camp-swept-same-day-cold-weather-shelters-closed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. No cleanups are planned for the rest of the year either.
On Christmas Day, city shelters closed when temperatures rose above freezing, but they opened again that night when temperatures dropped again. The city said it also fed guests with breakfast and box lunches.
Now Austin and Texas DOT are being criticized not only by fed-up residents, but also by homeless advocates.
&#8220;We were horrified to realize that there were so many people that had no idea that cold weather was coming and no way to prepare for it,&#8221; <a href="https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/local-non-profit-reacts-to-city-of-austins-homeless-winter-response" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Sasha Rose of Austin Mutual Aid, a local grassroots group.
Meanwhile, residents complain that homeless people from nearby encampments cause a litany of problems for their neighbors.
&#8220;I’ve seen urinating and defecating into the street. We’ve seen needles. We’ve seen broken bottles and litter, stuff like that,&#8221; one South Austin resident <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/south-austin-homeless-encampment-neighbors/269-81b7f946-3c8f-4f7c-8056-1ca6abae78b3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> KVUE earlier this month.
Reports to 311, 911, and emails to the district&#8217;s council members yielded little fruit, residents say.
Last year, Austin voters banned homeless people from camping in public spaces. Since then, police and other city and state government agencies have enforced the ban.
At the same time, Austin has <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/south-austin-homeless-encampment-neighbors/269-81b7f946-3c8f-4f7c-8056-1ca6abae78b3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invested</a> millions of dollars into providing housing for the city&#8217;s homeless, including <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/renovation-austin-hotel-housing-homeless-december-2022/269-66c2f3ee-f0cf-462a-a9f6-0a04918ba989" target="_blank" rel="noopener">renovating</a> hotels to turn them into shelters.

Snow storm leaves much of Austin without power

Austin’s Spiking Homeless Problem Comes To Head Over Frigid Christmas

Austin's Spiking Homeless Problem Comes To Head Over Frigid Christmas

Austin

Drugs

Texas

Drug overdose deaths soared above 106,000 in 2021, topping the spike that occurred during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db457.htm#Key_finding">released</a> its final report revealing the dismal numbers on Friday, just before Christmas.
The U.S. saw a total of 106,699 drug overdose deaths in 2021, and the age-adjusted rate of deaths increased 14% from 2020 to 2021, the CDC said.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be 50 times stronger than heroin, drove the spike. The rate of overdose deaths that involved synthetic opioids increased 22% in 2021, while the rate of fatal heroin overdoses dropped 32%.
About 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl were seized this year by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the agency announced earlier this week. Much of the fentanyl flows over the U.S.-Mexico border, although some fentanyl as well as the materials to make fentanyl <a href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf">come</a> into the U.S. from China.
Despite fentanyl being the main driver of overdoses, cocaine and other psychostimulants also saw a rise in overdose deaths in 2021.
Overdose deaths of males have risen sharply since about 2013 at a much higher rate than overdose deaths of females, the CDC data shows. During both 2020 and 2021, overdose death rates were highest for those age 35 to 44 and lowest for seniors, those over 65. However, seniors saw the highest increase in the rate of overdose deaths of any age group in 2021 — 28%.
Native Americans had the highest overdose death rate out of all racial groups in both 2020 and 2021, while Asian Americans had the lowest. Black Americans had a higher overdose death rate than white Americans both years.
“These data are very tragic but not surprising,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/22/health/life-expectancy-2021-final-data/index.html">said</a> Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “The pandemic had a magnifying effect on an already-devastating overdose crisis, and exacerbated many of the stressors in society that make people more vulnerable to taking drugs.”
Spiking drug overdoses also helped drag life expectancy in 2o21 down to 76.4 years, the lowest since 1996, the CDC said. COVID deaths were another major cause of decreased life expectancy, which is now more than two years shorter than it was at the beginning of the pandemic.
“What we’re seeing in terms of the patterns of mortality, it’s being driven, I think, largely by the pandemic,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/22/health/life-expectancy-2021-final-data/index.html">said</a> Robert Anderson, mortality statistics chief at the National Center for Health Statistics.
Some states have been hit particularly hard by the drug overdose crisis, in particular the seemingly uncontrollable amounts of fentanyl flooding across state lines.
In Montana, law enforcement <a href="https://dojmt.gov/ag-knudsen-new-data-show-fentanyl-is-top-public-safety-threat-in-montana/">seized</a> 58 times more fentanyl in the first six months of this year than they seized in all of 2019, at least 112,000 fentanyl doses.
In drug addiction hotspots like San Francisco, crime and homelessness have followed close behind the city&#8217;s drug problem for years.
One bright spot is that as addiction rates rise, more doctors have <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/overdoses-soar-rural-america-clinicians-are-prescribing-addiction-medi-rcna59225">started taking</a> addiction patients and prescribing both traditional and new addiction medications to combat the crisis.
Meanwhile, more than half of state governors have taken the drug crisis into their own hands since the Biden administration has failed to significantly stanch the flow of drugs across the border. In April, 26 governors <a href="https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2022/04/governor-ducey-25-governors-commit-coordinated-effort-secure-united-states">formed</a> the American Governors’ Border Strike Force, which works to secure the border and combat drug trafficking in the absence of more federal action.

US-HEROIN-CRISIS-OPIOID-CRIME

Drug Overdose Deaths Soared Above 106,000 In 2021, CDC Report Says

Big Pharma

Drug Cartels

Prescription Drugs

The man who resided inside an airport for almost two decades and inspired the movie “The Terminal” died on Saturday in the airport where he had returned to live. 
Mehran Karimi Nasseri was a refugee from Iran who lived in the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, for 18 years. He reportedly died in Terminal 2F around noon on Saturday. An airport representative said he sustained a fatal heart attack. Nasseri’s age was not immediately available, but he was in his late 70s, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/13/world/europe/mehran-karimi-nasseri-dead.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>. The BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63612017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that he was born in 1945. 
He had been living in a care facility earlier this year but came back to the airport a few months ago “to live as a homeless person in the public space of the airport,” the representative said. He also reportedly had several thousand euros on him.
“The reality is that he had psychological problems,” the spokesperson said. “He was a homeless person who was taken care of by the airport community and doctors.” 
“Many people went to great lengths to have him hospitalized and put into a care home adapted to his needs,” the spokesperson noted, per <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/11/13/nasseri-paris-airport-terminal-spielberg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>.
The airport also reportedly stated, “we would have preferred that he find a real shelter.”
Nasseri left Iran in the 1970s, either because he was banished or trying to escape political unrest. He attempted to find his mother in Europe and tried to enter other countries but was deported because he didn’t have proper documentation. He lived in Belgium for several years before making his way to France. Once there, he wasn’t allowed to migrate because he didn’t have the correct paperwork. Authorities let him go into the Charles de Gaulle airport, and he ended up living there for several years. 
The tale inspired the movie, “The Terminal,” directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. There were rumors that DreamWorks Pictures <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/magazine/waiting-for-spielberg.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paid</a> Nasseri $275,000 for the rights to the movie, as well as some consulting roles. 
In 1999, he was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/27/world/roissy-journal-11-years-caged-in-an-airport-now-he-fears-to-fly.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed</a> to exit the airport and travel freely in Europe, but he didn’t want to leave.
&#8221;He is scared to leave this bubble world he has been living in,&#8221; said Dr. Philippe Bargain, the airport&#8217;s medical director. &#8221;Finally getting the papers has been a huge shock to him, as if he was just thrown from his horse. When you wait 11 years for something and suddenly in a few minutes you sign some papers and it&#8217;s done &#8212; imagine what a shock that is.&#8221;

75680D43-478E-4146-942D-384F2D1C0B76_1_201_a

Refugee Who Inspired ‘The Terminal’ Movie Dies In Airport

Refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri Who Inspired ‘The Terminal’ Movie Dies In Charles de Gaulle Airport

airport

France

Movies

Paris

World

Early Saturday morning, police received a call about an injured child on a street in Phoenix, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona">Arizona</a>, near the city’s largest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/homeless">homeless</a> encampment.
When police arrived, they found a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/babies">baby</a> that had been abandoned. The baby was pronounced dead on the scene by the Phoenix Fire Department, 12 News <a href="https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/newborn-found-dead-in-central-phoenix/75-48ca5098-7a79-4fff-bb60-626b7a0bbd14">reported</a>.
Police said the infant was believed to have an estimated gestational age between 20 and 24 weeks. The body has been turned over to the Office of Medical Examiner for a postmortem investigation, while police look for information about how the baby was abandoned.
Joel Coplin, who lives near where the baby was found, told 12 News that the scene was “utterly horrific.”
&#8220;They thought it was a doll at first, but it wasn&#8217;t,&#8221; he told the outlet.
Coplin also said he saw the police outside and asked his neighbor about the situation later. His neighbor reportedly saw someone lighting something on fire.
&#8220;[He told me] his fiancé came and was trying to put the fire out, and then he went to stomp on it to put it out and realized it was a baby in there,&#8221; Coplin told the outlet. &#8220;He saw the head, a perfectly shaped head, and little arms, hands, legs, chest. He grabbed his fiance and turned away so she wouldn&#8217;t see it, and he was freaked out. He called 911.”
Coplin added that he wasn’t surprised that something like this would happen in the area.
&#8220;Anything can happen around here,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re right down here in &#8216;The Zone,&#8217; and anything and everything does happen.&#8221;
“The Zone,” is what locals call the homeless encampment, where upward of 1,000 people live in tents. The increase in the homeless population has led to a spike in crime in the area, with theft, assaults, and drugs plaguing the makeshift town, Fox 10 Phoenix <a href="https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/crimes-zone-theft-assaults-drugs-unsanitary-conditions-plague-downtown-phoenix-tent-city">reported</a>.
The outlet found that since 2019, police have responded to 801 incidents within The Zone, 278 incidents in 2020 alone. So far this year, nearly 185 incidents have been called in as of September, putting 2022 on pace to surpass 2021’s total calls.
Thefts are the most commonly reported crime in The Zone, with almost 300 cases since 2019. In the past three years, police have also responded to 229 aggravated assault calls and 130 drug offenses, with fentanyl being one of the biggest concerns.
Robberies, rapes, and burglaries are also reported. There have been six reported murders and four reported arsons as well.
These are just the reported crimes. J.R., who has lived in The Zone for eight years, told Fox 10 that crime is underreported.
&#8220;Not everybody’s gonna tell on you out here,&#8221; he said.

Large Swathes Of U.S. Under Excessive Heat Warnings

‘Utterly Horrific’: Baby Found Dead On Arizona Street, Police Seeking Answers

Baby Found Dead On Arizona Street, Police Seeking Answers

babies

Phoenix

The founder of a popular clothing and gear outfitter wrote a scathing goodbye letter to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/san-francisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco</a>, saying he’s pulling out because the city has “descended into a city of chaos.”
Cotopaxi CEO Davis Smith said near-daily brazen robberies, constant vandalism, and fears for the safety of his employees have left him no choice but to shutter the store he opened “in a charming shopping district” a year ago. The city’s refusal to do anything about theft and safety makes it impossible to run the business, he said.
“Our team is terrified,” Smith wrote in a lengthy note <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6988177773722841088/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted on LinkedIn</a>. “They feel unsafe. Security guards don’t help because these theft rings know that security guards won’t/can’t stop them. It’s impossible for a retail store to operate in these circumstances, especially when cities refuse to take any action (despite us paying taxes well above any other state we operate in).&#8221;
“As of today, we are closing the store due to rampant organized theft and lack of safety for our team,” Smith wrote. “Our store is hit by organized theft rings several times per week. They brazenly enter the store and grab thousands of dollars of product and walk out.”
Several businesses have left <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-commercial-real-estate-crash-coming-to-san-francisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco</a> since the state reduced the penalty for shoplifting under $950 worth of goods amid a surge in homelessness, public drug use, and crime. Countless viral videos have shown shoplifters emptying store shelves into garbage bags and walking out of stores as security guards watch.
Cotopaxi, named for an active volcano in the rugged Andes Mountains of Ecuador, is a competitor of Patagonia that sells outdoor clothing and gear and touts its commitment to the environment, global hunger, and other causes. But Smith, who founded the Utah-based company in 2014, said his business never had a chance in the City by the Bay.
During the first week the store was open at 549 Hayes St., thieves smashed its windows and looted it. Smith said he had the windows replaced four times before finally putting up plywood. The store tried keeping its doors locked during business hours, allowing only shoppers to enter. But Smith said organized teams would send in a woman to pose as a customer, then sneak in behind her to steal.
<div id="attachment_452356" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-452356" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-452356 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-19-at-7.48.55-AM-1024x418.png" alt="Cotopaxi CEO Davis Smith said near-daily brazen robberies, constant vandalism, and fears for the safety of his employees have left him no choice but to shutter the store he opened “in a charming shopping district” a year ago. " width="1024" height="418" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-19-at-7.48.55-AM-1024x418.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-19-at-7.48.55-AM-300x122.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-19-at-7.48.55-AM-768x314.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-19-at-7.48.55-AM.png 1068w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Smith, who posted photos on LinkedIn, said his store was vandalized within days of opening a year ago. (Davis Smith/LinkedIn)</div>
Smith, who grew up in Latin America, said he and his wife have gotten first-hand tastes of the city’s spiral into lawlessness. He described a recent visit, saying his rental car was broken into. When he called police, they blamed him for parking on the street, he said.
Another time, he wrote, &#8220;a drugged up person ran up to my wife’s face and started screaming some of the most obscene things I’ve ever heard. She was terrified.&#8221;
“It’s sad, but San Francisco appears to have descended into a city of chaos,” Smith wrote. “Many streets and parks are overrun with drugs, criminals, and homelessness, and local leadership and law enforcement enable it through inaction.&#8221;
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that San Francisco reduced the penalty for shoplifting. It was California Proposition 47.

The 2022 Concordia Annual Summit – Day 2

‘Descended Into A City Of Chaos’: CEO Closes San Francisco Store, Scorches Liberal City’s Lawlessness

'Descended Into A City Of Chaos': CEO Closes San Francisco Store, Blaming Liberal City's Lawlessness

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/san-francisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco</a> is being sued by several <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/homeless" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homeless</a> people who contend that the city has violated their constitutional rights.
The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2022/09/28/san-francisco-homelessness-lawsuit-aclu?utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> the lawsuit this week for the Coalition on Homelessness and seven homeless individuals.
“This is the accumulation of years of witnessing, documenting, and responding to fundamentally abusive human rights violations that unhoused people have had to experience at the very worst time in their lives,” Jenny Friedenbach, leader of the Coalition on Homelessness, <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/S-F-sued-over-homeless-camp-sweeps-as-advocates-17471443.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We hope to accomplish a dramatic shift from a city that responds to homelessness with sweeps, with confiscation of property, with criminalizing folks for being poor to a city that is instead addressing the issue at its core through the provision of housing.”
The lawsuit claims that San Francisco acts against the Martin v. Boise case, the California Constitution and the Eighth Amendment. In <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-12-16/homeless-boise-ruling-case-supreme-court" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Martin v. City of Boise</a>, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that it violates the constitution to penalize people for sleeping outside when there isn’t enough room in shelters.
The group reportedly <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/san-francisco-sued-by-homeless-demanding-affordable-housing-2022-09-28/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that over half of the homeless population — at 57% — do not have shelters. On Wednesday, the group claimed that the city has not offered enough shelters for temporary housing.
&#8220;The City&#8217;s decades-long failure to adequately invest in affordable housing and shelter has left many thousands of its residents unhoused, forcing them to use tents and vehicles as shelter,&#8221; the lawsuit said, per Reuters.
The group also said Democratic San Francisco Mayor London Breed, law enforcement, and other officials took action &#8220;to criminalize homelessness through an array of brutal policing practices that violate the constitutional rights of unhoused San Franciscans.”
&#8220;The City has also embarked on a campaign to seize and destroy the property of unhoused people with the express purpose of removing visible signs of homelessness from San Francisco&#8217;s streets,” it noted.
According to one of San Francisco’s <a href="https://sfgov.org/scorecards/safety-net/homeless-population" target="_blank" rel="noopener">websites</a>, the amount of people experiencing homelessness in the city was at 7,754 this year. Those who are unsheltered made up the majority of the group at 4,397. The number comes from a street count conducted on one evening in February.
San Francisco has been facing an intense homelessness issue. It has <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/san-francisco/2022/08/19/homelessness-20000-san-francisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gotten</a> a little better since 2019, but this year, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) said the city could have 20,000 homeless people.
The report also reportedly noted that for each person housed by the city, around four will lose housing since HSH has &#8220;not been able to keep pace with inflow of people who become newly homeless or return to homelessness throughout the year.”

8A98B476-F0DF-46B4-B600-FB6261934236_1_201_a

San Francisco Sued By Homeless People

San Francisco Sued By Seven Homeless People, And Coalition On Homelessness

London Breed

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