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 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>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#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

California

San Francisco

Social Issues

Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley is seeking guardianship of the grandson his homeless and troubled daughter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mlb-hall-of-famers-homeless-daughter-arrested-after-allegedly-abandoning-newborn-in-woods" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delivered Christmas night</a> in a tent in New Hampshire.
The baseball great and his wife released a statement Friday expressing their sorrow for Alexandra Eckersley and their intention to seek custody of the newborn. The baby was found alive Monday morning in a tent in the woods near Manchester despite freezing temperatures and his mother was arrested.
“We are utterly devastated by the events that unfolded on Christmas night when our daughter Allie delivered a baby while living in a tent,” <a href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/full-statement-from-eckersley-family-issued-dec-29-2022/42362443" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read the statement</a> released to WCVB-Boston. “It is heartbreaking that a child was born under such unthinkable conditions and in such tragic circumstances. We learned with everyone else from news reports what happened and are still in complete shock. We had no prior knowledge of Allie’s pregnancy.”
Eckersley, 26, called 911 early Monday to say she had given birth, then initially refused to tell responders where the baby was. The woman, who police say was on drugs, finally took them to the tent, where the baby boy was found alive on a pile of blood-soaked sheets despite freezing temperatures. Eckersley, who has a prior drug conviction, was charged with second-degree assault/extreme indifference and falsifying physical evidence charges, as well as misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct and endangering the welfare of a child, <a href="https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/more-felonies-against-mom-accused-leaving-newborn-homeless-tent">according to Patch.com</a>.
The baby, which weighed 4.4 pounds and is believed to have been born three months prematurely, was taken to a nearby hospital.
Dennis Eckersley, 68, was one of the greatest relief pitchers in Major League Baseball history and later served as a Boston Red Sox radio broadcaster. He pitched from 1975-1998, racking up 197 wins and 390 saves. He won the American League’s Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards in 1992 after saving 51 games for the Oakland A’s.
In the statement, the former star said he and his wife had adopted Alexandra at birth and that she had been troubled all her life.
“Though it is painful to share, we feel it necessary to offer greater context of Allie’s circumstances and background,” read the statement. “Allie has suffered from severe mental illness her entire life. Allie was hospitalized numerous times for her illness and lived in several residential programs. We did our very best to get Allie all of the help and support humanly possible.”
The heartbroken family said that once Alexandra became an adult, she could not be forced into treatment for drugs and mental illness and that she had chosen to live on the streets of New Hampshire for the last six years.
“We have always offered Allie a path home but she has made other choices,” the statement said. “We hope Allie now accepts the treatment she desperately needs for her mental health issues. We also hope that all those who have heard this tragic story withhold judgment about our daughter until all the facts come out.”
The family said it is in the process of filing a guardianship petition so that it can look after the infant.
“We thank you for your support and prayers for this beautiful, innocent baby boy,” the statement concluded. “We hope people understand what an agonizing situation this is and we respectfully ask for privacy.”

Alexandra Eckersley, Dennis Eckersley

Save Situation: Hall Of Famer Dennis Eckersley Seeks Custody Of Homeless Daughter’s Christmas Baby

Save Situation: Hall Of Famer Dennis Eckersley Seeks Custody Of Homeless Daughter's Christmas Baby

Major League Baseball

<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

Crime

Drugs

Texas

The adopted daughter of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/major-league-baseball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">baseball Hall of Famer</a> Dennis Eckersley was arrested Monday after allegedly abandoning her newborn boy after giving birth in a New Hampshire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/homelessness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homeless camp</a> amid freezing temperatures.
Alexandra Eckersley, 26, who has a prior drug conviction, was charged with second-degree assault/extreme indifference and falsifying physical evidence charges, as well as misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct and endangering the welfare of a child, <a href="https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/more-felonies-against-mom-accused-leaving-newborn-homeless-tent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Patch.com</a>. Police said Eckersley called 911 just after midnight on Monday and said she had given birth in the woods near Manchester. When first responders arrived, they found Eckersley intoxicated, according to police.
“Based on [the officer’s] interaction with Eckersely, he believed [she] was under the influence of drugs,” an affidavit stated. “He stated that at times, Eckersley was unsteady on her feet and that she would thrash around, side to side.”
Eckersley allegedly told police she didn’t know where the baby she’d just had was, prompting a search of the woods by police, firefighters, and EMTs. A detective later said a K-9 unit was brought in as police expected to recover a dead body due to the below-freezing temperatures. But an hour later, Eckersley told an EMT the location of the tent she’d been living in, and said the baby would be there, according to police.
Eckersley led authorities to the tent, where they found the baby alive on blood-soaked blankets inside, according to Patch.com.
“While on the scene at the campsite, Alexandra allegedly played music from her phone and sang along,” the police affidavit said.
The baby, which weighed 4.4 pounds and is believed to have been born three months prematurely, was taken to a nearby hospital.
Eckersley later told police she gave birth around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday but that her boyfriend was unable to detect a pulse on the baby. She claimed she initially tried in vain to call 911, but then left the scene fearing police would seize the tent, according to police.
When a detective asked Eckersley why she abandoned the baby, Eckersley allegedly said, “What do they tell you when a plane goes down? Save yourself first,” according to the affidavit.
Eckersely’s father was one of the greatest relief pitchers in Major League Baseball history and served as a Boston Red Sox radio broadcaster. He pitched from 1975-1998, racking up 197 wins and 390 saves. He won the American League’s Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards in 1992 after saving 51 games for the Oakland A’s.

MLB Hall Of Famer’s Homeless Daughter Arrested After Allegedly Abandoning Newborn In Woods

MLB Hall Of Famer's Homeless Daughter Arrested After Allegedly Abandoning Newborn In Woods

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/san-francisco-police-secretly-deployed-at-stores-to-catch-shoplifters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco</a> cannot clear out its ubiquitous homeless encampments because it hasn’t offered shelter to their inhabitants, a federal judge ruled Friday.
The city had been conducting sweeps in which it took the tents and belongings of homeless people living in the tent cities until Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu in the U.S. District Court in Oakland granted an emergency order barring the action, the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/S-F-could-be-banned-temporarily-from-clearing-17672846.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco Chronicle reported</a>. The order was granted after a group of homeless plaintiffs sued to stop the city.
“Mayors cannot run cities this way,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-hammers-san-francisco-democrat-mayor-london-breed-over-new-investigation-into-twitter-offices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayor London Breed said</a>. “We already have too few tools to deal with the mental illness we see on our streets. Now we are being told not to use another tool that helps bring people indoors and keeps our neighborhoods safe and clean for our residents.”
Ryu said the city’s own laws dictate that it offer shelter to homeless people before clearing away their encampments, and San Francisco would need to add thousands of additional beds to meet the requirement. Ryu cited evidence that the city regularly failed to offer shelter before clearing the encampments and improperly seized or threw out inhabitant’s belongings, including cellphones, medication, identification, and even prosthetic limbs.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;the stench from the bench is making me clench!&quot; IT&#39;S THE ACLU vermin who block cities from clearing homeless cesspools from our streets. ARREST THE ACLU lawyers as domestic terrorists. <a href="https://t.co/Aqf46aN9RY">https://t.co/Aqf46aN9RY</a>
&mdash; Michael Savage (@ASavageNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASavageNation/status/1606772001108299776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Breed said many of the homeless people whose encampments were targeted for cleanup people refused help from the city. She said some even have homes, but use the camps for “drug dealing, human trafficking, and other illegal activities.”
City attorneys said homeless people get fair notice the camps are being cleared, receive offers of help, and are only forced to leave if they reject alternative housing. San Francisco has an estimated 7,800 homeless residents and city officials acknowledge it does not have nearly enough spaces in shelters to accommodate all of them.
There were just 34 beds available as of Friday Zal Shroff, senior attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Coalition on Homelessness, one of a handful of legal organizations that represented seven plaintiffs, presented evidence that homeless people had their personal items seized and were and were left with nowhere to go.
“The policy isn’t the problem,” Ryu said. “The question is how is that policy being executed.”
Several Democrat-run cities that have been overrun with homeless encampments have sought to clear them out amid rises in crime and complaints from businesses and residents. But judges have increasingly said the cities cannot push out homeless people without providing them with alternative housing.
A federal judge issued an emergency injunction on December 15 preventing the city of Phoenix from clearing out a large homeless encampment downtown. The ACLU of New Mexico sued the city of Albuquerque last week, charging that officials destroyed homeless encampments without due process.

Homelessness in San Francisco

San Francisco Cannot Clear Out Homeless Encampments, Judge Rules

London Breed

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

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Technology</a> entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale provided a “translation” of a statement from <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/san-francisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco</a> Democratic Mayor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/london-breed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">London Breed</a> regarding the city’s collapsing tax base and budget woes.
Lonsdale attended Stanford University and launched Palantir, a defense software company, before starting venture capital fund 8VC. The libertarian-leaning executive said he <a href="https://twitter.com/JTLonsdale/status/1324824664804347904?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> the company from San Francisco to Austin two years ago because the Texas metropolis is more “tolerant of ideological diversity.”
In reaction to a social media thread from Breed in which she lamented San Francisco’s difficulties in funding government operations, Lonsdale <a href="https://twitter.com/JTLonsdale/status/1605078463098281985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offered</a> a “little translation” for those who cannot follow “California politician-speak.”
When Breed said that the “structure” of downtown San Francisco has “shifted,” Lonsdale translated the statement to mean “dozens of businesses have fled” because “their workers are terrified of being assaulted” by “criminals and mentally-ill homeless.” Indeed, an influx of homeless residents occurred as a $160 million <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/san-francisco-has-spent-billions-to-end-homelessness-and-its-been-a-total-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">program</a> offered them shelter in local hotels: there are now 56% more homeless people in the city since the initiative began.
Breed also chalked up the city’s rapidly expanding budget deficit to the loss of FEMA funding received during the COVID outbreak and the lockdown-induced recession. As Lonsdale translated: “We used emergency money to operate the government, and without a permanent emergency, our city’s budget collapsed.” The second reason for the deficit, according to Breed, was a decline in business taxes and property taxes. Lonsdale’s translation: “It turns out that when businesses flee your city, they take the money with them! We didn’t consider this before we ran them off.”
Businesses such as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walgreens-now-closing-stores-in-san-francisco-following-retail-theft-spike" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Walgreens</a> have closed several locations in the city, while retailers such as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/best-buy-is-worried-about-san-francisco-employees-quitting-getting-traumatized-thanks-to-frequent-thefts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Best Buy</a> have been struggling with safety issues related to organized retail crime. Silicon Valley technology companies such as Tesla, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise were among the 352 companies that moved their headquarters from Northern California over the past four years, according to a <a href="https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/21117-Ohanian-Vranich-4_0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Hoover Institution. As many as 25 million square feet of commercial real estate in San Francisco are currently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-commercial-real-estate-crash-coming-to-san-francisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vacant</a>.
Breed said “focusing on public safety” is critical for “working with our business community to attract and retain companies and new industries.” Lonsdale said he is “skeptical” about the policy change since public safety means “you have to actually arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate serial criminals.”
Beyond issues related to the city’s large homeless population and drug use, storeowners have left San Francisco since the state <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/descended-into-a-city-of-chaos-ceo-closes-san-francisco-store-scorches-liberal-citys-lawlessness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduced</a> the penalty for shoplifting under $950 worth of goods. Countless viral videos have shown shoplifters emptying store shelves into garbage bags and walking out as security guards helplessly watch.
The San Francisco Police Department, however, recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/san-francisco-police-secretly-deployed-at-stores-to-catch-shoplifters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it had deployed officers in stores across the city to apprehend shoplifters. Former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who likewise eliminated cash bail, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chesa-boudin-soft-on-crime-son-of-terror-group-members-bitter-after-recall-as-san-francisco-da" target="_blank" rel="noopener">successfully recalled</a> earlier this year by the city’s voters.
The developments, however, might be too insufficient to save the metropolis: nearly 8% of residents plan to move elsewhere within the next year, surging past every other major American city, according to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-40-of-san-francisco-residents-planning-to-leave-deteriorating-city-poll" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Census Bureau.

Collage Maker-21-Dec-2022-09.16-AM

READ IT: Ex-San Francisco Entrepreneur Provides ‘Translation’ Of Mayor’s ‘Politician-Speak’ About Struggling City

Tech Entrepreneur Explains Why San Francisco Is Struggling

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles">Los Angeles</a> Mayor Karen Bass said over the weekend that she wants to eliminate the homeless encampments that are plaguing the city&#8217;s streets through the state of emergency that she declared on her first day in office.
Bass made the remarks during a Sunday interview on NBC News&#8217; <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-december-18-2022-n1302029">&#8220;Meet the Press&#8221;</a> with host Chuck Todd.
Bass claimed that 95% of the city&#8217;s 40,000 homeless people would accept taxpayer-funded public housing if it was offered to them.
When asked by Todd if she would allow LAPD and sanitation officers to continue doing sweeps of the encampments, she said, &#8220;no&#8221; and that she wanted to put the homeless people into hotels.
&#8220;No, these are not sweeps at all. This is getting people to move on their own, but then after the person leaves sanitation is absolutely going to have to be there,&#8221; she said. &#8220;No question about it. But this is not coercing people. This is not ticketing people or incarcerating people. This is moving people from tents to hotels or motels.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;Are you still going to allow LAPD and sanitation officers to do these sweeps of [homeless] encampments?&quot;
Democrat Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass: &quot;No&#8230;this is moving people from tents to hotels or motels.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/ETAI0bPda4">pic.twitter.com/ETAI0bPda4</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1604514160351625217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>CHUCK TODD: And joining me now from Los Angeles is the former member of Congress and VP short-lister to Joe Biden, by the way, the new mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass. Mayor Bass, congratulations and welcome back to Meet The Press.
MAYOR KAREN BASS: Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
CHUCK TODD: I want to start with what&#8217;s going to be different this time. And what I mean by this time is, in 2015 — this was pre-pandemic, obviously — Eric Garcetti declared a version of a state of emergency. Not quite the same as what you declared. Yours is a bit more comprehensive. But it freed up $100 million and tried to tackle the homeless problem that he was dealing with back in 2015. It didn&#8217;t work. What&#8217;s going to make what you&#8217;re doing more successful than what Mayor Garcetti attempted to do?
MAYOR KAREN BASS: Well, I think a few things. First of all, it&#8217;s not just about the money. Of course money is needed, but it&#8217;s really about the arcane bureaucratic process. You talk to developers and it&#8217;s just so difficult to get anything done. So when I declared a state of emergency and issued following executive directives, it basically allows the process to be centralized. It allows time certain for building. Chuck, the other day I did a press conference on a piece of land where the builder had been working for 16 years and had just finally broken ground. So it&#8217;s about bursting past the bureaucratic maze and developers having no idea when approvals will be done. So now I&#8217;m requiring that approvals and the process be moved within 30 to 60 days.
CHUCK TODD: There&#8217;s a few issues that people run into all the time when it comes to dealing with the homeless in the city. The biggest one is, What do you do about people that don&#8217;t want to leave, that don&#8217;t want to move, that don&#8217;t want to go into shelters?
MAYOR KAREN BASS: Well, you know, what we have found in the community organizations that we&#8217;re bringing in to do this work is that you can get 95% of the people housed. People will go. It takes a while. You have to do outreach. And what the community programs do is that they work with people who were formerly unhoused. People are unhoused for a variety of different reasons. Some are profoundly mentally ill. Some are profoundly addicted. You have to address the reasons why they wound up unhoused while you house them. So we&#8217;re going to launch a program on Tuesday called Inside Safe, which is going to address the people that are in the tents. Now, it&#8217;s not going to address everybody, but it is going to address, hopefully, a significant number. But we&#8217;re going to put them in motels and hotels immediately. It&#8217;s interesting: it&#8217;s lessons that were learned from the pandemic. Some community organizations have been trying to get the city to master lease out entire hotels and motels for years.
CHUCK TODD: Are you still going to allow LAPD and sanitation officers to do these sweeps of encampments?
MAYOR KAREN BASS: No, these are not sweeps at all. This is getting people to move on their own, but then after the person leaves sanitation is absolutely going to have to be there. No question about it. But this is not coercing people. This is not ticketing people or incarcerating people. This is moving people from tents to hotels or motels.
CHUCK TODD: We know some of this is a — that you&#8217;ve run across quite a bit of mental health challenges here with the homeless population. Mayor Adams, in New York City, is talking about, you know, temporary institutions to help those with mental health problems. You know, do you think we need to bring some institutions like that into play to help you in Los Angeles?
MAYOR KAREN BASS: Well, let me just say that one of our challenges in LA is the division between the city and the county. The county provides the services. We&#8217;re doing this process jointly, so we know that the people on the streets — again, there&#8217;s not enough services, but there will be some. But in the state of California the legislature passed something too that says if somebody is profoundly mentally ill, you know, they can be hospitalized.
CHUCK TODD: I&#8217;m curious, you talk about the issues you have with developers. The biggest issue the city sometimes has when it comes to tackling these housing issues are these homeowners associations. They&#8217;re extraordinarily litigious and extraordinarily powerful. Does your emergency declaration give you any more authority in dealing with these powerful institutions or not?
MAYOR KAREN BASS: Well, it does give me more authority to do that. But I do think that there&#8217;s a way to get neighborhoods to cooperate. You know, this problem is so severe in our city. I mean, literally five people a day die on our streets. It&#8217;s so severe that I think that some of the resistance that we&#8217;ve experienced in the past, I&#8217;m hoping will be softened. So there&#8217;s some neighborhoods that want buildings to be built in certain areas, but it is still within their general neighborhood. You cannot address 40,000 people without building housing everywhere. You can&#8217;t just build all of the housing in the low-income areas that are already severely overcrowded.
CHUCK TODD: All right. Before I let you go, give me a metric by which you should be judged in four years on the homeless situation. Is it the number of people on the streets? Number of tent encampments? What&#8217;s a fair way to judge your success or failure?
MAYOR KAREN BASS: Well, a fair way to judge it would be encampments should be significantly down if not eliminated, and there should be housing being built, underway, at a much more rapid pace. And there should not be 40,000 people who are unhoused, that&#8217;s for sure.
CHUCK TODD: Mayor Karen Bass, appreciate you getting up super early out on the West Coast to share your perspective with us. Good luck. Congratulations. And we&#8217;ll be following your progress.
MAYOR KAREN BASS: Thank you.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-unloads-on-potential-biden-vp-karen-bass-would-be-highest-ranking-castro-sympathizer-in-the-history-of-the-united-states-government">Rubio Unloads On Potential Biden VP Karen Bass: Would Be ‘Highest-Ranking Castro Sympathizer In The History Of The United States Government’</a>

Mayor-elect Karen Bass

Far-Left L.A. Mayor Karen Bass: I’m Moving The Homeless ‘From Tents To Hotels Or Motels’

Karen Bass

Los Angeles

Meet the Press

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York City</a> Mayor Eric Adams said the city will begin to involuntarily hospitalize <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mental-illness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mentally ill</a> residents.
In a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OVMFqc7tGI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press conference</a> Tuesday, Adams announced that first responders in the city would be able to remove people who appear to be mentally ill and pose a danger to themselves. First responders will be able to remove individuals and take them to a hospital for evaluation, and the individuals will be held until a treatment plan is established.
&#8220;It is not acceptable for us to see someone who clearly needs help and walk past,&#8221; said Adams. &#8220;For too long, there&#8217;s been a gray area where policy, law, and accountability have not been clear, and this has allowed people in need to slip through the cracks. This culture of uncertainty has led to untold suffering and deep frustration. It cannot continue. We need to change that culture and clarify our expectations. No more walking by or looking away. No more passing the buck. Going forward, we will focus on action, care, and compassion. 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.&#8221;
&#8220;It begins with an immediate shift in how we interpret our obligation to those in need and calls upon our outreach workers to take deeper actions and more intensive engagement,&#8221; Adams continued. &#8220;We can no longer deny the reality that untreated psychosis can be a cruel and all-consuming condition that often requires involuntary intervention, supervised medical treatment, and long-term care. We will change the culture from the top down and take every action to get care to those who need it.&#8221;
Adams issued a <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/press-releases/2022/Mental-Health-Involuntary-Removals.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directive</a> to first responders Tuesday, outlining the procedures necessary for removing an individual for mental health concerns. According to the directive, New York state&#8217;s mental hygiene law, a peace officer, police officer, or mental health professional working on a mobile crisis outreach team may take an individual into custody or direct him to be removed for the purpose of a psychiatric evaluation if that person &#8220;appears to be mentally ill and is conducting themselves in a manner likely to result in serious harm to self or others.&#8221;
The directive instructs mobile crisis workers, police, firefighters, and EMS workers to escort or facilitate transport to the nearest hospital, to inform hospital staff of the person&#8217;s condition, and remain with him or her until he or she is admitted as a patient. Once the individual has been admitted, the city would instruct the hospital to keep that person in the hospital until they are in stable condition, and only release them once a long-term care plan is established, Adams said, via <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/nyregion/nyc-mentally-ill-involuntary-custody.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>.
On top of the new directives, Adams announced a hotline and new trainings to help first responders assess a situation before making a call about whether to remove an individual.
&#8220;[T]he common misunderstanding persists that we cannot provide involuntary assistance unless the person is violent, suicidal, or presenting a risk of imminent harm. This myth must be put to rest. Going forward, we will make every effort to assist those who are suffering from mental illness and whose illness is endangering them by preventing them from meeting their basic human needs.&#8221;

NYC To Start Hospitalizing Mentally Ill Residents Involuntarily, Taking Them Off Streets, Adams Announces

Health

Mental Illness

A Canadian man has changed his mind about ending his life through medically assisted suicide after an outpouring of support from good Samaritans.
Amir Farsoud said he is no longer considering euthanasia after strangers who were moved by his story donated more than $60,000 to help him, which will allow him to avoid <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/homelessness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homelessness</a>.
“I’m a different person,” Farsoud <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/11/16/ontario-medically-assisted-death-support/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Toronto-based CityNews, which first <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/10/13/medical-assistance-death-maid-canada/">shared</a> his story. “The first time we spoke, I had nothing but darkness, misery, stress and hopelessness. Now I have all the opposite of those things.”
Farsoud, 54, lives with agonizing chronic back pain due to an accident several years ago. During the worst bouts of pain, he was “crying like a 5-year-old and not sleeping for days in a row,” he said. He also takes depression and anxiety medication.
He is unable to work and lives on checks from Ontario&#8217;s government disability assistance program. He felt there was no way to avoid homelessness after the St. Catharine&#8217;s, Ontario, rooming house he shares with two other people was listed for sale.
Farsoud had applied for Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), Canada&#8217;s legal euthanasia program. He had gotten one doctor to sign off on his application and needed one more doctor to approve it while he waited the mandatory 90-day waiting period. He expected to be eligible as early as this month.
&#8220;I don’t want to die but I don’t want to be homeless more than I don’t want to die,&#8221; Farsoud previously told CityNews. “I know, in my present health condition, I wouldn’t survive it anyway. It wouldn’t be at all dignified waiting, so if that becomes my two options, it’s pretty much a no-brainer.”
His story deeply moved a stranger, a Canadian woman named Effie, who set up a GoFundMe for him, hoping to raise enough money to convince him not to end his life. The fundraiser had <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/np76w-choosing-to-live?qid=488fbd8c769c687c460d682400888fd4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pulled in</a> $60,289 as of Wednesday afternoon.
Now, Farsoud is no longer seeking to move forward with his assisted suicide.
“I honestly thought by December I wouldn’t be here. So no, I certainly did not envision this by any stretch of the imagination,” Farsoud said.
Farsoud said he has also received more than just money.
“There has been this amazing outpouring of love and support, emotional support. There’s been therapists that have gotten in touch to do like online or on the phone therapy,” he said.
Farsoud said he hasn&#8217;t felt this grateful and happy since he was 12 when his family immigrated to France from Iran to escape the revolution.
“I have felt like this one time in my life. When we left Iran and got to France, we left the plane and I was a kid, but I fell to my knees and kissed the tarmac, because no one was going to shoot me, no demonstrations, no army, no burning buildings. I’m going to get up in the morning knowing I wouldn’t be dead that night,” explained Farsoud. “The way I feel or have been feeling since this happened, that’s the closest I’ve come [to that],” he said.
Still, Farsoud has not ruled out using MAID in the future, as he expects his chronic back pain to become too painful to bear at some point in the future. For now though, he is not planning for it.
“It’s amazing what an act of kindness can do,” he said. “I wouldn’t have thought it possible the kindness and humanity and compassion I saw, I didn’t think it existed anymore. It does.”

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