Anaheim's controversial war against the homeless in public parks has been in full effect for over a month now via an ordinance that bans tent camping and allows police to impound possessions. It's succeeded in pushing them out of the lawns of La Palma Park, which served as the city's nexus for homeless for years. But what of those who remained in other areas?
Despite damage control efforts by police and Anaheim officials to make it seem as if they're compassionate, enforcement at Maxwell Park in the city's West Side recently goes to show the overall effect of the new law is still to say: pack your shit and get out!
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Roussan Joshua Collins, an outspoken critic of the ordinance at city council meetings, witnessed Anaheim officers arrive at Maxwell Park yesterday, filmed the police and uploaded an additional video. Cops emptied belongings held in shopping carts and gave the homeless at the park three hours to remove them from the premises.
Collins, a former math teacher turned transient, staged a one-man overnight sleep-in protest on the lawn of Anaheim City Hall earlier this month discussing homeless issues with police who arrived but did not arrest him.
Last year's homeless count carried out by the Anaheim Anti-Poverty Task Force noted 447 'unsheltered' persons living in the city. A second annual tally is set for next month.
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Gabriel San Román is from Anacrime. He’s a journalist, subversive historian and the tallest Mexican in OC. He also once stood falsely accused of writing articles on Turkish politics in exchange for free food from DönerG’s!
Taxpaying people are sick and tired of working so others don’t have to. I invite APD to every park in our city- get a job, get help or keep moving on. Our tax dollars paid for playgrounds in the park for our children to have a childhood – not watch people get high all day & harass anyone that walks by them. We paid for those parks not them. This has gone on too long & they have taken advantage of all the compassionate people out there. Now you have private citizens saying pack your stuff and leave right along with APD. We havent busted our backs to live in slab city Anaheim. Enough.