"A total of 1,238 homeless people live in St. Johns County. Of that number 251 are children. 210 are veterans. The only shelter, the St. Francis House, provides 28 beds. In August 2008, a group of teens brutally beat three homeless men under the 312 bridge.
A recent city law has made it illegal for homeless people to sleep anywhere at any time out in the open forcing them to camp miles away from employment opportunities. Threats of violence and death are a daily occurrence. The time has come to push these crises out of the darkness and into the forefront of public consideration.
The first St. Augustine "March of the Impoverished" will begin at 5 p.m. Nov. 10 at the visitor information center on Spanish Street. It will end at the Plaza de la Constitucion with a free feast and general festivities. The objective of this event is increased visibility of the hidden problems rampant in St. Augustine and growing nationwide, such as the inequality of wages, severe lack of assistance programs, and socio-political marginaization of impoverished people.
Volunteers from local advocacy group Food Not Bombs are organizing and providing support for the march, in conjunction with People United to Stop Homelessness (PUSH), the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), local churches and faith-based organizations, small businesses, and the community at large.
The keynote speakers of the assembly will be the impoverished citizens themselves, voicing their own concerns for their own circumstances. Anyone in the community who wishes to participate is welcome. Information on making donations or volunteering can be obtained at MarchoftheImpoverished@yahoo.com.
Illegal substances, weapons and classism are strictly prohibited.
Children and pets are velcome."
... that should be fun
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