NEWSBYRICH LOMBINO & ELIZABETH LOMBINO

It has taken some time, but after close to 8,000 of you signed the petition, Gainesville officials are finally listening!

As we have written, Gainesville officials have enforced a meal limit ordinance to area soup kitchens. The rule states that soup kitchens can provide meals to only 130 people each day. If you are number 131, you do not eat that day. No exceptions.

We also wrote that Kent Vann, Executive Director of the St. Francis House soup kitchen at the heart of this debate, recently made an appeal to officials. His goal was to change the wording of the ordinance to reflect a limit on the time the soup kitchen can serve food, not a limit on number of people.

It looks like Mr. Vann's creative activism has proven successful!

Advocates continue to fight for the 30 percent rent cap bill to aid New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.

This vital piece of legislation would provide housing assistance for thousands of low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.

This same bill was vetoed last year by then Gov. Paterson after it passed both the state Assembly and Senate. On March 11, the bill was formally re-introduced because New York now has a new Governor.

As we reported last month, previous New York State Governor Paterson vetoed a bill that would have provided additional rental assistance to residents who are living with HIV/AIDS. The legislation would have put a cap on rent paid by HIV+ persons based on a percentage of their income. Now New York has a new Governor, Andrew Cuomo, and activists are hopeful he will prove to be more sympathetic to the needs of HIV+ New Yorkers. They are hopeful this bill will finally be passed.

As we discussed in the original post, HIV management cannot exist without people having their basic needs met, especially housing.

Poverty in America is pleased to announce a quick victory in the fight against myths and discrimination towards the homeless!

On March 10, it was reported that New Hampshire's State Representative Martin Harty, a Republican, suggested that individuals with mental disabilities and the homeless should be sent to Siberia. He claims he was making a joke. No one was laughing.

State Rep. Harty made these comments to a woman over the phone who had called to discuss his state's homeless population. She was in support of providing services and financial support. He obviously is not. These were his words:

The battle continues in Gainesville, Florida to overturn an inhumane 130-meal-limit at local soup kitchens. Advocates have been fighting for months and show no signs of backing down until this ordinance is abolished.

One local group that has been very active in this cause is the Coalition to End the Meal Limit Now! They recently organized a protest outside the mayor's annual State-of-the-City speech event and they presented city officials with a mock-Oscar award for "Best Fantasy." Now that's creative activism!

Change.org members have also come out in large numbers in support of this cause. We continue to tell Gainesville officials that this is inhumane and just plain wrong. To date, the petition has close to 6,000 signatures.

While the meal limit remains in place, it seems some local political hopefuls are gaining sympathy for the cause. Three city commission seats are up for grabs in a March 15 election. Thirteen people are vying for the positions, and four of them have spoken out against the meal limit.

Activists continue to voice their demand for housing assistance for HIV+ New Yorkers.

As we reported, former New York State Governor Paterson vetoed a bill that would have provided additional rental assistance to residents who are living with HIV/AIDS. The legislation would have put a cap on rent paid by HIV+ persons based on a percentage of their income.

But now New York has a new Governor, Andrew Cuomo, who has demonstrated some empathy towards the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS. Activists are optimistic that this bill will finally be passed.

The heated debate in Gainesville, Florida continues.

As this cause has reported, Gainesville officials have enforced a meal limit ordinance to area soup kitchens. The rule states that soup kitchens can provide meals to only 130 people. If you are number 131, you do not eat. It is as simple and crude as that.

This story has garnered attention from activists and media around the country. There is collective outrage and disgust at this petty and inhumane limit. Yet, the rule remains. There has been little to no movement from Gainesville officials.

In the hope of making some positive movement in eradicating the limit, Kent Vann, Executive Director of the St. Francis House soup kitchen at the heart of this debate, recently made an appeal to officials.

HIV/AIDS advocates in New York are hoping to prove to new Governor Cuomo that housing assistance is a necessity to HIV-positive individuals.

Back in September, we reported that then New York State Governor David A. Paterson vetoed a bill that would have provided additional rental assistance to residents who are living with HIV/AIDS. The legislation would have put a cap on rent paid by HIV+ persons based on a percentage of their income. For example, if a person receives $700 a month in disability income, her rent could be no greater than $210 a month (i.e., 30% of $700).

The bill passed in both the Senate and Assembly by wide margins, simply requiring the governor's signature as the final act of approval. He vetoed it, claiming his reasoning was purely financial.

Earlier this month Washington, D.C. got a new mayor, Vincent Gray, and he’s already getting off to a poor start.

At a recent D.C. City Council meeting, a plan was approved that would cut off direct public assistance to recipients who are in the program longer than five years. Mayor Gray claims the reason for the cuts is financial.

The plan will cut and over time eliminate benefits to city residents who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits for over five years.

What makes this plan most frustrating for those of us organizing around poverty issues is that it is coming from someone who has worked with families in need as the former Director of D.C.'s Department of Human Services. One would think with those years of experience he would understand what families are going through - especially during this recession time.

“Clearly Mr. Gray knows what the harm will be to families," said Judith Sandalow, Executive Director of the Children’s Law Center. "He has a lifetime of experience of working with low-income families, so I don't understand why he felt a need to do this."

When we first started hearing about the latest viral video, we were confused. So Ted Williams has a great voice. OK, that's nice. But what's all the fuss about?

Maybe it's because we've worked with thousands of homeless people - all of them remarkable, talented and inspiring in their own way.

Wasn't there a major motion picture about a talented homeless person recently? Oh yeah ... the beautiful film The Soloist that told the story of Nathaniel Ayers - a gifted musician whose schizophrenia overwhelmed him and he wound up street homeless. Tragically many of the people we work with are like Nathaniel Ayers and like Ted Williams - amazing people with significant obstacles in their lives that keep them from being productive members of society. Mental illness, addiction, physical illness and other challenges bring them to the fringes of our society.