Hate Crime Protection for Homeless?

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-02-28 13:01:00 UTC
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The brutal assault and murder of a Florida homeless man earlier this week has shaken a Florida community to its core. At the same time, this tragedy is reminder of a scary reality: without a home, you are more vulnerable to unthinkable cruelty.

Daniel Case was homeless on and off for 10 years. He did light chores for a plumbing company in exchange for a cot and indoor place to sleep. According to police, his death was brutally violent. He was repeatedly beaten over the head with an unidentified object until he died of head trauma. On Monday morning, he was found sitting in a chair, slumped over, behind a plumbing shop where he slept. According to a local paper, no suspects have been identified.

Homeless people who stay outside or more vulnerable to acts of violence. In fact, violence against homeless people has seen such a sharp increase in recent years, there is a strong push to include "homeless" in the categories of people included in federal hate crime protection. The need for such protection is compelling: more than 1 in 4 attacks that are reported against the homeless end in murder. That's huge compared to one-tenth of a percent of other categories protected by hate crime legislation.

We know that everything in politics is about timing. So some might argue that we've got bigger problems to solve, now is no time to talk about amending hate crime protections. But as homelessness worsens, and unemployment increases, I think it's time we take small measures to protect people who are most exposed and vulnerable to violence.

Until then, people already struggling to survive without a home have no choice but to remain extra-alert. Perhaps one Bradenton shelter resident said it best: "That could have been me."

[Photo from the Bradenton Herald: "Bradenton Police officers investigate a tricycle found near the body of a homicide victim discovered Monday morning behind Griggs Plumbing on 12th Avenue West in Bradenton."]

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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