City Sued for Harassing Homeless Due to Repossessed Homes

St. Petersburg, Florida is being sued for its alleged harsh treatment of homeless people who lost their properties to repossessed homes. According to court documents, city officials and police were allegedly using local ordinances to harass homeless people and take away their constitutional rights.

The complaint against the city for harassing homeless people who lost their properties to repossessed homes was filed in behalf of six people. Tulin Ozdeger, civil rights director at the national center, calls on the city to find ways to curb the increasing number of homeless people who lost their properties to repossessed homes. He said that looking for solutions is better than penalizing people for being homeless.

Ozdeger believed that the city government should not penalize people for doing things that could help them survive. The lawsuit pointed out that city officials are using local laws concerning illegal entry or trespassing outside storage, illegal stopping and conducting of search on homeless people and at times, seizing their properties.

Saint Petersburg police were videotaped slashing tents of homeless people. According to the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless, there were 6,235 people without homes living in Pinellas, with 2,232 residing within St. Petersburg. Since 2005, about 3,789 homeless people were arrested in the city.

In Florida, first quarter 2009 market data showed that 119,220 properties were at some stage of foreclosure proceeding, a 12 percent decline from the last quarter of 2008 but 36 percent higher from the first three months of 2008. Meanwhile, one out of 73 house in Florida were in some kind of foreclosure proceeding during the first quarter of this year. Florida has been ranked the fourth state with the highest foreclosure rate.

In March, Florida reported about 47,131 houses at risk of foreclosure, a 2 percent jump from February and 56 percent rise from the March 2008 total. Pew Charitable Trust pointed out that one out of 26 repossessed homes in Florida end up in foreclosures.

On the other hand, St. Petersburg is not the only city experiencing the foreclosure crisis. The problem has spread to Hawaii, Colorado, Rhode Island, California and Nevada.

In Hawaii, the foreclosure crisis has been felt in the area since 2007. Mounting economic crisis caused high unemployment and the increase in the number of repossessed homes.

Comments

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Sponsored Links:

Related Posts:

• Bank Foreclosed Homes Maintenance Program in Florida
• PMI Report: Home Prices Fall as Repossessed Home Increases
• Homeless Children: Innocent Victims in the Foreclosure Mess
• Bank Foreclosure Property, Recession Ravage a City
• Foreclosed Home Sales in Florida Accounted for 39 Percent