http://lovewins.info/2013/08/feeding-homeless-apparently-illegal-in-raleigh-nc/

Quote :

"This morning we showed up at Moore Square at 9:00 a.m., just like we have done virtually every Saturday and Sunday for the last six years. We provide, without cost or obligation, hot coffee and a breakfast sandwich to anyone who wants one. We keep this promise to our community in cooperation with five different large suburban churches that help us with manpower and funding. Today officers from Raleigh Police Department prevented us from doing our work, for the first time ever. An officer said, quite bluntly, that if we attempted to distribute food, we would be arrested."

8/25/2013 1:00:49 PM

simple fix. set up a food truck and say you're giving out free samples

8/25/2013 1:13:23 PM

something new to protest at Moral Monday

8/25/2013 1:15:27 PM

what ordinance or law does this violate?

8/25/2013 1:17:42 PM

I was wondering when this was going to hit tdub. I'm eager to read everyone's opinions.

8/25/2013 1:21:20 PM

God! I hate this backward-ass, hillbilly state! I need to get the fuck out of here before the right wing conservatives drive it straight off a cliff.

8/25/2013 1:21:58 PM

is their anything going on in downtown raleigh this weekend that they may be trying to clear the homeless out for?

8/25/2013 1:24:44 PM

I dunno about this. I'm thinking that there's more to this story than what we've read about so far.

8/25/2013 1:25:58 PM

Not saying I agree with the law but I've never been a huge fan of the bum feeding ground that is Moore square.

Not saying I know of a better solution but would be great to find someway to actually try to get those folks off the street than just handing out food.

8/25/2013 1:26:09 PM

what law?

I haven't seen any law

just cops ordering people to do stuff without giving a legal justification for their actions

8/25/2013 1:29:29 PM

it's good to know that if Snewf hasn't seen it, it doesn't exist

8/25/2013 1:30:25 PM

this wreaks of liberalism... the need to give the government an unreasonable stranglehold on every aspect of society.

8/25/2013 1:30:54 PM

I have a problem with object permanence too

post a link to the law or ordinance that prohibits distributing food to the poor or shut the fuck up

8/25/2013 1:31:17 PM

you're the one who has the problem with what's going on, why don't you get off your lazy ass and find it

8/25/2013 1:31:57 PM

Relax guys, you can always trust the police to do the right thing

8/25/2013 1:32:40 PM

SERVE THE HOMELESS AND PROTECT

[Edited on August 25, 2013 at 1:34 PM. Reason : add note]

8/25/2013 1:34:28 PM

I'm all for helping the less fortunate

however, to play devils advocate, maybe the cops have been lenient over the past 6 years and have been recently told to enforce the law regarding permits. if this churchy food service wants to set up, and hold an event, maybe they should pay the $800 that everyone else has to pay

8/25/2013 1:34:53 PM

the responsibility lies with the people enforcing the law

I hope your house burns down, Sayer and you're forced to live on the street

8/25/2013 1:35:01 PM

in related news, that link isn't working for me

8/25/2013 1:36:29 PM

Quote :

"maybe the cops have been lenient over the past 6 years and have been recently told to enforce the law regarding permits"

perhaps

it just seems like about the most meaningless thing to enforce...i mean, speed traps do more good than preventing churches from feeding the homeless

8/25/2013 1:37:19 PM

^^^^ that's legit if there's a law on the books.

...and if there is, the cops should be able to say what they're in violation of.

[Edited on August 25, 2013 at 1:37 PM. Reason : ]

8/25/2013 1:37:20 PM

aww you're sweet

with any luck you'll die in the fire

there are health and safety laws regarding food distribution, would those apply to this situation? If you're going to prepare and serve food to the public, do you have an obligation to get your prep space inspected by the health department? Have any of these do-gooders done this?

[Edited on August 25, 2013 at 1:39 PM. Reason : .]

8/25/2013 1:39:23 PM

exactly

the truly outrageous thing about this story is that an order was given by a LEO without citing any law, ordinance, or providing any valid justification

^ I don't think I'd be sharing a house with you

but it seems that many churches have qualifying commercial kitchen spaces and this group is partnered with several local churches


[Edited on August 25, 2013 at 1:40 PM. Reason : -]

8/25/2013 1:39:54 PM

I wish that link still worked. The churchfolk bloggers clearly said there's a required $800 permit in order to set up on Moore Square.

8/25/2013 1:40:58 PM

They also said they had always stated out of Moore Square itself for that reason.

8/25/2013 1:42:16 PM

that's to use the park
they are on the sidewalk

if the cops want to tell them they can't use the sidewalk, okay
that's probably justified

8/25/2013 1:43:22 PM

Quote :

"simple fix. set up a food truck and say you're giving out free samples"

I believe that falls under the category of "feeding"

8/25/2013 1:43:23 PM

Are police officers required to disclose WHY you can't do something, or are they only obligated to tell you that you can't do it?

8/25/2013 1:45:09 PM

I wish someone had gotten the ticket

that would have clarified which statute was being violated

8/25/2013 1:46:53 PM

heres another link to the same story

http://bluenc.com/raleigh-feeding-homeless-now-crime

8/25/2013 1:47:23 PM

http://library.municode.com/HTML/10312/level4/DIVIICOGEOR_PT12LIRE_CH1STPUWA_ARTBSTUSCL.html#DIVIICOGEOR_PT12LIRE_CH1STPUWA_ARTBSTUSCL_S12-1022USSIPRPUPEREIN

There is a link to the City Ordinance requiring a permit for use of public sidewalks. Did the people handing out food obtain a permit? Insurance is also required.

8/25/2013 1:48:29 PM

Sounds like a good time for some civil disobedience. Force the officers to arrest a bunch of middle aged church goers distributing food. If there's a violation they can be charged with then force the city to charge them.

Hopefully public pressure will be enough to change the situation, but if not they should force the issue if they want to change things.

8/25/2013 1:50:32 PM

^^ nice, you've done what a police officer couldn't

I'm satisfied that this organization should move down the street a little bit onto some private property
how about a nearby church?

8/25/2013 1:53:26 PM

not seeing anything about this on any of the other news sites (wral, n&o, abc11, etc).

All we're getting is one side of the story, which makes me think there's more to the story.

8/25/2013 1:54:13 PM

Quote :

"^^ nice, you've done what a police officer couldn't"

Couldn't? More like didn't have to.

8/25/2013 1:56:08 PM

I wonder if they paid $800 to set up this 4th of July feeding frenzy inside Moore Square?

BTW, caption of the photo is "...chaos as the cookout begins"

8/25/2013 1:56:39 PM

Quote :

" No use of the surface of public sidewalks or public right-of-way for private purposes shall be permitted "

would love to see the definition of "private"

8/25/2013 1:56:52 PM

anything not officially sanctioned by the city?

8/25/2013 2:01:52 PM

Quote :

"I'm satisfied that this organization should move down the street a little bit onto some private property how about a nearby church?"

Or better yet, get involved with The Salvation Army or Raleigh Rescue Mission which are RIGHT DOWN THE STREET. The article complains that there aren't soup kitchens open on the weekends - maybe they could if they had the backing of those "five different large suburban churches"? This seems more like a publicity thing than a group of people actually trying to solve a problem.

[Edited on August 25, 2013 at 2:05 PM. Reason : enablers ]

8/25/2013 2:02:30 PM

http://ehs.ncpublichealth.com/docs/rules/2600-RuleBookFINAL-7-23-12..pdf

Link to Wake County Health Dept's rules covering food prep and serving.

8/25/2013 2:03:15 PM

yes.

maybe the soup kitchens would be open on the weekend with more donations/volunteers.

8/25/2013 2:07:02 PM

Didn't a homeless person get stabbed to death by another homeless person not too long ago during one of these food distributions? It could have something to do with recent police intervention (albeit delayed).

8/25/2013 2:08:39 PM

If we starve them out they will get their lives together before they commit violent crimes. I commend the police chief for using scarce resource s effectively.

8/25/2013 2:08:45 PM

I don't think anyone is trying to stop them from feeding the homeless.

They don't need to set up a big thing like that in a public place though. If they walk around and hand biscuits and coffee to homeless people I bet cops wouldn't say a word.

8/25/2013 2:16:05 PM

^they'd still be breaking DHHS rules governing food prep and distribution without inspection, certification or insurance.

8/25/2013 2:22:01 PM

^^^ yes cause nobody is more organized than a starving person
they are definitely not prone to acts of desperation


[Edited on August 25, 2013 at 2:22 PM. Reason : -]

8/25/2013 2:22:40 PM

I'm pretty sure these people aren't looking at the health scores on the window

8/25/2013 2:34:05 PM

Quote :

"Or better yet, get involved with The Salvation Army or Raleigh Rescue Mission which are RIGHT DOWN THE STREET."

The Salvation Army is no longer there. They've moved a few miles north on Capital. The city owns the old Salvation Army property. Its redevelopment is part of the effort to push the homeless out of the park.

[Edited on August 25, 2013 at 2:36 PM. Reason : 3]

8/25/2013 2:36:20 PM

Yeah let's call this what it is: pushing homeless out of the park.

Not a concern over proper permits, health violations, or whatever other nonsense.

8/25/2013 2:39:00 PM

Set them up with a new page

8/25/2013 2:40:10 PM