News Contents (Click on links for full story)
9-25-08: Sunset by the Sea a Success
6-8-08: 2008 Christmas in July Fundraiser Announced
5-17-08: Empty Bowls raises over $6000 for TACO
12-4-07: New Simon's Walk Volunteers Commissioned
9-24-07: Autumn Soiree a Success
6-22-07: Winter Shelter Receives Funding
6-20-07: Pastor Miller speaks in favor of Winter Shelter
5-13-07: Empty Bowls Fundraiser a Success
4-3-07: "Illegal Lodging" Settlement Takes Effect
3-13-07: TACO registers with GoodSearch
2-21-07: Settlement reached on "illegal lodging" tickets
2-18-07: TACO presents Songs from Stage & Screen
2-18-07: TACO announces fundraiser at Corvette Diner
11-9-06: TACO releases November report
9-22-06: Mayor opposes "Safe Zone" proposal
9-19-06: Larry Milligan appears on Full Focus
9-17-06: TACO opposes ticketing the homeless
9-14-06: TACO 2006 Christmas Project
Posted September 25, 2008
You can view pictures from the event here, or by clicking on the picture above.
Sunset by the Sea was a success, raising over $15,000 for TACO - we owe many thanks to our sponsors, guests, and volunteers for this wonderful evening. This space will be updated in the coming days with more details, a recap of the action, and pictures. Thanks to everyone for their help!
Below is a video of our Director, Jim Lovell, opening the Sunset by the Sea event:
Here is Keith Corry, from the office of Councilmember Donna Frye, speaking at Sunset by the Sea:
Here is one of the live auctions, for the Day of the Dead honor chair made by Nance Lovell:
Posted July 8, 2008
TACO has announced its 2008 Christmas in July fundraiser. In the past, these fundraisers have collected sleeping bags, clothes and other items starting in July and distributed them on Christmas of the same year. This year, our goal is to purchase 250 duffel bags at $20. These bags are a valuable resource for those who have to carry their possessions with them everywhere they go.
TACO is now accepting donations for this fundraiser, which can be mailed to TACO at 1420 Third Avenue, San Diego, CA, 92101 or made online by clicking on the "donate now" button on our main page.
Posted May 17, 2008
On May 17th, TACO held its second Empty Bowls charity event at United Methodist Church in La Jolla. At these events, local potters donate handmade pottery bowls and local businesses donate the food to fill them. Guests take a bowl home with them as a reminder of those whose bowls are empty instead of full.
Guests donated more than $6000 dollars to support TACO - we thank everyone who participated for their generosity. More information about the event should be in this space shortly.
For photos from the event, click here.
Posted December 4, 2007
On December 2nd, three new volunteers for the Simon's Walk program were commissioned. They have attended 30 hours of training and these three women will walk with those on the street who are dying. This is the second group of ministers for this program. The first group was commissioned in Dec 2006. Our Simon's Walk portion of the program which involves volunteers is funded through a two year grant from Wheat Ridge Ministries, seeding ministries throughout the world.
For photos from the commissioning ceremony, click here.
Posted September 24, 2007
TACO's 2nd annual Autumn Soiree and Silent Auction succeeded in raising more than $15,000 for TACO's social programs. For more information, go to the auction page.
Posted June 22, 2007
After the initial veto of funding for the city's winter homeless shelter, Mayor Jerry Sanders and city officials agreed on an alternate funding plan. The United Way, Centre City Development Corporation, the San Diego Housing Commission, and federal block-grant funds will each fund a portion of the shelter's budget. The shelter provides 350 beds for the homeless between the months of November and March.
SignOnSanDiego.com has posted an article about the shelter's new funding here.
Posted June 20, 2007
The text below is from a statement made by TACO board member and First Lutheran Pastor Wilk Miller at a press conference held on June 14th at the Neil Good Day Center. The Press conference was organized by Donna Frye in reaction to the loss of funding for the Winter Shelter. The City Council had previously placed the money for the shelter in the current budget. The Mayor on June 13th, used his line item veto power to remove that funding. At this press conference, Donna Frye discussed a plan to reintroduce this line into the budget and work towards private funding to match the cost. If private funding is found, the city could remove the public funds.
My name is Wilbert Miller and I am the pastor of First Lutheran Church, 3rd and Ash, and a board
member of the Third Avenue Charitable Organization which is housed at our church and provides countless
services for those in need. I strongly urge support of Donna Frye’s proposal to place financial support
in the city’s budget so that a winter shelter is guaranteed by the leadership of San Diego.
In our work with homeless and working poor people, we are constantly faced with the struggle of finding a
place for people to sleep who have no place to lay their heads at night. As Christians, we are mindful
of the importance of all God’s children having a place to sleep. Jesus’ parents faced this same terrible
challenge when seeking shelter when their son was to be born. We are called to support our homeless brothers
and sisters. Jesus, the Homeless One, reminds us: “I was homeless and you gave me room.”
In the best of times, there is a three week wait to get a shelter bed in San Diego. One can only imagine
how long the line is for a bed during the cold and rainy San Diego winter nights.
Our city’s motto is America’s Finest City. Certainly such lofty words are put to the test in how we treat
the most vulnerable—Where do women find safety at night? Where might the physically ill find a place of
comfort? Where do the mentally ill turn for protection?
We support Donna Frye’s proposal that City Council and Mayor Sanders place funding in the city budget to
fund a winter shelter in San Diego. To do so is to truly strive to be America’s Finest City and to make
certain that there will always be room in the inn for those with no place to lay their heads.
If you are interested in letting the mayor or your city council person know how you feel about this, please contact them:
Mayor Jerry Sanders
Phone: (619) 236-6330
Email: JerrySanders@sandiego.gov
Or go here to locate your district representative. Each year the winter shelter allows more than 200 persons a safe place to stay during the evening hours. This is a small number of the estimated 4,000 persons on the street in the city of San Diego. Last year, the mayor asked St. Vincent de Paul to add 100 beds in an overflow shelter in addition to the Winter Shelter beds.
Posted May 13, 2007
On Saturday, May 12, the United Methodist Church in La Jolla hosted an "empty bowls" event to help raise money for TACO. Empty Bowls is an international project that provides support for soup kitchens, food banks, and other programs that fight hunger. Local potters, chefs, and bakers provide the bowls, soup and bread used at the event. This particular event raised $5,846 for TACO. Volunteer coordinator Lisa Seiler attended the event and wrote an article about her experience, which can be read here.
Posted April 3, 2007
On Tuesday, March 26, the settlement reached between the city and homeless advocates more than a month ago finally took effect, as Margaret Armstrong, one of the plaintiffs in the original class action lawsuit, signed the settlement papers.
Under the settlement, the homeless can now sleep on San Diego public property between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. without being issued citations. The police will continue to enforce disorderly conduct and public intoxication laws.
A Union-Tribune story on the subject can be found here.
Posted March 13, 2007
TACO (Third Avenue Charitable Organization) has just been registered on GoodSearch, as seen in OPRAH Magazine, ABC News, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Fortune.
GoodSearch is a search engine, that donates 50% of its advertising revenue to schools and nonprofits selected by its users. Since it is powered by Yahoo, it gets the same search results, while supporting a nonprofit of the user's choice.
To download and install the GoodSearch software, click here.
When asked who you GoodSearch for, enter TACO.
You will then need to download and install the GoodSearch software. There is a link for this on the GoodSearch homepage.
Posted February 21, 2007
As of today (February 21), a settlement has been reached regarding 647J citations, otherwise known as "illegal lodging" tickets.
As of right now, the city of San Diego will not issue illegal lodging tickets between the hours of 9:00 pm and 5:30 am. This allows people a chance to sleep in peace during the evening without worry of police involvement.
The Judge will continue to monitor this issue for the next several years making sure that everyone adheres to the court's decision.
Homeless advocate Larry Milligan, who was a key figure in bringing this issue to wider attention, was in the courtroom for all of the proceedings.
UPDATE: On February 22, the Union-Tribune published an article about this issue. An online version can be found here.
Posted Febuary 18, 2007
TACO and the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine will host a benefit featuring Songs from the Stage and Screen on Friday, March 23, at 7:30 pm at First Lutheran Church.
The program features two members of the PCOM staff who have impressive backgrounds in entertainment. Warren Sheir, instructor and clinic supervisor, has a B.A. and M.A. in Performing Arts from the Institute of Music at Case Western Reserve University and has performed extensively in opera, recital, and musical theatre productions.
Thomas Kouo, clinic manager for the Seniors' Acupuncture Clinic and intern at the Monday night free clinic, spent ten years as an actor. He has appeared in Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theatre productions, national tours, and commercials. His televsion experience includes roles in "Far East," "NY Undercover," and "As the World Turns."
A donation of $10 for the event is tax-deductible and will benefit the work of TACO and PCOM. Pre-event tickets are available beginning March 1 at the Seniors Clinic and the PCOM Bookstore.
First Lutheran is located at 3rd Avenue and Ash Streets downtown. Free parking is available in the lot directly north of the church.
To view a flyer for the concert, click here.
Posted Febuary 18, 2007
On Wednesday, April 18, from 4 pm to 9 pm, Corvette Diner will donate to TACO 15% of the cost of meals ordered by TACO supporters. This is a great chance to have a festive dinner with friends and raise money for TACO's programs.
Watch for the February TACO Times for the form to give to the waiter, or print one out from this Acrobat file. You must have a form when you arrive (they won't be handed out at the door) in order for your portion of the profits to be donated. You can also contact Jim Lovell or Lisa Seiler to obtain the form, their contact information can be found in the "contacts" link on the left side of this page.
Corvette Diner is located at 3946 Fifth Avenue in the Hillcrest area of San Diego, a few blocks west of Highway 163 between Washington and University. Driving directions can be found at their website.
Posted November 9, 2006
Jim Lovell has just released TACO's November report, which includes a summary of the Autumn Soiree and Silent Auction's success, the Christmas in July campaign, and an update on the ticketing of the homeless.
To view the full report, click here.
Posted September 22, 2006
The Union-Tribune ran another story on the homeless issue today, concerning mayor Jerry Sanders' reaction to the city attorney's "safe zone" proposal. Sanders opposes the creation of safe zones, citing the possibility of a rise in homelessness and crime. A link to the story can be found here.
(Link to original story - TACO Opposes Ticketing the Homeless - posted 9/17/06)
To contact the Mayor, visit this site.
Posted September 21, 2006
Today, the San Diego Union-Tribune ran a story about the ticketing of San Diego's homeless for "illegal lodging." This has been a concern of TACO's and of homeless advocate Larry Milligan. (Link to original story)
It concerns a possible compromise between the City Attorney's office, the Police Department, and homeless advocates. For a link to the story, click here.
Posted September 19, 2006
Two movements of note are worth passing along to all of you who have been tracking Larry's fast and the social justice issues related to it. (Link to original story)
Today, the eighth day of his fast, Larry will appear on KPBS' Full Focus program. He will be with a pro bono lawyer who has been working on the Federal Lawsuit in San Diego over the past year. They are featured along with a lawyer from the Police Dept. It is on at 6:30pm or at 11pm on KPBS channel 15/cable 11.
The second is that just today, there is a report out of Los Angeles that the courts have reached a tentative compromise that would allow homeless individuals to sleep without being arrested for it in the evenings from 9pm to 6am. This is not formally approved by their council but is a movement in the right direction, allowing the poorest in their community to sleep without criminalization. Since the ordinances are so closely related we would hope for some movement in that direction by our own city.
Posted September 17, 2006
For 14 years the City of San Diego has had a law on the books that tickets "illegal lodging." This law is used to ticket and arrest homeless men and women who are sleeping on the street for not having another place to sleep. In 2004 the estimates were that 4,400 people were homeless in the City. In the same year, it was estimated that there was shelter space enough so that 2,000 persons could be off of the street.
In the 14 years that this law has been in place, more than 24,000 tickets have been issued. The vast majority have been issued since 2003.
This process has a very detrimental effect on those who are forced to live on the streets. All night long they must move around the city to avoid being caught sleeping by the police. When they are arrested, they often lose their belongings, including vital records, identification, and medicines, and they are branded as criminals for having no home. We have worked with persons who are in need of medical attention but could not go to important appointments because they were arrested the night before. We have worked with folks who have actually lost jobs which may have helped them off of the street, because of this law. This law is not given for disturbing the peace, or any other illegal activity other than "lodging" meaning "sleeping."
In 2005, Larry Milligan and 9 homeless individuals filed a suit in federal court claiming that this law was unconstitutional, that it violated the 8th amendment statute pertaining to "cruel and unusual punishment." At this time, that federal hearing continues. In the intervening time, a quite similar case has been heard in the city of Los Angeles. In the LA case, the city was found to indeed have violated homeless persons’ constitutional rights. LA appealed the case and lost again in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Not to be deterred, they have appealed to the Supreme Court. However, until it is decided whether the case will be heard or not, the federal judges have clearly issued an opinion.
On September 13, 2006, Larry Milligan, Noel Estergren, and Jim Lovell went to City Hall where Larry spoke in the City Council meeting. He read an open letter to Mayor Jerry Sanders, asking for a moratorium on these "Sleeping Tickets" based on the ruling of the federal courts. Larry then went downstairs to the entrance to the City Hall tower where he is fasting and waiting for an answer.
TACO Director Jim Lovell is asking for support of Larry Milligan’s effort to have the city follow and obey all of our constitutional rights.
To read an article about this topic from the Union-Tribune, click here.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Posted September 14, 2006
These gifts are so warmly received they bring tears to the eyes. - Jim Lovell,
TACO Director
Continuing in its tradition of providing Christmas gifts to San Diego’s urban poor, TACO
this year plans to supply its clients with 250 backpacks containing comfort items.
Each gift is projected to cost $20.
Donations are gratefully accepted and can be sent to:
TACO
1420 Third Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
As of the beginning of September, donations to fund about 125 backpacks had been received.
You can also help by giving knitted scarves and hats. For a knitting pattern, click here.
If you'd like to get together with a group to knit or to receive free yarn for this project, contact Ladonna Piper at 619-668-0729
or send an email to christmasproject@tacosd.org
The 2006 project continues earlier Christmas projects that provided items of basic needs
to TACO’s patio guests, many of whom have no protection from the elements. In past years
TACO has been able to provide blankets and sleeping bags.
Thank you for caring for those in our community this Christmas.