FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The City of Fresno is facing a federal lawsuit as unhoused resident Wickey Twohands claims the city has criminalized homelessness.
Attorney Kev Little, representing Twohands and co-plaintiff Joseph Quinney, states the claims include disability discrimination, age discrimination, and violation of equal protection. At the center of the lawsuit is a 2024 ordinance that bans unhoused people from camping in public spaces.
Twohands and Quinney are now seeking monetary damages. “We want change. People are suffering and dying on our streets,” Little said. “We just can’t continue to stand by and try to enforce people out of existence.”
The lawsuit comes after the California Highway Patrol confirmed two people died overnight due to running out of oxygen after falling asleep next to a warming fire.
“We do not want people to remain on the streets,” Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said. “It’s not the right environment for them, especially in this cold weather.”
Dyer told Action News that the city has 40 people assigned to an outreach team. “We partner with the Poverello House, reaching out, offering services to those folks,” he said. “We always have shelter beds available.”
However, advocates for the unhoused are highlighting the recent closure of an emergency shelter on Blackstone Avenue, claiming ongoing conversations with the city have not been productive.
“Unfortunately, we felt the lawsuit was important and perhaps a way of forcing the city to engage us in a dialogue,” Little explained.
This is not the first time the city has faced such legal challenges. Action News reported in 2006 when Pamela Kincaid sued the City of Fresno after employees destroyed an encampment. At that time, Kincaid said, “All my possessions were taken, including my documents, my ID—everything.” Kincaid later won her case.
“And even still, nothing has changed,” Little said, referring to the new litigation. Little personally served the lawsuit to city officials on Friday.
City Attorney Andrew Janz did not respond to Action News’ request for comment on Friday but issued a statement on Thursday. “I look forward to taking this case to the Supreme Court,” he wrote, in part. “The municipal law passed by the Fresno City Council does not punish housing status, just behavior.”
Little concluded, “We have a crisis here. It’s not the unhoused who lack the wherewithal. It’s the city that lacks the wherewithal.”
https://abc30.com/post/city-fresno-served-federal-lawsuit-officials-vow-defend-anti-camping-ordinance/18280926/
