I continue to be extremely impressed with Farheen Hakeem. Impressed is not powerful enough a word but the best I can muster. After doing a literarture drop with my partner for Dean Zimmerman, I started thinking about who among the three "top" candidates for Mayor speak directly and intelligently to the needs, not only of our city as whole, but to the needs of people who are under-represented. So I went on candidate websites--- Farheen specifically and articulately speaks to the need to represent all of our city, but also those who are forgotten and mistreated. I have pasted in below her statements(from her website) regarding persons experiencing homelessness and transgender people. I was at a meeting this week of the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness. Farheen attended this meeting. There was a discussion of County Shelter Policy. Farheen spoke quite directly to the issue that needs of people who are transgender and homeless are not being included in the policy conversation. Also people who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual. I too had been among those who, although I have worked with/organized with many people who are GLBT... had not advocated to remember them in this policy discussion. (What makes this rather ironic is that I am Lesbian. Just goes to show that class does impact/create blind spots in consciousness. Or at least in my consciousness.) Thus a stone that broke a pane in the glass house I live in.... She is right, the County, City, State, advocates, providers must ensure dignity, respect, consideration is demanded for all. She has prompted me, and I am sure others, to advocate to the County regarding this. What I was impressed by is that Farheen was not intimidated (I doubt that Farheen gets intimidated) by being among the "experts" on homelessness in Mpls. She is a presence who speaks her mind intelligently and she knows she has valuable expertise to bring to this city. see from her web site below. Margaret Hastings--Kingfield from Farheen's web site "One of the most misunderstood populations in many urban areas is people who are homeless. I want Minneapolis to be one of the strongest providers of resources and recognition for homeless people. People that are homeless in Minneapolis are still Minneapolis residents. They still are eligible to vote, they still pay taxes, and they still need to be served. They are still contributing members of our community, and blaming them for being in poverty is intolerable. We as a city—and as a society—are the ones to blame for allowing our fellow residents to live in such hardship. One way we can stop blaming homeless people for living in poverty is to abolish the vagrancy and anti-panhandling laws. I believe that the city should not demand that people hold a permit to prove that they are poor. I would also like to reinstate the number of shelter beds that were available before budget cuts reduced them. In addition, I would like to create more shelter beds that are provided by other organizations besides faith-based ones and shelter beds that are LGBT-friendly and safe. I also would like to increase outreach to homeless citizens and get them to participate in our city government—as is their right. When development projects are occurring in the city, I would find ways to get input from our homeless population to see how these projects would affect them. I would like to explore information and statistics about our homeless population because I want city government to see homelessness as a serious human issue, not a as a general nuisance. I want our homeless population to be treated with dignity and respect by law enforcement officers and City employees. I want to work with organizations that deal with homelessness to get homeless people registered to vote. Minneapolis has the highest per capita population of transgendered residents in the nation. Our city is known for its vibrant trans community, and we must work to make sure that all civic services are available and accessible to trans persons. This includes working to add gender as a variable in our city’s non-discrimination clause. " REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list.
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