Two local activists for Amarillo's homeless population are staging a protest at Amarillo City Hall to raise awareness for the Christ Church Camp of New Beginnings.
Kip Billups, vice president of the Christ Church Camp of New Beginnings, and Chris Seright, president of Amarillo Housing First, are protesting at Amarillo City Hall to raise awareness for the Christ Church Camp of New Beginnings. The duo is protesting at City Hall by sitting with a tent on the steps of the building.
"It's illegal for the homeless to be on public property in Amarillo," Seright said. "There's another ordinance that makes being homeless of private property in Amarillo. It's just outright illegal to be homeless in Amarillo unless you are checked into a shelter."
As we previously reported, City of Amarillo officials told organizers of the camp that starting today, they would be fined $2,000 daily for each day that the camp remains in existence. Organizers have staged several parades, marches, walks and protests to build awareness for the camp ahead of the City's plan to force closure of the camp on March 1st.
Seright said that he is concerned about the closure, as it will limit the ability of outreach organizations to assist members of the homeless population in Amarillo.
"What [Christ Church Camp of New Beginnings founder] Amanda Brown Hunter has built is amazing and now the City is standing in her way and scattering the homeless," Seright said. "It's going to make it harder for us to provide resources to the homeless, it's going to make it harder for us to communicate with our homeless clients who are seeking services. It pushes us further away from a solution. Why are we punishing the homeless for their existence?"
Billups also added to the conversation, stating that the situation in Amarillo particular touches a nerve with him, as he is one of the former members of the Los Angeles homeless population.
"I used to be homeless and I got here about three years ago," Billups said. "What we are seeing go on here in Amarillo is exactly what we have seen in Los Angeles. If you're Christian, it's unchristian, if you're a humanitarian, it's inhumane. The solution is not hunting homeless, like what the City is doing today."
In the end, both men say that they will stay at City Hall until the police make them leave. And the fight will always continue until a better solution is found.
"It shouldn't be illegal to be homeless in Amarillo," Seright says.
Photo by Tamara Warren