FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The City of Fresno faces a federal lawsuit as unhoused resident Wickey Twohands claims the city has criminalized homelessness.<\/p>\n
“Those claims include disability discrimination, age discrimination, violation of equal protection,” attorney Kevin Little told Action News on Friday. He represents Twohands and the other plaintiff, Joseph Quinney.<\/p>\n
At issue is a 2024 ordinance that bans unhoused people from camping in public spaces.<\/p>\n
Twohands and Quinney are now seeking monetary damages.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
The lawsuit comes as the California Highway Patrol confirms two people died overnight as they fell asleep with a warming fire and ran out of oxygen.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Dyer told Action News that the city has 40 people assigned to an outreach team.<\/p>\n
“We partner with the Poverello House, reaching out, offering services to those folks,” he said. “We always have shelter beds available.”<\/p>\n
But advocates for the unhoused highlight the recent closure of an emergency shelter on Blackstone Avenue, claiming ongoing conversations with the city have not been productive.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately, we felt the lawsuit was important and perhaps a way of forcing the city to engage us in a dialogue,” Little said.<\/p>\n
The city has been through this before. Action News was there in 2006 as Pamela Kincaid sued the City of Fresno after employees destroyed an encampment.<\/p>\n
“All my possessions were taken, including my documents, my ID – everything,” she said at the time.<\/p>\n
Kincaid later won.<\/p>\n
“And even still, nothing has changed,” Little said as he spoke about the new litigation.<\/p>\n
Little personally served the lawsuit to city officials on Friday.<\/p>\n
City Attorney Andrew Janz did not respond to Action News’ request for comment on Friday, but issued a statement on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
“We have a crisis here,” Little said. “It’s not the unhoused who lack the wherewithal. It’s the city that lacks the wherewithal.”<\/p>\n
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