Politics
Student Wears Eagle Feather at Graduation After Lawsuit
BY SUDHIN THANAWALA, Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Native American student wore an eagle feather that he considers sacred to his high school graduation ceremony Thursday night after resolving a court fight with a California school district.
Christian Titman, clad in blue with his fellow graduates of Clovis High School, marched into the stadium at sunset, his long braid with the eagle feather attached came out one side of his cap while the traditional graduate’s tassel hung over the other side.
His presence — and the feather’s — at the ceremony came after a last-minute deal with the Clovis Unified School District, which sought to enforce the strict graduation dress code that had previously led it to deny stoles, leis, rosaries and necklaces on other students.
The 18-year-old is a member of the Pit River Tribe, which considers eagle feathers sacred and symbolic of a significant accomplishment, and he said the district was violating his rights to freedom of expression and religion under the California Constitution.
The case went to court before the sides agreed that Titman could wear the feather in his hair and attach it to his cap for the traditional tassel turn.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Titman in the lawsuit, issued a statement Thursday night congratulating him on graduating and “proudly displaying and eagle feather.”
“His determination to advocate for what is right has inspired us all,” the ACLU said.
His mother, Renee Titman, did not immediately respond to phone messages left after the ceremony.
She said earlier that her son was expected to be popular at graduation, an accomplishment that required him to scramble for credits after he struggled during his freshman and sophomore years, said his mom, Renee titman.
“Half his senior class wants to take pictures with him after what happened,” she said.
She said that the school district had granted a dress-code exception for his long hair after he enrolled, and she had thought it would do the same for the feather.
Christian Titman declined requests for comment.
In a letter to Titman’s attorneys in May, Superintendent Janet Young said the district’s graduation dress code was intended in part to avoid “disruption … that would likely occur if students were allowed to alter or add on to their graduation cap and gown.”
Tara Houska, a tribal rights attorney in Washington, D.C., said fights over eagle feathers come up every year around graduation time and show the need to educate people about Native American culture.
“Just like the hijab or yarmulke, this is something that is intrinsic to the religion,” she said. “This isn’t just a symbol or something that is an individual fashion choice.”
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Bay Area
MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS
San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org
***PRESS RELEASE***
MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS
HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence
San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.
HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.
This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.
“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”
The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.
“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”
The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:
- $42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
- $318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
- $445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
- $6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
- $750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
- $2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence
In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.
“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”
In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.
Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.
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