| PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 12, 2024 |
| HOMELESS ADVOCATE AUSTIN DAVIS ACCEPTS PLEA DEALFIGHT TO DECRIMINALIZE FOOD SHARING CONTINUESHomeless advocate Austin Davis (24) accepted the City of Tempe’s plea deal on Wednesday, September 11th, 2024. The plea stipulates that the City will drop 34 pending charges in exchange for Austin pleading guilty to one charge of hosting an event without an event permit. Austin will be subjected to 1 year of unsupervised probation, the terms of which bar him from entering any City of Tempe park or preserve, hosting any events in Tempe Parks or acting as an officer of AZ Hugs in hosting any events in Tempe Parks. Additionally the City of Tempe levied a fine of $1,148 that will be suspended upon completion of probation. The plea deal brings to a close a contentious battle between Davis and the City. While many of the material facts of the case remain unchanged, Austin decided that the best path forward was to return the spotlight and attention back where it belongs; on the plight and survival of the City’s most vulnerable. Mayor Corey Woods and City Manager Rosa Inchausti have maintained that this case was never about feeding the houseless, but was simply a permitting issue. Their circular logic continues to baffle many Tempe residents as the permit was to share food with the houseless. By pleading guilty to the one charge, Austin plans to forge a new path forward with AZ Hugs and find new ways to provide life-saving services to those in need. This plea comes on the heels of a public outcry at both the August 26th and September 5th Tempe City Council meetings where citizen after citizen demanded the CIty drop the charges. It is in no small part to the public pressure to uphold the truth and see through the misdirection by City leadership that the City has decided to stop hammering Austin Davis. Without the public’s support and the continued press coverage, this outcome would not have happened. “We want to express our gratitude and love to supporters, volunteers, and advocates who continue to hold the City accountable,” said Austin’s attorney, Russell Facente. While Austin and his attorneys believe in the merits of their defense, facing a legal system that denied a jury trial with a City-appointed judge (Kevin Kane) was a costly uphill battle. By accepting the plea, Austin saves the City valuable tax dollars and resources and frees himself up to reinvent his lifesaving work. “The terms of the plea deal are still damaging to the unhoused citizens of Tempe. Barring Austin and AZ Hugs from a place to provide aid to the folks really struggling only makes life on the streets harder for the houseless,” added Facente. A BRIEF SUMMARY OF HARASSMENTIn March of 2022, AZ Hugs and Austin Davis received the “Neighborhood Event of the Year” award for the Sunday Family Picnics. The award was presented by Mayor Woods himself. However, by August of that year, the City’s attitude and treatment toward the houseless had changed from supportive to punitive. The City swept the Salt River riverbed and displaced approximately 400 houseless. Jessica Wright, the City’s Homeless Solutions Manager, admitted that the City did not have places to house these individuals. The City then changed its interpretation of the special events ordinance and began demanding that charitable groups secure event permits to provide lifesaving services and meal provision. Other nonprofit groups, like the Aris Foundation, found a favorable process that granted them a reduced-cost, year- long permit under the requirement they move to private land. H.O.P.E Arizona found themselves unable to afford the permits and $1 million liability insurance. One faith-based group was offered a dirt lot with no shade and limited accessibility for the one-time fee of $400. AZ Hugs wound up getting their permit application denied. Then over 10 months of citations, arrests started. TESTIMONIALS“I’ve been homeless for over 30 years in and out of jail and prison. Until I met Austin, I was hopeless and if it wasn’t for Austin I would have never been able to get into and graduate from Purpose Healing Center. Thanks to Austin I have a chance to have my daughters back and become a model citizen.” – Donavan Lewis.“I’m coming up on a year sober thanks to Austin and these picnics. He never gave up on any of us and I knew he was trustworthy and invested in my life. Many of us in that position are estranged or disowned by our biological families and he was the only one who was able and willing to help us on our terms. He never judged us and he accepts us for who we are and treats us like humans.” – Jackie (last name withheld) “I’m not proud of my city because of the way you treat the homeless. How do you go from getting an award for feeding and helping the homeless to a few months later being targeted by the city for doing the same thing? Sharing food is not a crime. Austin is the most humanitarian person I know. He doesn’t just feed them, he helps them find resources, get into detox, rehab shelters and whatever else they need. They know Austin and they trust him, which is why they go to him instead of the city.” – Jane Parker, HOPE Arizona. THE PATH FORWARDUnder the terms of the plea, AZ Hugs and Austin Davis will spend the next year hamstrung by the conditions of his probation. Unable to enter the parks, there is palpable fear that the people who need these live-saving services the most will be lost in the shuffle. The work to decriminalize sharing food will not stop, and AZ Hugs will work to create new creative ways to meet it’s mission and help as many people as possible. The City must stop criminalizing mutual aid. Citizens have a human right to help each other. City leadership needs to stop hiding behind a permit process designed for Rock-and-Roll marathons and Gin Blossoms concerts. A WORD FROM AUSTIN DAVIS”We tried to craft a compromise with the City of Tempe, but they refused to negotiate or expediate the 60-day permit review process for our nonprofit, which is serving an urgent need in the community. The City eventually denied us our permit because we could not stop our picnics during the review process and risk greater harm to those we were serving. Over the last 10 months, our community has been able to maintain providing daily access to food in Tempe for those experiencing homelessness. Hundreds of picnic attendees over the months have been connected to detox, rehab, shelter, and have worked their way off the streets. We need safe spaces. We need to take care of each other. Collectively, our community will continue to serve our streets every day, as we grow, build and push our city forward, one step at a time.I want to express my deep appreciation for the overwhelming support from the community this past year. As more and more church groups and other nonprofits were forced to stop their meal services, the homeless community had less and less options for food, water, and essential resources throughout the week, and the community stepped up in their hour of need.Thank you to all who stand with us in solidarity for those experiencing homelessness and who speak out against the inhumane treatment that the unhoused are subject to day in and day out from City officials and police.”- Austin Davis, AZ Hugs ABOUT AZ HUGSAZ Hugs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to showing love and togetherness to those experiencing homelessness throughout the Valley. The State of Arizona recognizes AZ Hugs as a Qualifying Charitable Organization, eligible for tax credits on your state income taxes. For more information: https://www.azhugs.org.  For More Information: AZHugs.org |
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