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A city makes amends for destroying homeless people's belongings

Following a lawsuit and months of talks, San Diego is on the verge of opening a storage facility where homeless people can keep their possessions.

And dozens of people would receive compensation for the personal belongings that city workers destroyed.

Homeless advocates would be allowed to use the storage building for a year and given $100,000 to staff and run the facility, the settlement said. If the program is a success, the City Council could look at re-funding the program.

The tentative settlement was reached in a closed session of the City Council. A public council vote on the settlement is expected in January.

More than a year ago, Yolanda Dillard and 12 others homeless were eating inside a church when police and city crews tossed their donated carts -- including medication and photos -- into garbage trucks.

"Now I don't have anything. I've lost it all. Everything in there was my life," Dillard said at the time.

After two other similar incidents, homeless advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit. They claimed the city crews knew the carts weren't trash.

Read the 10News report here.

Full post as published by the 13th juror on November 30, 2010 (boomark / email).