Southpinellas: Homeless fight back with high tech

ST. PETERSBURG - Tina May grabbed a $30 disposable plastic videocamera when she saw police officers cutting down tents at the homeless camp she called home.

Just a few hours later, May's video of the Jan. 19 raid went up on the Web site YouTube. It has logged over 13,000 views in a few weeks, been shared on blogs and Web sites like MySpace, and promoted St. Petersburg as a national poster child for cruelty against the homeless.

May's video shows how new media technologies allow even the most destitute draw attention to their causes. They don't need expensive digital equipment, just a cheap camera, a compelling image and the Internet.

Cassandra Van Buren, an assistant professor at the University of Utah who studies new media issues, said the inexpensive cost of digital cameras, coupled with easy-to-use sites such as YouTube, now mean that nearly everyone - even the homeless - can become a watchdog.

"What we're seeing now is that regular citizens have access to their own distributions through YouTube and the Web in general," Van Buren said. "That's the big shift you're seeing that enables this type of citizen countersurveillance."

May, just 14 years old when she first ran away from home, is a tiny 32-year-old woman who wears bulky jackets and fuzzy pink slippers with red hearts. She was arrested six days after she made the famous video, accused of pawning a stolen drill that she said was hers.

"I didn't think it was right that they were slashing our tents," May said. "I'm glad I did it. People know all about us."

Since the initial raids, more homeless people have put up tents at two locations: On 15th Street near Fifth Avenue N and on 18th Street near Central Avenue. Mayor Rick Baker has since said the decision to cut the tents "was a mistake." Police officials - who initially said they took away the tents because of concerns with fire codes - say they don't anticipate any more raids.

Eric Rubin, an advocate for the homeless, said many people in the city's two tent cities now have disposable cell phones and videocameras. A MySpace page called homelesstentcitystpete offers regular updates and a list of needs water, toilet paper, portable shower.

"The reality is that a picture is worth a million words," Rubin said. "It's now being used as a form of protection as well."

May says an advocate for the homeless bought the plastic videocamera and gave it to her boyfriend, who gave it to her before he was arrested. She had just brought her stuff to the tent city at Fifth Avenue N and 15th Street and hadn't even put up her tent when she saw police pull up.

After shooting the video, May went to a CVS drugstore to get some DVDs of the video made for $51.99. She kept one DVD, and several other copies were passed around. One advocate for the homeless - May isn't sure who - uploaded the video to YouTube on a home computer hours after the raid. The credit reads: "Video by Tina May."

The views and outrage soon followed, as viewers registered their disgust: "Outrageous. ... This is a terrible act. ... This is atrocious."

The local music group Meyer Baron & the Spaghetti Band even wrote a song called Walk On By after watching it.

Times photographer Cherie Diez and researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8472.

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by August	12/10/07 12:52 PM
The homeless get nothing; they are absolutely poor. The homeless agencies get all the money. The homeless agencies are sick and nasty places. Have you spent just one night in one. Good luck!

by Dan	05/25/07 09:42 AM
I crawled, scratched and dug my way out of homelessness. You earn $40 a day at day labor, if you get out. Try saving up enough for an apartment making $200 or so a week. Most turn to drink and drug. There is an answer for some; recovery/abstinence.

by Berni	02/23/07 09:58 PM
I feel for the guy shown in the paper - 70 yrs old - he SHOULD be retired - but not like that. Thats just wrong...

by wayne	02/23/07 12:42 PM
caring for north jersey's urban poor sine 1896.

by Deb	02/19/07 03:06 PM
Put all these people in a camp in a rural area - away from others, and MAKE them work! You want to eat, you work. Highway clean-up, car wash, cut trees, clear paths, WORK! the women can do the laundry and cook in camp. WORK is good for the psyche.

by Jordan	02/19/07 11:06 AM
Hey Jason - telling people to find a job? Why don't you go down there and pass out applications? Do something more than be a typical righty and whining about something, do something good for a change

by Marci	02/18/07 04:52 AM
Can you say Nazi Germany?? The police had no right cutting up peoples personal property! If the homeless (or you and I) had done that, they'd be in jail! I hope these men and whoever made the call to cut up the tents have a hard time sleeping!

by Mark	02/04/07 05:57 PM
Looks to me like the police are professionally and calming following orders. Where do you buy a $30 video camera that allows you to put text on the video. Hoax or not, I think the police came out the winners in this video. Doing their job!

by JK	02/02/07 09:44 PM
WENT TO WILLIAMS PARK TODAY TO GET THE BUS, BUMS IN THE SHELTERS, RAINING, SLEEPING. ONE GUY TOLD ME THE GIRLS SLEEP BECAUSE THEY ARE WORKING ALL NIGHT. MAKES ME WONDER WHAT GOES ON IN AT NIGHT IN ST. PETE. WHERE ARE THE COPS? MAYOR RICK BAKER, WHAT?

by Cathleen	02/02/07 05:06 PM
Sit and talk to the folks at tent city. I have, most already have income, others dont' want to. These poor people are sex offenders and others have warrants. social service is there everyday TRYING to help people that only want free rides.

by S	02/02/07 02:36 PM
While slicing up tents is unacceptable behaviour, kicking them off the property didn't work, because they just moved to a different area and will be panhandling, bumming, and being a nuisance to the people of St. Pete! GET A JOB!

by Brian	02/02/07 01:49 PM
In the photo Tina is in her tent during daylight - why is she not at work? Her boyfriend gave her the camera "before he was arrested". Clearly some victims of bad times who are otherwise fine upstanding citizens - NOT! Help those who help themselves.

by John	02/02/07 01:45 PM
Lots of luxery items and no housing - seems like the homeless' priorities are out of wack. Of course as long as bleeding hearts are willing to enable the chronically homeless with handouts- what have they got to lose? NO MORE HANDOUTS!

by Nicole- continued	02/02/07 12:49 PM
And thank goodness so many have access to technology and can act as countersurveillance. The police do an amazing job everyday, but it is knowing they are watched that keeps the defenders honest.

by S	02/02/07 12:48 PM
Say "NO" to tent citys!

by Jeanine	02/02/07 12:48 PM
There are transient homeless and crisis homeless. Transients get all the press and bring out the bleeding hearts, whose resources would be better spent on people who encountered a crisis which caused them to lose their home.

by Nicole	02/02/07 12:44 PM
Whether you blame them or feel for them, they are still people. Acts like this only hurt the ones who truley need help. It does nothing to deter the slackers. And it gives our city a bad name everywhere. Shame on the organizers of this childishness.

by gwyn	02/02/07 12:18 PM
This is a sad world, there had to be a better way to handle this situation. We are spending billions on a violent war in Iraq when we should be spending it on people here @ home. There needs to be some kind of happy median between both sides.

by TOM	02/02/07 11:50 AM
What would be a yeal show stopper is a video of these street people thowing out their drugs and booze and doing an honest day's work.

by cheryl	02/02/07 11:07 AM
destroying property not the answer. providing housing not the answer because alot don't want to work. they should be required to take down tents during the day but provide their own shelter at night if they don't want to move forward.

by PAM	02/02/07 10:29 AM
if we can house and feed the criminals in this state, why not the homeless. I think they should take some funding from jails and prisons to help the homeless. set up a program that will help determine if they really want help or just lazy

by Jason	02/02/07 10:20 AM
I really enjoyed reading what the one man said about teaching a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime! These people need to find jobs, just like regular society. I know some are mentally ill and they need help, but to all others, FIND A JOB!!

by Dan	02/02/07 10:00 AM
St. Pete police have a pathetic police chief who has promoted a bunch of clowns to run the place into the ground. There will much more of this stuff to follow with him in charge.

by Rich	02/02/07 09:50 AM
Drive by the tent city around 2pm and see how many of the homeless are out looking for work. Not many! We don't need any more lazy drug addicts here.

by Robert	02/02/07 09:46 AM
Not all have what you have. Put yourself in their shoes. A tent or a box. Create some affordable housing in the area.

by Jeff	02/02/07 09:42 AM
I have NO sympathy for these people! What if everyone started throwing up tents at will? These homeless advocates need to realize that they are being taken advantage of by lazy people. Some are legitimately mentally ill and should be helped.

by Vince	02/02/07 09:40 AM
Don't those tents take 10 minutes to put up? Why not take them down during the day while you are looking for work?

by David	02/02/07 09:38 AM
As a wise person once said, "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime". Put them to work and lets see how long they will stay in St. Petersburg!

by loren	02/02/07 09:32 AM
move? yes - destroy their property? no! - provide a place for them? yes -there is dignity in all life, even the have nots - whether the haves care or not

by Kim	02/02/07 09:23 AM
I hope the St. Pete police continue to enforce the law no matter how leftist media decides to portray it. I have no sympathy for these thieves, addicts & scumballs. Get them the heck out of this town if they don't want to be a productive.

by zippy	02/02/07 09:11 AM
While the tent slashing was wrong. The homeless need to grab a shower some dignity and put in some applications. Many jobs to be had. But the world is a hard ugly place so please drug me , feed me and let me pitch my tent in your front yard.

by j	02/02/07 09:04 AM
most of you are ridiculous - I have never been homeless, quite the opposite. However, I have been told that most homeless suffer from mental illnesses. Don't be so quick to stereotype and don't be so ignorant in the future.

by Kay	02/02/07 09:04 AM
Some of us taxpayers want these people to get real help.... not just a couple nights in a motel. Seems some of you aren't aware that mental illness and substance addiction are MEDICAL problems. Well said Kathy.

by Linda	02/02/07 08:56 AM
I had the pleasure of living in this beautiful city for 3 years. Please don't let these people destroy what you have. Most of them could work, but they choose to live off everybody else. Most have more money than the average hard worker.

by kathy	02/02/07 08:54 AM
Just hand them money to buy their drugs and alcohol, give them clothes, food, anything on their list. Dont make them responsible for anything! Advocates should bring crack not food.

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Homeless fight back with high tech

A tent city resident with a videocamera allows people around the world see police slashing tents.