[Occupymendocino] Free ID's for homeless folks

[Richard Karch]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/california-id-homeless-people_55ae9054e4b07af29d568b34?ofvwjyvi=&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000054&ir=Impact


New California Law Gives Free IDs To Homeless People So They Can Access Housing, School
Eleanor Goldberg
Impact editor, The Huffington Post
Posted: 07/22/2015 | Edited: 07/22/2015 09:34 AM EDT

The thing that often stands in the way of a homeless person and housing is just a state-issued identification. But a new law in California is making sure that its residents are no longer stranded on the streets because of that issue.

In order for a homeless person to do something as simple as apply for a job, enroll in public school or access homeless shelters and food stamps, they need to provide official identification. But those IDs often get lost or stolen and homeless people lack the funds and resources to obtain new driver's licenses or birth certificates.

"If you're living on the street it's very difficult to keep ahold and keep your documents safe,”Janet Kelly, a senior attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, told Hawaii News Now. 

But a new California law, which went into effect this month, is making the process of obtaining identification much easier by requiring state recorders to hand them
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