Free speech threatened in California homeless dispute

A nonprofit serving the homeless in San Luis Obispo County is threatening to sue individuals testifying about mistreatment of their clients. The CalCoastNews published a series of articles about a homeless man who lost his disability benefits through alleged mismanagement by two agencies serving the homeless. (CalCoastNews, March 29, 2013, by CalCoastNews Staff)

The director of one of the nonprofits, the Homeless Services for the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo, filed suit on March 21 against a private investigator and others for defamation. The investigator said that the director had been stealing money from homeless clients. (The Rock, April 2, 2013, by Aaron Ochs)