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| - These districts were supposed to help the homeless find jobs, but instead the state of the economy led to rampant overcrowding and the system became a way for citizens with jobs to ignore the less fortunate. Eventually, the Bell Riots in Sanctuary District A, San Francisco in September 2024 brought the horrible conditions in the districts to the attention of the public. (TOS novel: The Rings of Time, DS9 episode: "Past Tense")
- Sanctuary Districts were sections of cities in the United States of America that were used to house the homeless, mentally ill and unemployed during the mid-21st century. These sections were closed off from the rest of the city. By 2024, many of these districts were overcrowded and the inhabitants lived in poor conditions. Food was rationed and shortages were not uncommon. Access to medical treatment was also very limited. Violence was common in the districts from other inhabitants as well as the guards assigned to keep order.
- Sanctuary districts were created by the American government in response to serious social and economic problems that had resulted in an increased rate of poverty and social destitution during the early 21st century. By the early 2020s, every major city in the United States had a sanctuary district. Before long, Sanctuary Districts had essentially become the twenty-first century version of medieval debtors' prisons where the poor, homeless, and mentally ill were kept out of sight. Once they were out of sight, they were forgotten by the rest of society.
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| abstract
| - Sanctuary districts were created by the American government in response to serious social and economic problems that had resulted in an increased rate of poverty and social destitution during the early 21st century. By the early 2020s, every major city in the United States had a sanctuary district. Sometime prior to 2024, the Federal Employment Act of 1946 was repealed, which had stated, at least in theory, that the United States government bore the responsibility for ensuring economic stability in the country. Symbolically, this meant that society had washed its hands of responsibility for combating the endemic poverty resulting from a global economic depression. Sanctuary districts were originally established as places of sanctuary for those without jobs or homes. People with a criminal record were not allowed. In the beginning many people entered the districts voluntarily because of the promise that the administration would help them get jobs so they can find a way out of their destitution. Despite the benevolent intent, however, conditions inside the camps quickly degenerated to the point where by 2024 overcrowding was a pervasive problem throughout the Districts. More people were taken to Sanctuaries than buildings could accommodate, so many of them were sleeping on the streets, often on sidewalks or in tents or cardboard boxes. The government had also begun to forcefully locate people there, including people with mental health problems, or "dims", who could not afford health care services as well as the financially destitute. Laws prohibiting sleeping on the streets were further used to justify the forceful relocation of residents to the Sanctuaries. Internment in the Sanctuaries amounted to nothing less than imprisonment, as Sanctuary inhabitants were legally forbidden to leave "for their own protection". Sanctuaries also did not provide any meaningful job placement services so that people could find a way out. By 2024, with a bad economy and employment levels at record lows with no end in sight, residents rarely, if ever, obtained the employment opportunities they needed to leave the Sanctuaries, de facto guaranteeing that the "residents" of the Sanctuary Districts remained life-long inhabitants, detained without due process. These inhabitants were often derogatorily referred to as "gimmies" – as in "give me food, shelter, a job, etc." – even by Sanctuary case workers and employees. Children whose parents had become unemployed were sent as a family to Sanctuary Districts. While the Sanctuaries were theoretically meant as a stop-gap measure, in reality people stayed there on a long term basis. This meant that children growing up on the inside had even less of a chance of finding a way out of the destitution than their parents. Before long, Sanctuary Districts had essentially become the twenty-first century version of medieval debtors' prisons where the poor, homeless, and mentally ill were kept out of sight. Once they were out of sight, they were forgotten by the rest of society.
- Sanctuary Districts were sections of cities in the United States of America that were used to house the homeless, mentally ill and unemployed during the mid-21st century. These sections were closed off from the rest of the city. By 2024, many of these districts were overcrowded and the inhabitants lived in poor conditions. Food was rationed and shortages were not uncommon. Access to medical treatment was also very limited. Violence was common in the districts from other inhabitants as well as the guards assigned to keep order. Public opinion of this policy was turned in late 2024 following the Bell Riots. After residents in Sanctuary District A in San Francisco took over a processing facility and held six staff hostage. The residents gained access to the global communications network and spread their plight to the rest of the world. In response the governor of California ordered in troops to take back the facility by force, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of residents. (DS9: "Past Tense, Part I", "Past Tense, Part II")
- These districts were supposed to help the homeless find jobs, but instead the state of the economy led to rampant overcrowding and the system became a way for citizens with jobs to ignore the less fortunate. Eventually, the Bell Riots in Sanctuary District A, San Francisco in September 2024 brought the horrible conditions in the districts to the attention of the public. (TOS novel: The Rings of Time, DS9 episode: "Past Tense")
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