Activists protest ‘sleeping in public’ tickets

Mike McLaughlin, 54, left, who has been homeless on and off for three months, reads a book while fellow homeless rest and talk at Necessity Village, an encampment at the Santa Ana Civic Center.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Jim “Boston” Watson, 66, who has been homeless for three decades, speaks up for homeless rights.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Occupy Santa Ana activists and the homeless watch as a Santa Ana police vehicle departs after the arrest of a homeless man at Necessity Village.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Jerome Clark, 65, who became homeless after his wife died in 2001, prepares to bed down for the night. “God loves me, he takes care of me,” Clark said. “He’s teaching me how to be humble, I guess.”  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Occupy Santa Ana activists and the homeless watch as a Santa Ana police officer armed with a stun gun and flashlight approaches a homeless man to arrest him at Necessity Village.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

An Orange County sheriff’s vehicle patrols the walkway as homeless men make their way near Necessity Village in Santa Ana.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)