Homelessness advocacy groups push back against Duluth proposal to ban camping on city land
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A proposal earlier this week from Duluth officials to make sleeping on city land a misdemeanor crime — one of 10 proposed ordinance changes addressing public safety concerns — is getting pushback from social service agencies that serve people experiencing homelessness.
Leaders of nine organizations wrote a letter to Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert, claiming that none of them were consulted about the proposed changes. In the letter they argue some of the ordinances “appear to criminalize homelessness.”
“In the absence of adequate shelter beds and housing units in Duluth, and without a mechanism for effective diversion,” the letter continues, “we harbor significant concerns that these policies could have unintended and adverse impacts on fellow citizens and on many of our programs.”
Leaders of three of the organizations, in separate interviews with MPR News, expressed surprise at the announcement of the proposed ordinances and disappointment about the lack of consultation.
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“I don’t think it reflects the values of the people of Duluth,” said John Cole, director of Chum, the largest emergency shelter in Duluth. “And I just think that there could be other ways to achieve the objective that we all want, a safe environment for all of us to thrive.”
The groups requested two meetings with Reinert, the first to hear more about the administration’s goals, and the second to give input on the proposed changes.
City administration has not yet responded to a request for comment on the groups’ letter.
At the news conference announcing the proposal Reinert vehemently denied his administration was criminalizing homelessness.
“That’s absolutely not the case,” he said. Reinert, along with Police Chief Mike Ceynowa and Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj, said the city would first work to educate people about different services that are available, and then encourage them to address challenges they’re facing through its behavioral health and substance use teams.
Ceynowa also said the city is beefing up its diversion efforts, to work with people prior to formal court proceedings.
Enforcement, the officials say, is only a last resort. And by making camping on city land a misdemeanor, they say it opens up additional pathways to get people the help they need.
“That allows us to get into misdemeanor court and allows us maybe to get into veterans court, or drug court, or other diversion programs,” Reinert said.
Reinert added the change is in line with the city’s emphasis on what officials call a “high touch model,” where “the more opportunities we have to engage with people that are struggling or encountering issues, whether their mental health or substance use, the higher rate of success,” he said.
Ceynowa said people would not be cited with a misdemeanor crime for sleeping outdoors if there aren’t any shelter beds available to them.
Not enough beds
However the three organizations pushing back say there isn’t enough available space in existing diversion programs.
“Those programs are at capacity,” said Katie Hagglund, executive director of Union Gospel Mission in Duluth, which serves more than 500 meals a day, and offers 20 bedrooms for people waiting for more permanent housing.
Hagglund said her staff is already educating and encouraging their guests to access resources that already exist. “Those steps are already in place. And so there is that underlying question of what is different about what they’re saying would be the process now?”
Hagglund contends the only difference is the misdemeanor option, which could result in a $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail.
Brittany Robb, who directs the Safe Haven Shelter in Duluth for survivors of domestic violence, said people fleeing an abuser are technically defined as homeless. She worries what the proposed change could mean for those people, who she said are sometimes more comfortable sleeping outside than in a shelter setting.
“And so that was where my heart and mind went to is ‘what about those folks?’ When their option is to find someplace to sleep outside, or stay in a really dangerous situation,” Robb said.
Robb and others say there’s still time to pause the process to address their concerns. The proposal, along with other proposed ordinance changes, will get a first reading at the Duluth city council meeting Monday.