{"id":2081,"date":"2015-09-18T00:36:25","date_gmt":"2015-09-18T00:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/?p=2081"},"modified":"2015-09-18T00:36:25","modified_gmt":"2015-09-18T00:36:25","slug":"vancouver-wa-takes-the-lead-in-moving-to-end-the-nighttime-camping-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/vancouver-wa-takes-the-lead-in-moving-to-end-the-nighttime-camping-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver, WA, takes the lead in moving to end the nighttime camping ban"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NOTE BY NORSE:\u00a0 City politicians in Vancouver, WA has taken a dramatic step in decriminalizing not just sleeping, but camping itself at night, anticipating that they will lose a court fight.\u00a0 The DOJ recently filed a “statement of interest” holding that camping bans in cities with no adequate shelter (i.e. everywhere, and particularly in Santa Cruz)\u00a0 violate the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.\u00a0 This is not a court precedent, but could lead to one, and Vancouver politicos–who likely have no more compassion for homeless folks than the chairwarmers in Santa Cruz–are nervous.\u00a0 I regard this as a major breakthrough and a good issue for the unhoused and housed supporters to bring to the 9-22 Santa Cruz City Council and community.
\nThe public education campaign at City Council can be sandwiched nicely in-between a scheduled 3 PM<\/span><\/span> press conference denouncing violence against homeless advocates and individuals and the 11th SleepOut slated for later that night. \u00a0 Last night, police falsely arrested Abbi Samuels for “insufficient ID” (the charge was “obstructing an officer’) when they knew perfectly well who she was. \u00a0 First Alarm security guards, concealing their name tags and badge numbers brutalized Christina Barnes for battery after stalking her throughout the early evening.
\nSome have suggested taking sleeping bags into City Council chambers during the evening and simply rolling them out to sleep there, given the city refusal to fund emergency shelter or lift the sleeping ban, as Vancouver is now doing.\u00a0 Folks are invited to come on down to witness or participate in the day (and night)’s events.<\/p>\n
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By Joe Douglass, KATU News Sept. 14, 2015<\/abbr><\/div>\n
VANCOUVER, Wash. \u2013 The Vancouver City Council is considering allowing homeless people to sleep outside overnight legally.
\nThe city has banned people from camping outside in public places since the late 1990s.
\nPolice stopped enforcing the ban entirely about two weeks ago after the U.S. Justice Department put out a statement of interest<\/a> on Aug. 6<\/span><\/span> saying the government can’t ban people from sleeping outside.
\nThe document says banning people from doing so is like saying being homeless is illegal, which the Justice Department says is unconstitutional.
\n\u201c\u2026 it just keeps \u2018em homeless.\u201d<\/strong><\/span>
\nTents and tarps line the streets around the Share House homeless shelter on West 13th Street in Vancouver.
\nKatherine Garrett, the shelter’s program director, said the problem is worse than ever.
\n\u201cI’ve never seen this much open camping before,” said Garrett, who\u2019s been working with the homeless in Vancouver since 2001.
\nShe said the Share House is now serving a record 9,000 meals per month.
\n\u201cIt impacts more garbage,\u201d said Garrett about the camping situation. \u201cIt impacts things that we can’t provide for them. We don’t have enough blankets, we don’t have backpacks.”
\nTechnically, the people camping out in the area are now breaking the law.
\nSince 1997, the city has made camping in public places a misdemeanor.
\n\u201cA lot of times it just keeps ’em homeless,” said Garrett. \u201cGetting tickets for camping, vagrancies, any of that always puts a black mark when it comes to getting employment or housing.”
\nPolice Chief James McElvain told KATU officers hadn’t been cracking down on illegal camping all that much.
\n\u201cOn average, we were finding our officers citing about nine people in a month,” said McElvain.
\nA proposed ordinance going before the city Monday<\/span><\/span> night<\/a> would allow people to camp out legally from 9:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.<\/span><\/span>
\nMcElvain said the ordinance would still allow police to crack down on other behaviors.
\n\u201cYou can’t be drinking alcohol in public, you can’t be urinating in public, you can’t be fighting in public,\u201d said McElvain, \u201cand you can’t block people\u2019s pathway on a sidewalk.\u201d
\nKevin Lisman, who just became homeless in March, said he wishes people would have more sympathy.
\n\u201cI had a job,\u201d said Lisman. \u201cI was working. I was making a good salary and then all of the sudden the roof fell in.”
\nThe City Council will vote on the proposal Monday<\/span><\/span> night. (Update: Council has approved the first reading of proposed ordinance. It will move to a second reading and a public hearing next Monday<\/span><\/span>.)<\/em>
\nTristia Bauman, senior attorney for the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty in Washington D.C., sent KATU a statement saying:
\nWe are pleased that cities are paying attention to what the Justice Department has said, and that they are revising their criminalization policies. We are concerned, however, when cities attempt to do the bare minimum. Vancouver’s law does not go far enough to address the constitutional problems identified by the federal government. Moreover, it is not the kind of constructive policy that the federal government is actively promoting, and that other cities are successful implementing. The much more cost-effective, constitutional, and humane approach is to provide permanent housing to homeless people.<\/em>
\n\u201cIt is legal in Portland to sleep overnight in public spaces,\u201d said Dana Haynes, spokesman for Portland Mayor Charlie Hales. \u201cThat includes parks and sidewalks. It isn\u2019t legal to put up structures. That includes tents.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Vancouver OKs overnight camping in public places<\/h1>\n

Unanimous vote by city council amends ordinance<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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