12-20-17 Health and Public Safety

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Committeemember Karen White stated, I think it is important that today we start the formal discussion on this critical issue. We will continue looking at best practices and what it will take to have a Homeless Bill of Rights. Presentation on Homeless Bill of Rights- Council Attorney,Bob Palmer Bob Palmer, South Bend Common Council Attorney with offices on the 4t'floor of the County- City Building, stated, For the benefit of the public, it is important to reiterate there has been no bill crafted. There has not been any input between myself and any members of the Council, other than the request from Vice President Davis to gather information and start the process. As I sit here tonight, I have no idea of any individual Councilmember's feelings about anything on this matter. I do not know where this will lead but it is an attempt to, at least, gather information on what other communities have done to address this issue. This is a starting point that opens discussion. As the Council has indicated,this is a public conversation. We want public input to be a part of whatever is ultimately crafted and voted on. He went on, What we are looking at is loosely referred to as a Homeless Bill of Rights. It has been called other things. It is a shorthand way of identifying what general types of things are being considered. Mr. Palmer referenced the presentation(available in the City Clerk's Office)to explain what a Homeless Bill of Rights is. He stated, It is a reaffirmation of the rights of people that may be homeless. They are entitled to the same rights and privileges that other citizens are entitled to. These rights and privileges are not always recognized by government officials, other citizens and others. Homeless people are often looked down upon and discriminated against simply because of their housing status. The original Homeless Bill of Rights was enacted in Rhode Island in 2012. It was prepared to cure some of the wrongs that municipalities had imposed on the homeless. It was enacted on the State level because local municipalities were criminalizing activities that adversely affected the homeless. They criminalized sleeping on the sidewalk, eating in public, loitering and other activities that, if you were not homeless, you probably wouldn't commit. States began enacting a Homeless Bill of Rights to decriminalize those activities so to give the homeless the same rights as everyone else.Not only did it give them those rights but it makes sure those rights are recognized. This is not a problem we have had in South Bend. South Bend has never enacted an ordinance that criminalized anything that directly impacted the homeless. We are not looking at a situation like that here in South Bend. We are not looking to correct past wrongs by the City. He continued, The goal of this Bill of Rights is to eliminate discrimination against anyone based on homelessness or their overall housing status. This will not cure all wrongs but it should raise the consciousness about the homeless. They do have rights as they are citizens of the United States,the State of Indiana and the City of South Bend. The information in the memorandum (available in the City Clerk's Office) was prepared with the idea that we would try to elevate the consciousness of the problems the homeless deal with. We look to join with the Mayor and his Administration to live out his call to a unity of purpose to address this problem. This Bill of Rights will not be a complete solution to the problem of homelessness. The complete solution to homelessness is no less than the availability of food and shelter and the willingness of everyone to take advantage of that availability. There is nothing in the Homeless Bill of Rights that I've looked at that forces an individual to take shelter. There is nothing in the Homeless Bill of Rights that I've looked at that requires a homeless person to protect themselves from the elements. 2