I heard on the radio earlier today (I can't find an article on it atm) where Seattle came down on a long-standing charity organization for feeding the homeless in a park because they had no permit to serve food and that it also...attracts rats.Is Homeless Crackdown A Sign Of Compassion Fatigue?
A growing number of cities across the United States are making it harder to be homeless.
Philadelphia recently banned outdoor feeding of people in city parks. Denver has begun enforcing a ban on eating and sleeping on property without permission. And this month, lawmakers in Ashland, Ore., will consider strengthening the town's ban on camping and making noise in public.
And the list goes on: Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami, Oklahoma City and more than 50 other cities have previously adopted some kind of anti-camping or anti-food-sharing laws, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.
The ordinances are pitting city officials against homeless advocates. City leaders say they want to improve the lives of homeless people and ensure public safety, while supporters of the homeless argue that such regulations criminalize homelessness and make it harder to live on the nation's streets.
"We're seeing these types of laws being proposed and passed all over the country," said Heather Johnson, a civil rights attorney at the homeless and poverty law center, which opposes many of the measures. "We think that criminalization measures such as these are counterproductive. Rather than address the root cause of homelessness, they perpetuate homelessness."
A number of organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia this month in response to its feeding ban.
Mark McDonald, press secretary for Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, said the measures are about expanding the services offered to the homeless, adding dignity to their lives and about ensuring good public hygiene and safety.
But...really? Rats? Restaurant dumpsters attract rats. Buildings with hollow walls attract rats. Or are they talking about the kind of rats who go rooting around for permit money and spend their time lounging behind a cozy government desk? I don't think I could bring myself to tell a little kid that he couldn't eat because it "attracts rats."
Or maybe it's like the park rangers telling you not to feed wildlife because they would "forget" how to forage for themselves.
Rats. Maybe the Humane Society should show up with a truckload of cats in response.
