Is sitting in the park a crime? Fresno city leaders say ‘yes’ in anti-homeless ban | Opinion

The Fresno City Council, with the support of Mayor Jerry Dyer, is on the verge of passing a dangerous and far-reaching new law that will make sitting, lying or sleeping on public property a crime punishable by up to six months in jail.

Without enough shelter beds, let alone permanent housing, all this ban serves to do is punish our most vulnerable neighbors. Despite whatever the intentions of this ordinance originally were, the current draft has the effect of potentially turning everyone in this town into a criminal. Any use of public space — be it sitting down in the park, enjoying ice cream on a bench or waiting at the bus stop — will become a candidate for a criminal offense, punishable by jail time or a fine of $500.

The City of Fresno has made important recent strides in providing support and services for people experiencing homelessness. Money from the state Project Homekey program has converted dangerous motels into transitional housing, offering stable housing and getting people off the streets. The city has listened to the concerns of local homeless advocates and made adjustments to make shelters and other services more accessible.

Opinion

At its meeting on July 29, city council members spoke movingly of their experiences with housing instability and of watching siblings live on and off the streets. I don’t think the city council or mayor have malicious intent, I think they are frustrated with the lack of progress and aware of the quality of life impacts from homeless encampments. No one wants to live or see other people living on the streets, including activists and unhoused individuals. But when housing, jobs and services are out of reach, when shelters are full and when mental health services are inadequate and inaccessible, this represents a failure of our responsibilities as a society.

It is unclear what the city expects unhoused people to do if this ban is passed by the city council on Thursday. Shelters are full and have long waiting lists. Transitional and long-term housing options are even harder to get into. There simply aren’t enough options.

Now, if passed, this ordinance will be housing people experiencing homelessness in jail. This is absolutely not the cheaper solution. This will also push a stable life further out of reach, as a criminal record is a major barrier to employment and housing.

Often, unhoused people are portrayed as solely drug addicts unwilling to take responsibility for their lives. But the reality is much different. Unhoused people represent a cross section of our most vulnerable residents: physically and mentally disabled individuals, foster children with no familial support who have aged out of the system, LGBTQ+ youth, veterans with PTSD and victims of domestic violence are a more adequate representation of people experiencing homelessness.

While drug and alcohol use does occur among unhoused individuals, it is often a symptom of homelessness rather than a cause of it — a way to cope with the harsh realities of living on the streets.

Even if you don’t empathize with the difficulties faced by people experiencing homelessness, you should be deeply concerned with this ordinance. It may sound like an exaggeration, but this ordinance will literally make it illegal to sit in a park, sit on a curb while waiting for a ride, rest on a bench or sit at a bus stop. While it seems unlikely that a well dressed family at Woodward Park will be arrested as a result of this ordinance, can we say the same about Black teens at Radio Park? Or a union member taking a break from the picket line on a bench? What will happen to me when I’m out on a bike ride in my dirty riding clothes, sitting on a curb with a flat tire, waiting to be picked up? By making everyday acts into criminal offenses, we invite profiling and abuse.

There are no cheap or easy answers to our homelessness crisis. Rent is too high even for those with stable jobs. Mental health services and treatment programs are difficult to access and absolutely inadequate for the needs of our city. Building affordable housing needs to be more of a priority. Although the city has completed important projects recently, we still have a long way to go.

We need real solutions. We can’t just throw our hands in the air and try to hide those deemed undesirable in our local jails. And we absolutely cannot make a nice day in the park a crime in the process.

Sean Zweifler is a botanist and activist who lives in the tower district with his partner, Kate, and cat, Shaggy.