4 Policies Affecting the Homeless Population that Need to Change
As the population of Fort Collins continues to grow, so does its homeless population. For years the City of Fort Collins has tried to combat the rise of transients through various policies. Unfortunately, some of their policies haven’t helped fix the problem of homelessness but rather they have dehumanized and isolated the homeless population that are just as much part of the community as everyone else. Here are four policies or rules that need to change.
Sit-lie Ban
The current sit-lie ban was implemented in August 2017 by the Fort Collins City Council. It makes it illegal for people to sit, lie down, or kneel within 20 feet of the entrance to a business even if they aren’t blocking any kind of path or doorway near the businesses. When people go home, they will typically either sit on a couch or lie down. For homeless people, their only option is to sit or lie down outside. They can’t just live their lives standing the whole time, they aren’t horses. This ban makes it illegal for people to do something that is a necessity for everyone.
Camping Ban
Fort Collins has an anti-camping ordinance that forbids people from sleeping out in public places including their own car, even if it’s parked legally for the night. This makes it extremely difficult for homeless people to have a safe, warm place to sleep if the overnight shelters are full.
Adam Frank, an ACLU cooperating attorney, says, “Sleeping in one’s car is not a luxury. It’s a last resort. To selectively punish some people for simply trying to sleep and survive is the very definition of cruel and unusual.”
Increased No Smoking Zones
Fort Collins has implemented and extended laws prohibiting people from smoking within a certain distance of public places. It has spread to involve most of Old Town and many areas surrounding it. While these no smoking zones were put in place for the health of the public, they make it extremely difficult for homeless people. Because the areas that allow smoking are so few and far between, it is difficult for homeless people to travel the distance just to smoke because they would have to carry all their personal belongings with them to these locations.
Cost of Living and Minimum Wage
One of the biggest misconceptions about homeless people is that they are all jobless people who are too lazy to try and get a job. In reality, there are a lot of homeless people who have a job, some even have a full-time job. The problem is the cost of living is too high for anyone who holds a minimum wage job that they would work at Monday-Friday, 9–5. The current cost of living in Fort Collins, according to Bestplaces.net, is around $374,400. Minimum wage in Fort Collins is $11.10. This means someone with a minimum wage, full-time job is only making about $23,088.
Fort Collins City Officials are working to implement policies that they believe will better everyone living in Fort Collins. The problem is some of these policies are helping certain groups but neglecting the needs of others. The group that is one of the most negatively affected is the homeless population. When laying out and planning new policies, city officials need to remember that the homeless population is a part of Fort Collins as any of the homeowners living there and deserve to be treated as residents of the city.
