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== (5) Portland, Oregon ==
=== HUCIRP - Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program ===
[[File:OMF-HUCIRP red toilet.jpeg|thumb|right|Inside one of the portable toilets installed by HUCIRP in 2020 in neighborhoods throughout the city. ]]
[[File:Red toilet ceiling.jpg|thumb|right|alleged blood splatter inside HUCIRP red toilet]]HUCIRP is a working unit of Office of Management and Finance within the municipal government of Portland, Oregon.<ref>https://www.portlandoregon.gov/cbo/article/743341</ref> It is a 3.0 FTE program that is staffed by Lucas Hillier, Katie Lindsay and Jonathan Lewis<ref>https://www.opb.org/article/2020/11/24/portland-program-aims-to-help-homeless-campers-and-reduce-impact-of-camps-on-neighborhoods/</ref>. The program was budgeted for $5.8 million in FY2019-2020, and $6.5 million is requested for FY2021-22<ref>portlandoregon.gov/cbo/article/780711</ref>(p.208). The program manager Lucas Hillier was an aide to former mayor Charles Hales.<blockquote>''HUCIRP "is responsible for coordinating cleanup/abatement of unsanctioned campsites on City and ODOT [Oregon Department of Transportation] owned properties/rights-of-way within the City while managing the City’s One Point of Contact campsite reporting system." [City of Portland [https://www.portlandoregon.gov/toolkit/article/562211 HUCIRP site]]. ''</blockquote>
The program staff pronounce it like "HUCK-urp."<br />We suggest "hue-SURP" - like "usurp."
==== Controversies ====
While serving as an aide to Mayor Hales, Lucas Hillier called a Lents neighborhood community member "douchebag" on Facebook after they voiced concerns about encampments<ref>https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/lents-resident-mocked-by-mayors-aide-his-verbal-attack-is-shameful/283-319437905</ref><ref>https://www.wweek.com/news/2020/07/07/portland-to-resume-homeless-camp-sweeps/</ref>. The HUCIRP program in itself was questioned for lack of oversight.<ref>https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2019/06/06/26591451/oversight-questions-arise-as-portland-pays-to-clean-up-homeless-campsites</ref>
The city auditor investigated OMF's HUCIRP and found that the program frequently ignored hundreds of complaints about transient camps from citizens and had challenges with organization and prioritization. [https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2019/03/portland-homeless-camps-clean-up-program-needs-improving-auditors-say.html Portland homeless camps clean-up program needs improving, auditors say(The Oregonian piece from 2019)] As of June 2020, some of the recommendations made by the auditor's office have yet to be implemented such as keeping constituents informed about the status of their complaints.<ref>https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/06/portlands-camp-cleanup-program-has-improved-according-to-city-auditor.html</ref> Goose Hollow Foothills League meeting noted HUCIRP and city needs to be held accountable in the way they conduct sweeps, with regard to how a sweep near a capital improvement project resulted in campers simply moving into their neighborhood.(page 2) [http://www.goosehollow.org/images/GHFLMinutes20210218.pdf GHFL February 2021 meeting notes]
==== HUCIRP Strategic Plan 2019-2021 ====
[[File:City_of_Portland_OMF_HUCIRP_red_toilet.jpeg|thumb|right|the red toilet advocated by OMF-HUCIRP's Katherine Lindsay. Graffiti which is required to be removed within 10 days of appearance <ref>https://www.portland.gov/code/14/b80/040</ref>.]]
[[File:HUCIRP-Logo-City-of-Portland.png|thumb|right|HUCIRP logo]]
<blockquote>''Strategic Goal #3 IDENTIFY/CREATE LAWFUL PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO SLEEP<br /> • Continue to work with the Joint Office of Homeless Services, Multnomah County, and other jurisdictions on public space management strategies that reduce the need for campsite cleanup interventions which require the removal and storage of personal property.<br /> • Implement a model of collaboration and cooperation with Portland Housing Bureau, Prosper Portland, OMF-HUCIRP, and property owning bureaus to identify underutilized City properties, or properties in pre-development stages, that could be used for alternative shelter purposes to provide lawful and organized places for people experiencing homelessness to sleep.''</blockquote>
==== Toilets (Port-a-Potties) Controversy ====
[https://overlookneighborhood.org/overlook-neighborhood-update-sept-12/ September 2020 Overlook Neighborhood Association meeting] notes allege that HUCIRP has been known to secretively place red portable toilets in community while refusing to disclose their placement location to community members.
In an email correspondence obtained from the city by the Oregonian newspaper through public records request, OMF HUCIRP's program coordinator Katie Lindsay alleges that a police officer referred to her as a "yahoo". Furthermore, Lindsay claimed that a police officer told community members that PPB would not follow up on the incidents of theft as "it relates to the city property or in regards to the threats towards city vendors, city staff, or damage to vendor’s property.", according to the Oregonian.https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/12/portable-toilets-in-southeast-portland-stolen-vandalized-in-escalating-fight-between-city-and-neighbors.html
==== Katie Lindsay, HUCIRP program coordinator ====
In a correspondence with a citizen in December 2020, City of Portland's HUCIRP program coordinator Katie Lindsay(who's also a qualified mental health professional and drug and alcohol counselor<ref>https://www.streetroots.org/news/2019/03/15/portland-spends-millions-responding-homelessness-researchers-find</ref><ref>https://npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/registry/provider-view/1568852655</ref> summarized that about 90% of complaints made to HUCIRP are speculative.
"Almost 90% of the complaints our program has received regarding these units are related to stigma connected to the homeless population and complaints about things that ‘could happen,’ but have not happened," Lindsay wrote to the citizen. In a response to a citizen's complaint about the toilet placed near the complainant's house, Lindsay replied "Access to water and appropriate toilet options are recognized by the UN General Assembly as a human right" <ref name="toilet"> https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/12/portable-toilets-in-southeast-portland-stolen-vandalized-in-escalating-fight-between-city-and-neighbors.html</ref> They're denigrated to "dealing with transients" when their camps establish too close to Katie Lindsay's(formerly, Katherine Kalpakis<ref name="pitstop"/>) own house.<ref name="katie testimony"/>
In a media interview in her professional capacity, she described she's been besieged with angry phone calls about the red toilet.<ref>https://www.streetroots.org/news/2020/11/04/kaia-sand-access-hygiene-sanitation-human-right</ref> So, basically like taking phone calls from people concerned about the impact of homelessness in their personal life and hold similar concerns she relate to when she's not wearing her professional hat. In her personal hat, Katie said: <blockquote>'''''"I've spent a lot of my profession when i worked, umm dealing with transients and I mean we're talking things like petty crime, public intoxication, but those aren't things I want in my community."'''''<ref>https://youtu.be/yeucKkIX5sM?t=4123 (City of Sherwood City Council Testimony June 12, 2013</ref> - Katherine Kalpakis in June 12, 2013 </blockquote>With regard to homelessness in Portland, Lindsay commented about the role of HUCIRP "Our role is not to solve homelessness, but to incrementally improve the experience of those living outdoors and the community at large by providing trash mitigation and sharps disposal services."<ref>https://www.facebook.com/PDXMayorTedWheeler/photos/portlandyou-know-that-our-public-servants-work-around-the-clock-on-your-behalf-b/10158089391008620/</ref> She has also proposed hygiene access for the homeless in Portland in 2017 which came with a price tag of around $159,000.<ref name="pitstop">PDX PitStop proposal https://web.archive.org/web/20171025111008/https://www.portlandmercury.com/images/blogimages/2017/10/19/1508444131-pdxpitstop_proposal.pdf</ref>
She acknowledged that when she was working at an organization that is the "largest homeless shelter in Portland".(Likely Portland Rescue Mission<ref>https://www.portlandrescuemission.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Prayer-Calendar-August-2012.pdf</ref>, they would suggest their clients who can not enter the program to go camp at Walmart or the airport.
Interestingly, Katie Lindsay (Kalpakis) was a vocal opponent when such a destination, a Super Walmart was proposed in Sherwood where she owned a house where she raised her children, because she doesn't want those people near her own house. She emailed and testified at a Sherwood City Council meeting urging that the city pass an ordinance prohibiting a 24 hour Walmart. Specifically, her reservations was about the 24 hour parking. The store and parking would have provided a 24 hour access to restroom which she later says as a human right, and a place where homeless people can rest and sleep in their RVs. Essentially, Katherine Lindsay did not want what she's advocating in other people's back backyard coming to her own backyard expressing that she's "spent a lot of time ''<u>dealing with transients</u>'', heavy crime and public intoxication" and "she does not want this in her community". These are speculative concerns about foresight of homeless activity. This suggests she's a NIMBY herself who does not want the very type of people she is advocating for in her professional capacity anywhere near her own house. She apparently found it so objectionable that she personally emailed and testified at a city council trying to get the City of Sherwood to pass an ordinance against 24 hour parking Walmart near her house.
Katherine Kalpakis, 16380 SW Red Twig Drive, came forward and said she has emailed the Council and said she bought a home in Sherwood in 2011 and is raising 3 small children here and has not attended meetings but she has voted, does research on the elections and she watches the meetings on TV. She said she has a very reasonable concerns and questions for the Council and the Planning Commission regarding the 24 hour parking. She said she received one response from Mayor Middleton. She stated for 3 1/2 years she worked for the largest homeless shelter in Portland and she did safety planning which is when a client can't come into the program they let them know what is practical for them to do and some of the advice is to go to the airport or find a Walmart parking lot. She said she also worked in Arizona with domestic violence shelters and that was also the advice they gave. She said she is concerned and stated it is easy to remedy the situation by eliminating the 24 hour parking and she has read reports that some of the crimes at Shari's and Wendy's are not significant, but that is not true about Walmart and she has spent a lot of time dealing with transients, heavy crime and public intoxication and she does not want this in her community and recommends they pass an ordinance. She said she does not want to have to pay for that or the burden of enforcing the 24 hour parking on our Police Department and said they should have to pay for it. She referred to an article in January from Pamplin Media that reported about the homelessness in this area and it suggested that people find safe places like Walmart because it is better to be in large groups rather than being on their own. She stated that this is a responsible thing for Council to prevent.<ref name="katie testimony">Sherwood City Council meeting minutes, June 12, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20170131134712/https://www.sherwoodoregon.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/meeting/1330/06.12.13_city_council_minutes.pdf</ref><br />
That article referenced by Lindsay (Katherine Kalpakis) is likely ''Men on the street'', by Saundra Sorenson, in the January 03 2013 print of TheTimes https://pamplinmedia.com/ttt/89-news/125909-men-on-the-street
====HUCIRP staff payroll expense====
The public expenses of the staff payroll for 2018 for the three staff at HUCIRP was as following<ref>https://openpayrolls.com/city/portland-or</ref>:
*Lucas Hillier $94,286.40
*Katherine Ruth Lindsay $52,160 (2019)<ref>https://openpayrolls.com/employee/katherine-ruth-lindsay-10982</ref>
*Jonathan Lewis $63,315.20
*Heather Hafer (although not dedicated to the HUCIRP program) $90,001.60<ref>https://openpayrolls.com/heather-hafer-54120800</ref>
===Stop the Sweeps PDX & related responses===
[[File:Elia-2019-12-20-Stop-the-Sweeps-PDX-rally.jpg|thumb|right|Stop the Sweeps PDX rally, 12/20/19. photo by Cory Elia]] Kaia Sand, executive editor of ''Street Roots'' newspaper in Portland, tweeted on Dec 17, 2019:<br />
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerHardesty/posts/450865485834942 December 20, 2019 at 3:58 PM ·
<blockquote>''"I’ve heard concerns coming from community members around campsite cleanups and I feel it’s imperative to clarify that City Council has not made a decision to cancel the Rapid Response contract, nor did I or any commissioners advocate for that. I want to assure community members that I hear your fear that the services currently provided felt threatened they would be interrupted and assure you that they are not.''<br /> <br /> ''"Here is where I stand: I understand the trauma that comes from sweeps. I have heard the stories of how these actions affect the mental, physical and emotional well-being of houseless individuals. With that understanding I am not supportive of the way the current contract is laid out. It is too large and onerous a task to ask one group to provide services; including engaging with houseless community members, moving and storing their property, and cleaning up biowaste.''<br /> <br /> ''"What I would like to see is for the city to extend the current contract for 6 months while council reimagines a new set of contracts to meet the needs of our community. Rather than one large contract, I would like to see the responsibilities split between several contractors with more specific expertise.''<br /> <br /> ''"I want to thank Commissioner Eudaly for working with me to pull the item from the agenda so council could have more time for a more robust discussion on this issue, and the Mayor for working collaboratively with his colleagues and hearing their concerns.''<br /> <br /> ''"I appreciate that advocates, neighbors and the hard working people at the city, including those at the Homelessness/Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program are all working towards solutions to this complex problem and I am committed to working with all of you. Together we can address these concerns with compassion."'' </blockquote>
See extensive comments thread on this post for various views from community.<br /> <br />
<br />
===Portland Street Response===
Portland Street Response is a "non police" response to citizen complaints about transient activity. It's expected annual financial burden to the public is estimated to be $4.8 million. The astronomical expenditure prompted questions to KGW.<ref>https://www.kgw.com/video/news/local/the-story/why-does-the-portland-street-response-team-cost-over-4-million/283-9b33dbb0-07ac-45b3-8a2d-66ac79ba15ef</ref>
===Dec 21, 2019 initial proposal in Village Collaborative group===
initially labeled HUCIRP+ ("hue-SUR-plus"):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheVillageCollaborative/permalink/1203649969809977/<blockquote>"What if we proposed a response to Supreme Court ruling and Portland 'sweeps' contract dispute that would put the $4.5M entirely into a program to provide sanctioned campgrounds, meeting specified standards of adequate capacity & location and civil rights, etc, and would also employ residents to do [any remaining] impact-mitigation work? <br /> Linking stop-the-sweeps to this is in conversation in Seattle, where Councilmember Sawant and a large group of faith leaders recently proposed to add 20 new tiny house villages: <br /> https://southseattleemerald.com/2019/11/12/opinion-seattle-must-stop-the-sweeps/<nowiki/>. <br /> <br /> "The proposal above come from my mulling this week about Supreme Court upholding of Boise v. Martin ruling. I am starting to wonder if advocates with Stop the Sweeps PDX etc may be missing some of the legal implications, and also possibilities, of this situation.
Cory's article [Elia, 2019a] says, "The demands by the Stop the Sweeps PDX group are a complete stop of the practice of sweeps in accordance with the 9th District Court decision of Martin v. Boise."
However, it is not at all clear that Boise v. Martin requires that. The majority opinion says:
<blockquote>''"Nor do we suggest that a jurisdiction with insufficient shelter can never criminalize the act of sleeping outside. Even where shelter is unavailable, an ordinance prohibiting sitting, lying, or sleeping outside at particular times or in particular locations might well be constitutionally permissible. So, too, might an ordinance barring the obstruction of public rights of way or the erection of certain structures." -- https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/15-35845/15-35845-2019-04-01.html''</blockquote>
"Further, as argued by dissenting opinions in the ruling, and many of the amici curiae briefs filed by states' attorney generals and many cities & counties, lots of people don't see it as manageable, sensible, or acceptable to allow shelter on ''all'' public property. You might say, nor do the unhoused, who probably wouldn't, for example, think it sensible to sleep/camp in the middle of active roads, or allow others to.
"Localities continue to have many legal & practical means to sweep encampments -- after all, the law didn't change this week, it was upheld. I don't see that they either have or will soon have either a legal mandate or enough public pressure, in most places, to stop all sweeps.
"HOWEVER, local governments/officials do feel beset, confused, and under high scrutiny in these matters, and they sense they are facing a lot of costs one way or another in terms of 'cleanup' costs, policing, political risks of being seen as mistaken or ineffective, etc. Perhaps we can help them help us?
"THEREFORE, I suggest that we, and Stop The Sweeps campaign etc, consider what alternative proposals could be better than the status quo, or the most acceptable, even favorable, if we projected that "stop all sweeps" is not attainable. Thus for example the hypothetical proposal above for citywide campground / village system presented as a way for city to remain in complance with Boise v. Martin ruling. " </blockquote>
===Proposal for test lawsuit against Portland camping ban===
from [https://www.facebook.com/cory.elia.3/posts/1342210052632275?comment_id=1342429282610352 Tim McCormick, Comment, January 31, 2020], on [https://www.facebook.com/cory.elia.3/posts/1342210052632275 Facebook post by Cory Elia], inviting suggested questions to ask Mayor Wheeler at upcoming homelessness forum. [see: Street Roots, "[https://news.streetroots.org/2020/01/31/mayor-host-portland-forums-about-homelessness Mayor to host Portland forums about homelessness.]" 31 Jan 2020]: <blockquote>''"I'd ask, like Mike O'Callaghan's question: how could Portland create adequate, sanctioned, shelter and/or camping areas for all homeless residents, in order for the city's campsite clearances to be defensible against constitutional challenges following from the 9th Circuit's Martin v Boise ruling? For example, if Portland's camping-restriction ordinance were challenged in Federal court?<br /> <br /> "You may be able to ask the Mayor this or some question, but it doesn't seem that these very managed public fora are much likely to shift the Mayor/City's policy on, say, sweeps. In terms of the classic Arnstein "Ladder of Citizen Participation" model, these fora are probably low on the ladder. But I imagine other efforts/strategies are in play, what are they and where are those conversations happening?<br /> <br /> "As my question suggests, a strategy I might suggest [though I Am Not a Lawyer] is to develop a test case something like original Martin v. Boise case: find someone penalized by city's anti-camping ordinance, who undeniably endured harm during actions enforcing the ordinance, and faces concrete, imminent risk of harm from future such enforcement action. Then file suit in Federal district court against the city seeking prospective relief and a permanent injunction enjoying the City from enforcing the ordinances.<br /> <br /> "Federal district court in Oregon is bound by 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rulings, ie Martin v Boise, so if we got to this point it might look like the suit had a chance to succeed and invalidate the camping ban. This might create sufficient leverage to make the City either suspend enforcement of the campsite ban, or modify the ordinance to meet constitutional muster, and possibly get the suit withdrawn.<br /> <br /> "Note, I imagine that groups such as [https://www.facebook.com/NLCHPhomeless/?hc_location=ufi National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty] and [https://www.facebook.com/aclu/?hc_location=ufi ACLU] and [https://www.facebook.com/ACLUofOregon/?hc_location=ufi ACLU of Oregon] are contemplating such legal strategies, and would know much more about it than my amateur legal hypothesizing does. I haven't yet seen anything from them along these lines, perhaps it's too soon after Supreme Court's denial of Martin v Boise appeal the other month.<br /> <br /> "Reference: An action like the suit above would be a case of moving UP on "A Ladder Of Citizen Participation," described by Sherry R. Arnstein, 1969, in Journal of the American Planning. Association, 35: 4, 216-224."''</blockquote>
===Groups / leaders involved===
Fight the Sweeps PDX (Facebook page)
https://www.facebook.com/FightTheSweepsPortland/
Commissioner Joann Hardesty
https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerHardesty/<nowiki/>,
==(6) Other cities ==
===Philadelphia===
from Metraux et al 2019. "An Evaluation of the City of Philadelphia’s Kensington Encampment Resolution Pilot."
==(7) Guides/Proposals for encampment operation and response==
===Parr & Rankin (2018), Guide for Authorized Encampments.===
Parr, Evanie and Rankin, Sara (2018). "It Takes a Village: Practical Guide for Authorized Encampments." Seattle University Homeless Rights Advocacy Project, May 3, 2018. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3173224.
===NLCHP, "Housing Not Handcuffs" report 2019===
<blockquote>''"Authorized Encampments:<br /> As with emergency shelters, authorized encampments are not a permanent solution to homelessness. Housing is the only permanent solution. But safe and lawful homeless encampments can be a critical interim measure for helping to unhoused people while housing options are pursued. '''Local governments should develop constructive encampment policies, including designating a sufficient number of adequate areas where homeless people may safely and lawfully camp and store their belongings. To reduce harm to homeless residents and the surrounding communities, encampments should be provided with trash service, water service, and other necessary services, like toilets.''' In addition, local governments should develop constructive policies for addressing existing homeless encampments modeled on federal guidance and our Encampment Principles and Best Practices. At a minimum, state and local governments should develop policies for cleaning public places that do not displace homeless people from public lands, nor result in the destruction of their belongings, when there is no adequate housing alternative. Our Encampment Principles are available in Appendix B of this report."''
Appendix B: Encampment Principles & Best Practices
Based on input from federal, state, and local representatives, service providers, and people experiencing homelessness, as well as relevant domestic and international laws, our initial findings revealed certain key principles and corresponding practices that appear to be important for successful interventions to end encampments in our communities. These principles and practices are excerpted from TENT CITY, USA: The Growth of America’s Homeless Encampments and How Communities are Responding<br /> (https://www.nlchp.org/Tent_City_USA _2017), which also includes numerous case studies of communities implementing these best practices. As a caution, we note that while incorporating interim encampments into a plan to end homelessness may provide homeless individuals with an improvement in their quality of life and reduce calls for criminalization, the community must also have a serious and funded long-term plan that ensures the availability of permanent, adequate, appropriate housing for all, so encampments do not become a permanent feature of our cities and towns.
Encampment Principles and Practices
'''Principle 1: '''<br /> All people need safe, accessible, legal place to be, both at night and during the day, and a place to securely store belongings— until permanent housing is found.
• Determine the community’s full need for housing and services, and then create a binding plan to ensure full access to supportive services and housing affordable for all community members so encampments are not a permanent feature of the community.<br /> • Repeal or stop enforcing counterproductive municipal ordinances and state laws that criminalize sleeping, camping, and storage of belongings.<br /> • Provide safe, accessible, and legal places to sleep and shelter, both day and night. Provide clear guidance on how to access these locations.<br /> • Create storage facilities for persons experiencing homelessness, ensuring they are accessible–close to other services and transportation, do not require ID, and open beyond business hours.
'''Principle 2:'''<br /> Delivery of services must respect the experience, human dignity, and human rights of those receiving them.
• Be guided by frequent and meaningful consultation with the people living in encampments. Homeless people are the experts of their own condition.<br /> • Respect autonomy and self-governance for encampment residents.<br /> • Offer services in a way that is sensitive and appropriate with regard to race, ethnicity, culture, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics. Use a trauma-informed approach.
'''Principle 3: '''<br /> Any move or removal of an encampment must follow clear procedures that protect residents. Create clear procedures for ending homelessness for people living in pre-existing encampments, including:
• Make a commitment that encampments will not be removed unless all residents are first consulted and provided access to adequate alternative housing or—in emergency situations—another adequate place to stay.<br /> • If there are pilot periods or required rotations of sanctioned encampments, ensure that residents have a clear legal place to go and assistance with the transition. Pilot periods or requiring rotation of legal encampments/parking areas on a periodic basis (e.g., annually or semi-annually) can help reduce local “not-in-my-back-yard” opposition, but shorter time periods hinder success.<br /> • Provide sufficient notice to residents and healthcare/ social service workers to be able to determine housing needs and meet them (recommended minimum 30 days, but longer if needed).<br /> • Assist with moving and storage to enable residents to retain their possessions as they transfer either to housing, shelter, or alternative encampments.
'''Principle 4:'''<br /> Where new temporary legalized encampments are used as part of a continuum of shelter and housing, ensure it is as close to possible to fully adequate housing.
• Establish clear end dates by which point adequate low-barrier housing or appropriate shelter will be available for all living in the legal encampments.<br /> • Protect public health by providing access to water, personal hygiene (including bathrooms with hand washing capability), sanitation, and cooking services or access to SNAPS hot meals benefits.<br /> • Provide easy access to convenient 24-hour transportation, particularly if services are not colocated.<br /> • Statutes and ordinances facilitating partnerships with local businesses, religious organizations, or non-profits to sponsor, support or host encampments or safe overnight parking lots for persons living in their vehicles can help engage new resources and improve the success of encampments.<br /> • Do not require other unsheltered people experiencing homelessness to reside in the encampments if the facilities do not meet their needs.
'''Principle 5: '''<br /> Adequate alternative housing must be a decent alternative.<br /> • Ensure that emergency shelters are low-barrier, temporary respites for a few nights while homeless individuals are matched with appropriate permanent housing; they are not long-term alternatives to affordable housing and not appropriate in the short term for everyone. Low-barrier shelter includes the “3 P’s”—pets, possessions, and partners, as well as accessible to persons with disabilities or substance abuse problems.
• Adequate housing must be:
*Safe, stable, and secure: a safe and private place to sleep and store belongings without fear of harassment or unplanned eviction;
*Habitable: with services (electricity, hygiene, sanitation), protection from the elements and environmental hazards, and not overcrowded;
*Affordable: housing costs should not force people to choose between paying rent and paying for other basic needs (food, health, etc.);
*Accessible: physically (appropriate for residents’ physical and mental disabilities, close to/ transport to services and other opportunities) and practically (no discriminatory barriers, no compelling participation in or subjection to religion).
'''Principle 6: '''<br /> Law enforcement should serve and protect all members of the community.
• Law and policies criminalizing homelessness, including those criminalizing public sleeping, camping, sheltering, storing belongings, sitting, lying, vehicle dwelling, and panhandling should be repealed or stop being enforced.<br /> • Law enforcement should serve and protect encampment residents at their request.<br /> • Law enforcement officers—including dispatchers, police, sheriffs, park rangers, and private business improvement district security—should receive crisis intervention training and ideally be paired with fully-trained multi-disciplinary social service teams when interacting with homeless populations.
Beyond these specific recommendations, in order to create the long-term housing solutions communities needed to permanently end encampments, we also encourage individuals and organizations to look at the model policies of the Housing Not Handcuffs Campaign: housingnothandcuffs.org."</blockquote>
===Solutions Not Sweeps coalition, San Francisco===
they make four key demands:
#End the illegal confiscation and destruction of unhoused neighbors’ personal property.
#Replace the complaint-driven and law enforcement-led response to homelessness with an evidence-based approach aimed at connecting people with their needs.
#End the use of cleaning as a pretext for harassment of unhoused people and establish productive, scheduled, regular, and well-publicized street and sidewalk cleaning where unhoused people reside.
#End the towing of vehicles that people are using as their homes.
===Services Not Sweeps (Los Angeles).===
[[File:Services-Not-Sweeps-LA.jpg|thumb|right|Services Not Sweeps, LA]]
'''"Our Demands"''' https://servicesnotsweeps.com/<nowiki/>: <blockquote>"The City of Los Angeles, in response to community organizing, demands from unhoused communities, County Public Health reports, and other input, has increased street cleaning and sanitation services in unhoused communities over the past three to five years. Unfortunately, however, the City has done so with an emphasis on criminalization, harassment, and removal of people and their belongings, instead of taking a health-based approach to ensuring safe and clean streets for all.
All endorsers acknowledge that housing is the ultimate solution to homelessness, and work to increase, preserve, and broaden access to housing on a daily basis. Endorsers also know, though, that housing for everyone is a decades-long goal that requires far more funding and massive policy change to undo this crisis that has been 40 years in the making. Therefore, the City and all of its Departments and residents, must change the approach to unhoused communities in our public spaces, and provide health-based solutions and resources that improve living conditions for all of us. To accomplish this goal, at a minimum:
'''We call on the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles to immediately:'''
1) Remove all Law Enforcement personnel from any of the City’s street cleaning teams and efforts
2) Ensure all street and sidewalk cleaning is scheduled, regular, and well publicized
*Eliminate the complaint-driven model in all forms. All street and sidewalk cleaning must occur as publicly scheduled.
*Cleaning will be scheduled on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly timeframe, with a 2 to 4 hour window of time, similar to other City street cleaning services.
*Continue to post notices at and near each site prior to cleaning services, either 48 or 72 hours in advance.
*Schedule will be publicly available through the City’s website, and via other modes of communication to ensure the information is readily available to homeless individuals, service providers, and others.
*Posted notices will include a map of the area to be cleaned and identify a voluntary secure space for people to leave their belongings during the cleanup if they choose to do so and/or have to leave the site during the cleaning. However, property/belongings can also be in any other space, as long as it does not impede cleaning. Attended or unattended personal property may be temporarily moved in order to complete cleaning, but will not be removed to offsite storage or confiscated under any circumstances.
3) Ensure appropriate resources are in place in advance of and during all scheduled cleaning
*Dumpsters/trash bins, individual trash bags, sharps disposal containers, and other health resources will be provided at the site of scheduled cleaning, at least 24 hours before the cleanup begins, so individuals can sort and throw trash away.
* Outreach workers will be present on site the day before the clean-up and also thirty minutes before the cleanup begins to provide additional notice of cleanings. Outreach workers or other community members will be allowed at the clean up sites to help identify and assist individuals who need accommodations to move their belongings.
* City officials will ensure that the provision of appropriate resources extends to any informal shelter needs in extreme weather such as rain or heat, and will provide accommodations during street cleaning that occurs in extreme weather conditions.
*Until such time restrooms are readily available in all communities, ensure that unhoused residents can utilize the City workers’ porta-potty currently on site during street cleaning.
4) Ensure an accountability system for City street and sidewalk cleaning procedures, including a complaint/grievance process and a response to any violations documented within three days.
All of the changes outlined can and must be implemented immediately, as they require no additional funding, no legislative changes, and are within the direct oversight of the Mayor of Los Angeles. Additionally, funding and policy change are required to fully ensure a health-based approach to street cleaning and sanitation services in homeless communities. At a minimum, these are outlined below.<br />
'''We call on the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles to include in the 2019 budget (including any existing or planned HEAP funds):'''
1) Plans and funding to increase trash services
*Ensure that areas with significant homeless communities receive daily trash service.
*Ensure that the recent increase in trash cans and collection in Skid Row be maintained or expanded.
2) Improve public health infrastructure beyond street cleaning efforts
*For larger encampments, shower trailer, mobile bathrooms, needle exchange, Narcan training and distribution, and other public health and harm reduction resources and services must also be provided during street cleaning
*Increase mobile showers and bathrooms citywide in areas of highest need
*Remove and/enforce against hostile architecture, particularly the illegal sidewalk planters.
<br /> '''We call on the Los Angeles City Council to:'''
1)''Rescind ordinances'' that have solely been used to criminalize homelessness during street cleaning efforts and at other times, including 41.18 d and 56.11.
2) ''Support the budget proposals above'', at a minimum, to address public health and end harassment and criminalization.
3) ''Implement the Guiding Principles and Practices'' for Local Responses to Unsheltered Homelessness across all areas and departments of the City, particularly Sanitation.
This document is solely focused on a public health and harm reduction approach to street and sidewalk cleaning. All endorsers agree on these recommendations. However, this document does not include the multiple changes urgently needed in Los Angeles Police Department policy that criminalize homelessness, poverty and communities of color far more broadly than in the street/sidewalk cleaning efforts, or other recommendations to improve health and respect all human and civil rights."</blockquote>
===Leilani Farha & Haseena Manek (2020)===
Manek, Haseena, and Leilani Farha. "The case for a human rights response to homeless encampments." ["Residents of informal settlements are not recipients of charity nor are they trespassers, criminals or deviants – they are rights-holders and experts in their own lives"]. Now Toronto, Feb 11, 2020. https://nowtoronto.com/news/homeless-encampments-toronto-canada/.
<blockquote>''"What’s mystifying is the response to encampments by all levels of government.'' ''"Instead of trying to address the situations through robust human rights-based strategies, they respond by committing yet another human rights violation: forcibly evicting people from their homes. For those experiencing homelessness, it’s double jeopardy. ''<br /> <br /> ''"Governments need to recognize that tent encampments are of their own making. It’s time to develop a national protocol on tent encampments based on human rights.''<br /> <br /> ''"What does that mean? Here are the fundamentals:''<br /> <br /> ''"A ban on forced evictions: 'Forced eviction, the permanent or temporary removal of a person from their lands or home – whether an apartment, a house, a tent or a car – constitutes a gross violation of international human rights law, particularly when shelters are at capacity. Laws permitting forced evictions should be repealed. And all viable alternatives to eviction must be explored in consultation with residents. ''<br /> <br /> ''"Meaningful engagement '' ''"Residents of informal settlements are not recipients of charity nor are they trespassers, criminals or deviants. They are rights-holders, and they are experts in their own lives. Any policies, programs or decisions that affect them should include their active and meaningful participation. Residents should be provided with the necessary resources and support to engage in discussions with government officials regarding their living conditions and arrangements.''<br /> <br /> ''"Access to basic services'' ''"Conditions in encampments are often deplorable. Governments fail to provide basic services required for human dignity such as toilets, showers, garbage collection and electricity. Denial of these services not only infringes the right to adequate housing but also serves to entrench public stereotypes about those living in poverty and homelessness. The provision of these services should be mandatory.''<br /> <br /> ''"Housing over evictions '' ''"Where there is no viable alternative and eviction is required, it must be carried out in a manner consistent with international human rights law, which includes relocating residents to adequate, long-term housing with supports in the approximate location to the encampment or to another agreed-upon location. '' ''"A human rights foundation." [...].''
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===SF Coalition on Housing: Policy Paper - Safe and Dignified Sleep Spaces (April 2020)===
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