![]() ![]() ![]() Many who live in the Zone have jobs or get government assistance – but say they still can’t afford rent. The Phoenix area has roughly half as many shelter beds as people experiencing homelessness, a population that’s grown 46% since 2019 amid the affordable housing crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, according to annual counts coordinated by the Maricopa Association of Governments. “I hope that it’s not a template for how other communities want to address this issue because we know that the only way to actually address this issue and homelessness is affordable housing and the services that people want and need in order to get housing.” “Of course we’re worried that this is going to be picked up as a tactic by other communities,” she said. ![]() “We hope other businesses, property owners and homeowners take up this fight in other jurisdictions where there are massive homeless encampments.”īut using such a lawsuit to clear an encampment like the Zone is an oversimplified tactic that not only doesn’t end unsheltered homelessness – but also increases “invisible homelessness,” National Alliance to End Homelessness CEO Ann Oliva said. “We basically showed a proof of concept to use the courts to force cities’ hands to actually do something about the humanitarian aspect of this crisis,” Wurman said. The legal strategy may offer a template to anyone who lives or works near large homeless encampments, said Ilan Wurman, a lawyer for the Phoenix plaintiffs and an associate law professor at Arizona State University. Pitching a tent on public land is now a felony in Tennessee Katie Hobbs this year vetoed one such bill, saying it only served to make homelessness “less visible.” While more states are passing controversial laws to ban public camping, Arizona’s Democratic Gov. “There’s just a complete lawlessness, and it’s getting worse,” Debbie Faillace said. They frequently discover property damage, drug paraphernalia and feces when they get to work, they said. ![]() “We have to come up with a plan.”ĭebbie and Joe Faillace have owned Old Station Sub Shop, next to where the camp cropped up, for more than 30 years. “We have to move fast,” team leader Nette Reed said. So for now, the crew of helpers has stepped up its years-old effort to try to get residents off the streets. But the prospect worries advocates for the unhoused, who say it simply pushes a critical problem out of public view, especially as soaring home prices and expensive borrowing have pushed households to the brink.Īs Phoenix officials prepare to start moving tents out of the Zone this week, they’re also scrambling to create safe options for the displaced: leasing more hotel rooms and vacant buildings to convert into shelters, and building an outdoor campground with security, restrooms and hand-washing stations, the city’s Office of Homeless Solutions director told CNN. Their lawsuit could be a model for those looking to force other US cities to clear similar encampments, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters/FILEĪ hard look at New York's controversial new approach to the homeless A person seats between tents belonging to homeless people who were removed from an encampment on East 9th Street earlier this week and have relocated a block adjacent to Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., April 8, 2022. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |