People experiencing homelessness were forced to move from an encampment off of U.S. 70 near Garner. (Photo: Greg Childress/NCNewsline)
Two statewide coalitions opposed to House Bill 437 have teamed up to urge homeless service providers, local elected officials and others to share their concerns about the bill with state lawmakers. H437 would ban homeless encampments outside of official city-maintained sites and establish that facilities that provide services for people experiencing homelessness are drug-free zones.
The N.C. Coalition to End Homelessness and the N.C. Housing Coalition issued a joint statement Wednesday contending that H437 would create financial, operational and legal hardships for communities that already struggle to meet housing and service needs for people experiencing homelessness.
Stephanie Watkins-Cruz (Photo: NC Housing Coalition)“Communities need practical solutions that address homelessness through housing, treatment and support services, not mandates that shift costs and liabilities onto local taxpayers and organizations,” Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, director of housing policy for the N.C. Housing Coalition said in the statement.
The two groups called on lawmakers to talk to local government leaders, service providers, faith leaders, law enforcement agencies and others before advancing the legislation.
As NC Newsline previously reported, Senate lawmakers revived the bill last week. The Senate Judiciary Committee adopted an amendment that’s a version of a controversial bill from last year, which passed the House but stalled in the Senate. This year, it could go to the governor’s desk.
H437 would require municipalities to approve a location for homeless camps on municipal property for less than a year at a time, and only when indoor shelters don’t have enough space. Local governments would have to provide restroom facilities, water and public safety personnel.
North Carolina’s bill doesn’t criminalize people for being homeless. But it does open up local governments for civil liability if they don’t evict homeless people sleeping anywhere but in shelters or approved campsites, which essentially forces local governments to not allow homeless people to sleep anywhere else.
The measure does not appropriate funding for cities to set up the required locations.
Sen. Brad Overcash (R-Gaston) (Photo: ncleg.gov)“It allows for the humane treatment of these homeless persons among us,” Sen.Brad Overcash (R-Gaston) said during a committee meeting last week.
“Unauthorized camping” bans have been controversial in North Carolina and other states. Supporters of the bans say they reclaim public spaces taken over by people experiencing homelessness and provide incentives for them to seek shelter, while opponents argue that such laws criminalize homelessness and waste taxpayers’ money.
“If there’s nowhere safely for people to be, arresting them essentially for a crime of poverty or a crime of crisis only puts further barriers in the way of that person returning to housing, returning to gainful employment, all the things that make it harder for that person to be stable and successful again,” said Liz Carbone with the N.C. Coalition to End Homelessness.
Liz Carbone (Photo: N.C. Coalition to End Homelessness)Carbone noted that 26 of the 79 counties served by the North Carolina Balance of State Continuum of Care agreement currently do not have a qualifying emergency shelter under H437. The continuum of care coordinates planning and funding for homeless services across 79 rural and suburban counties.
H437 would increase pressures on all of those counties, Carbone said.
“For many rural North Carolina counties, compliance would require the creation of entirely new facilities requiring staff time, significant financial resources, and increased law enforcement capacity,” Carbone said. “At the same time, metropolitan areas are already working to meet overwhelming local demand while serving individuals and families who travel from surrounding rural communities in search of shelter and services.”
Carbone said the two coalitions would welcome the chance to work with lawmakers to develop viable solutions to the state’s homelessness crisis.
“Anytime that lawmakers want to convene folks around solutions related to homelessness generally, but specifically, unsheltered homelessness, we’re first in line to want to have that conversation,” Carbone said. “It’s not that we don’t appreciate that there are lawmakers who want to do more, but the parameters laid out within this bill are what I would call the opposite of helpful and the opposite of solutions-oriented.”
NC Senate panel resurrects ‘unauthorized camping’ homeless ban
The advocates warned against trusting recent statements by lawmakers that federal continuum-of-care funding to support homeless populations could be used to pay for implementation of H437. The money is distributed through a competitive grant process, homeless advocates said, with no guarantee communities will receive funding.
Once grants are awarded, communities are unlikely to see the federal funding until late 2027, the advocates said.
“There is no immediate or guaranteed federal funding source available to support the obligations outlined in H437,” said Carbone. “Local governments would be expected to implement these requirements long before any potential federal funds could become available.
Drug- free zones
Under H437, operators of homeless facilities could be charged with a felony if they “intentionally” allow a person to commit a drug offense in a drug-free homeless service zone. And anyone who commits a drug offense in such a zone could be charged with a felony.
“Our homeless population is under regular threat of crime from those seeking to sell them controlled substances, and this bill would reduce the opportunity for these criminals to victimize our homeless,” Rep. Heather Rhyne (R-Lincoln) told a Senate committee last week.
Traditional homeless shelters would have to post signs alerting clients and visitors that the facility is a drug-free zone.
The Senate Rules committee gave H437 a favorable report on Thursday. It could be on the Senate floor next week.
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