We are five young adults who reside in each of Lebanon’s three wards. We have taken an interest in the ordinance designed to address overnight camping on city lands since learning of it this past summer. Much has been said in the past months about the potential negative impacts of this ordinance. We would like to think ahead to a possible solution.
Homelessness is an issue that affects people from all walks of life, but it affects people with mental health issues and veterans at higher rates. Most importantly, homelessness affects people within our community. We appreciate the efforts by the city so far to address the issue of homelessness, and desire further cooperation in the community around this issue. However, we feel there are still considerable problems with the proposed homeless ordinance, which will be discussed by the City Council on Wednesday.
The ordinance states that its purpose is to “promote safety and welfare, and ensure proper and decent conduct for the residents of the City of Lebanon.” However, the ordinance will disproportionately affect the most destitute members of our community. The revised ordinance does not recognize the effects of this ordinance on our homeless neighbors, nor does it address the causes of people living on public lands in the Upper Valley.
Furthermore, social services and affordable housing in the Upper Valley are inadequate to accommodate all of those in need. The demand for social services and affordable housing have not been met by Upper Valley municipalities as a whole. The ordinance also places an emphasis on recreational campers on public property without a permit. Our opinion is that the only purpose fulfilled by the ordinance, as it is currently written, would be to remove people from our community simply for not being able to afford an apartment. This is unacceptable to us as compassionate residents of Lebanon.
The most significant issue we have with this ordinance is that regardless of legal statutes, we believe people have a human right to live on public lands if they have nowhere else to go. Where else will these people go? Most likely to another nearby community in the Upper Valley or the Grafton County jail, if they are unable to pay fines. This solution to the problem of homelessness would push the burden on to our neighbors in the Upper Valley and would likely cause additional suffering to Lebanon’s homeless residents. We think that an ordinance should not directly impact the ability of impoverished and/or mentally handicapped people to live within our community.
The issue of recreational camping without a permit could be easily addressed by maintaining the requirement of a permit to stay overnight on conservation lands. We believe the ordinance should be revised to state that camping or living on non-conservation public property will result in an infraction only if the activity is causing an additional public nuisance. These public nuisances could include, but are not limited to littering, disruption of public services, damage to public property and disorderly conduct. This codified leeway will ensure that it will be possible for homeless people to live within the law in our community until they are able to improve their situation.
Relying on a police enforcement policy that is not written at the time of passing this ordinance is not adequate. While the current Lebanon Police Department practice is reasonable and compassionate, policies may change with future administrations. The language of exceptions to the ordinance should be publicly available at the time the ordinance is passed. We feel that the codified language regarding exceptions to the ordinance should ultimately be the responsibility of elected city councilors.
Lastly, more resources need to be put forth by the city of Lebanon and other Upper Valley communities to address our systemic issue of homelessness. Since Lebanon is faced with the issue to a greater extent than other municipalities, it would make sense for the city to take a leadership role. Realistically, we need cooperation among several local governments and nonprofit organizations to make a significant impact in stopping problems associated with homelessness.
The big question is, where do we start? A “Coalition to End Homelessness” led by directors of local nonprofit organizations, with participation from local governments and community members would address the city’s concerns in a way that does not cause undue harm to residents or require exorbitant resources from the city. However, several questions could be answered without a large coalition that would help move things along: How many affordable housing units are needed in the Upper Valley? Where could affordable housing units be built? Do we need a larger focus on substance abuse rehabilitation services? How much funding do we need to provide to nonprofit organizations so social services match the demand? Can we meet this level of funding with a charitable giving drive?
We believe the city should further investigate these questions and the scope of a solution to the problem of homelessness. If we understand the issue, it will be easier to persuade others to join our efforts.
The efforts of the previous task force were admirable, but their scope was justifiably limited. We urge the City Council to authorize either a new task force or the city manager’s office to investigate what would be needed to end homelessness in Lebanon, without displacing homeless residents further. The investigative body should hold a public discussion of its findings, separate from a city council meeting. Such a meeting would also be a great place to start a “Coalition to End Homelessness.” Now is the time to continue this work to better our community for all of our residents.
Nicholas Warren, Devin Wilkie, Sarah Hickey, Jessica Mast and Tiger Stanley are members of the Upper Valley Young Liberals; the opinions in this column represent their own views.