City Fumbles Sit-Lie Forum

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

 

Photo Courtesy Statesman Journal, May 2015

UGM's Dan Clem and City Panel (Nicole Utz, Skip Miller, Dan Atchison)

Thirty-four minutes.  That's how much time the City gave to Sit-Lie, Jr. at the first forum called for that purpose (per the press release, it was supposed to be a half hour of info, one hour for public questions and comments).

Deputy Chief Skip Miller began by telling the audience of 50+ people that the proposed ordinance will "put some limitations on when and where people could sit and lie and relax", but then shifted immediately into a defensive posture.

The ordinance "took years to come to fruition", Miller said.  Homelessness is a national problem, the City gets a lot of calls, people are frustrated and angry, the City's worked very hard, SPD is very compassionate.

The Statesman Journal quoted Miller as saying, "'This ordinance is not about criminalizing homelessness,'...It's 'to set limits on these behaviors and give police the lawful reason to make contact with people and provide them information on social services.'"  See Barreda, V. "UGM hosts public forum to discuss sit-lie ordinance."  (September 4, 2019, Statesman Journal.)

Police have not previously needed a "lawful reason to make contact with people", and have for many years been able to issue exclusion orders for a variety of disruptive behaviors, e.g.,  disorderly conduct (SRC 95.120), urinating and defecating in public (SRC 95.125), trespass (SRC 95.550), drinking in public (SRC 90.020), public indecency (SRC 96.220), noise disturbance (SRC 93.010), and pedestrian interference (SRC 95.700).  See Hessell, K. "Salem ordinances conflict with homeless living." (May 9, 2015, Statesman Journal.)  The question facing the community today is whether sitting and lying on the sidewalks during the day should be added to the list.

Miller explained the need for the ordinance this way:

We don't have anything that really deals with effectively in our downtown or crime prevention areas, so, right now, there [are] a lot of things that people do that really frustrate our community that makes homeless people feel unsafe for various reasons, but we do not have ability to do much for it, and I think we are pretty successful...about ways to gain willful compliance and offer help.  What this ordinance would do is give us an additional tool.  

When Miller says that the ordinance "is not about criminalizing homelessness", he means it does not literally make having nowhere to live illegal.  He is, of course, correct that the ordinance, on its face, does not make "homelessness" a crime.

Miller appears to be unfamiliar with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidance citing a report by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, “No Safe Place: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities”, finding that there had been a significant increase in city-wide bans on camping, loitering, and begging in public areas, which HUD characterized as “effectively criminalizing people’s need to survive” (emphasis in original) and “exacerbat[ing] existing problems."  The report cites specifically to laws prohibiting lying down or sitting in particular public places as an example of laws criminalizing homelessness.

"People can sleep in the parks in the daytime, sit in the benches, and in the grass", Miller told the audience.  He also said they can also go to "UGM, ARCHES Project, Salvation Army, and other social service agencies."  But can they?  The proposed ordinance would be effective year round, from 7a to 9p.  Parks are open dawn to dusk, which in winter comes well before 9p.  Parks offer less protection in winter from the elements than the streets downtown. 

Social service agency locations also have limiting factors.  The ARCHES Project day shelter is open 8:30a to 3p, M-F.  UGM's day room is open to men 6-8am and 9:15am to 8pm.  HOAP day shelter is open 9a to 2p M-F, (women only 9a to 11 Mon/Thurs).  Lighthouse Shelter and Simonka Place are not normally open during the day (may open for inclement weather events).  Thus, men may hang out at UGM during the day, except between 8a and 9:15, unless for some reason they've been trespassed, and can also go to ARCHES and HOAP until mid-afternoon.  Women, have fewer choices.  At 7a, there's UGM for breakfast.  Mondays through Fridays, women can go to ARCHES at 8:30, or to HOAP at 9a, but both close mid-afternoon.  So, on weekends, holidays and non-holiday weekdays after 3p, women are on their own, except for the evening meal at UGM.  There are no "other social service agencies" offering day shelter.

5:35p forum audience, which grew to >50 by 6p

With about 15 minutes left, only seven members of the audience got the mic.  Bob Davis (Habitat & Hope Village) challenged Miller's use of the word "compassion."  Barbara Bikman told Miller the likely reason the ordinance "took years" was because it has "major constitutional issues."  She said it's safer downtown, and that exclusion orders are "radical and creepy."  Lorrie Walker (Homeless Coalition) said her group was collecting signatures of those who are "totally opposed" to the ordinance, that the problem is much larger than the City can handle alone, and that targeting people who are less fortunate is not the answer.  A woman with long dark hair who didn't identify herself said as far as officers showing compassion, she hadn't seen a lot of that.  "They just say leave", she said.  "They don't listen to what we have to say, or to our problems."  She and her husband had lived in Salem for about 25 years.

Rian commenting at the UGM forum

Kelly Teves said she didn't plan on becoming homeless at almost 50.  Salem Reporter quoted her as saying, “Pushing people out of downtown because they lie down to sleep, because they feel safe there in the daytime, is just pushing them to another spot where the police or parks people will ask them to leave because they’re homeless.”  See Brynelson, T. "First forum for Salem's 'sit-lie' ordinance leaves residents, officials wanting more discussion."  (September 5, 2019, Salem Reporter.)  A slightly built man who didn't identify himself said he didn't choose to be homeless, was hit by a car, and was an electrician with 20 years experience.  He said to look at what Finland had done (drastically reduced homelessness through a Housing First approach).  Finally, a young man named Rian wanted to talk about housing programs that exclude people with criminal records and police harassment, and observed that in winter, parks close as early as 4p.  He was cut off, before he finished speaking, and the forum was shut down.

Also in the audience:  Cindy Davis (Habitat & Hope Village), Stephen Goins (NWHS), Raleigh Kirschman (UGM), Bruce Donahoe (UGM), Treven Upkes (SPD), Lorrie Walker (Salem Homeless Coalition), Ashley Hamilton (MWVCAA), Ken Houghton (MWVCAA), Tom Andersen (City Council, Ward 2), Jim Lewis (City Council, Ward 8), Chuck Bennett (Mayor), Hazel Patton (Salem Main Street Association), Russ and Delana Beaton (Hood House), Pamella Watson (First Congregational UCC), Sam Skillern (Salem Leadership Foundation), Larry Nassett, Kathleen Thorpe, Angelina Lockhart, several representatives from Be Bold Ministries, Troy Brynelson (Salem Reporter) and Jonathan Bach (Statesman Journal), among many others we did not recognize.  The City did not provide a sign up sheet.  The next forum is scheduled for noon, Friday, September 13, at Loucks Auditorium.