CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — During the Chillicothe City Council meeting that took place Monday night, the community gathered together to speak against amending the sixth item on the agenda: the Criminal Trespass of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Chillicothe.
What is the ordinance?
The Criminal Trespass of the Codified Ordinances would essentially prevent anyone from using public grounds to sleep. In other words, it would keep the homeless living in Chillicothe from utilizing some of the spaces they have for shelter and criminalize them by sentencing them to jail for up to 30 days unless the police were able to determine that the person truly had no other resources.
The outrage of the community.
The Mayor of Chillicothe took the opportunity before opening the floor up to the public to express his condemnation for illegalizing homelessness, to which he officially opposed the item. More specifically, how it was written, he said.
“For me, in my heart, that just feels wrong,” stated Mayor Luke Feeney. “I believe we are all working for a better community, and that’s why I believe a different process could lead to language that is beneficial.”
Many took to the podium during the meeting to share their experiences with homelessness in the city. The first to speak, Jim Bennett, spoke his mind about the ordinance from the perspective of someone who was previously homeless. Bennett spoke with much passion and started a trend of citizens coming forth to defend the less fortunate in Chillicothe.
“I am suggesting to the city to undertake a study of homelessness and ask for those who are in-between homes to be asked for their input, and how we can help them,” stated Bennett. “The quality of a good elected official is what they are willing to do for those who are underprivileged and may not be able to do anything for them and cannot vote.”
Following him was Dr. Stacy Saunders-Adams, who spoke vehemently about the issue of homelessness, and saw the legislation as “dehumanizing” for the homeless in the city. As one of the directors of the Ross County Recovering Outreach Center, she was able to share her insight on the problem. She used the example of an individual she met during her time at the Outreach Center, who she called “Joe” to protect his identity.
She explained that during Joe’s childhood, he was severely abused by his parents, even having been set on fire. As a result, he has attended psychiatric care for his bi-polar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, and currently struggles with substance abuse disorder. He is currently homeless and is banned from the homeless shelter because of the symptoms of his mental health disorders.
“Our city, our community, is under resourced to respond to the unique needs of this population. We have inadequate space in homeless shelters for the quantity of those who are unhoused. The staff and volunteers who work at the shelters lack the education, training, and/or skill to manage the highly complex needs of this population.”
One woman, Janet Griffith, spoke from the perspective of a blind person who has first-hand experienced the homeless of the area. From her point of view, she felt as if her needs as a blind woman were being overlooked by the needs of the homeless due to the fact that many of them sleep on the sidewalks that she uses daily. Griffith made a point that if she did not have her walking stick, she would have recently fallen over two homeless people who were sleeping in front of Petsmart.
“They don’t have to experience what we’re experiencing,” stated Griffith, when discussing how she thinks the homeless do not understand the hardships of blind people.
The voices of the homeless.
Numerous homeless were in attendance and spoke. They used their time to speak from the point of view of people who experience it daily, and how this ordinance would add harm to their already existing struggles.
The first homeless person to speak was Nathan Moore, a man who currently sleeps on the streets. He began his speech by expressing his disdain for the way that many of the old schools have been torn down, when they could have been used to house the homeless of the city. Moore then accused the county jails of pushing for this solely to acquire more funding at the expense of the impoverished. The man then suggested that Ross County, at least, supply the homeless with trash bags or methods of disposing waste to address the concern that many have about the presentation of the area.
Immediately after Moore was a homeless author named Steven Roof. Roof told the council that he has been without a home for 19 years and has walked across the United States 16 times. In his travels, he was able to experience both homelessness firsthand and how others deal with the issue when their own communities turn against them.
“I’ve been in communities like Georgia and Florida where they’ve made it illegal to be homeless, I’ve watched families crying with their children hitchhiking,” Roof began. “They didn’t know how to get food; I did. I’ve been at it for so long that that’s what my book is about.”
The author took the time to explain that he wrote his book, Diary of a Drifter, to help the homeless who are struggling without answers, as well as to teach the community how they can resolve the problem of homelessness in their communities. He stated that it delves into the reality of trauma while living that kind of lifestyle, and what it can bring to someone who is constantly burdened with the affects.
“The problem is right here in this town, you have a guy that’s been homeless since he was 13, and he is in his seventies now,” said the homeless author with disappointment. “You guys are talking about fixing the problem. Why do all the years just keep passing, and you just keep talking about fixing it?”
The results.
After nearly an hour of hearing from the community, most of whom spoke against the decision in front of the city council, the motion was made to commit the ordinance for further study, meaning that it will be reconsidered and revisited at a later time.
