Fresno attorney says city’s new homeless plan ‘declares war on many of our citizens’
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A crowd turned out in response to Fresno’s new plan to deal with the city’s homeless population on Monday, which if approved could make sitting, lying, or camping on public property illegal.
The proposal would see violators potentially face a $1,000 fine and, if they still do not comply, up to a year in jail. It was introduced on Friday in a move fuelled by the executive order signed on Thursday by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Homeless now ‘accountable’ in Fresno as city unveils new ordinance
Newsom’s executive order called for the removal of encampments on state land and applied pressure on local governments to repeat similar action. The City of Fresno’s action follows a similar ordinance announced by Fresno County on Thursday.
The special meeting of Fresno City Council saw many of Fresno’s unhoused, and advocates for the unhoused, speak up. Among those who disapproved of the ordinance was Fresno-based attorney Kevin Little.
In response to Councilmember Gary Bredefeld calling the ordinance a form of accountability, Little said that it “assumes a very wrongheaded notion about our homeless population.”
“In Fresno, which has one of the lowest per capita incomes, a large number of our citizens are a missed paycheck are two away from being homeless,” said Little. “In essence, this ordinance declares war on many of our citizens.”
Little says that he knows many individuals who could potentially be affected by the ordinance. Little says unless Fresno City Council reconsiders their course of action, they stand to criminalize everyday citizens for their circumstances.
“There’s Joseph who worked his whole career, and then his pension got pilfered during the 2008 financial crisis,” Little said.
According to Little, Joseph retired with nothing but ruined credit, the loss of his home, and nowhere to go.
“A trained mechanic who worked his whole life and at 63 years old, for the first time in his life, he finds himself homeless,” Little said.
“So now this individual is also going to find himself to be a criminal unless he can figure out somewhere to go.”
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Little says there are many examples of people like Joseph, and that the ordinance will not help solve their problems.
“Mabel, who escaped a situation of domestic violence, fled with her children onto the streets, chose not to stay in shelters because she did not want to put her children at risk,” Little said.
“She now under this ordinance, she would be a criminal. This simply is not the way to proceed and solve this problem.”
If the “Prohibition of Encampments in Public Places” ordinance is passed, it will go into effect on September 15.
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