Recriminations are flying, in Patch columns and comments and in civic meetings, over the City Council's decision to resume enforcing its longstanding anti-camping ordinances in the Albany Waterfront Park (aka ‘the Bulb’). Verbal clashes erupt between advocates for safe and healthy parks, and advocates for the encampments. Is there a path to reconciliation on this highly charged issue ?
Here is the background: The City Council acted unanimously (and compassionately, in my view) to restore the Albany Waterfront Park to public use, giving the camping population until October to find more suitable housing. There was a humane basis for the timeline – to assure the campers move before the usual start of the rainy season in November – and the City is devoting $32,000 to fund special social services to help them find housing and other needed help.
Homeless advocates say they were surprised by the Council’s action, despite the fact that enforcement of the anti-camping ordinance was included on a list options presented to the Council by the Homeless Task Force. More fundamentally, they support the right of campers to live in the park – indeed, in any park or public place - until homelessness itself has been brought to an end, or at least until enough subsidized housing has been made available in Albany to shelter everyone present here.
Unfortunately, sheltering the Bulb population in Albany, as demanded, is a practical impossibility. The City has been advised that it lacks the legal power to treat people living in its parks differently from newcomers who wish to do the same; if the ordinance is suspended for one person, it must be suspended for all. So any homeless person in the area – or in California, or the entire U.S., for that matter – could come to Albany, lay down a sleeping bag, and then demand subsidized housing within Albany’s borders. Indeed, this is precisely what has been happening, as the encampment population has grown dramatically in recent years with the suspension of the ordinance. Obviously, this is not reasonable or sustainable, and it is not something that any city could accept.
We need realistic solutions. Finding suitable housing for the Bulb campers won’t be an easy process. Some are mentally ill and/or addicted to drugs or alcohol. Many have dogs or cats. Some unknown percentage has no interest in moving 'indoors'. Those who do seek housing will surely need assistance – both services and resources – to make the transition.
It is this need for support on the part of campers who would prefer to live in housing that could become a point of agreement for everyone involved. The City’s assistance will be substantial, but more will be needed. We can unite around offering help to those who seek housing over the coming summer. Faith groups, service clubs, animal groups, and anyone else with an interest in this community should examine how to contribute to the City effort, and help change the focus from infighting to finding solutions for people in need.
And what about the campers who do not wish to move indoors ? They will have the summer to consider their alternatives, plan the next stage of their lives, obtain assistance if desired, and perhaps even change their minds in light of wholehearted and generous community support for improving their life circumstances. Let’s come together as a community and see if we can make this happen.
