‘What’s our solution, then?’
♦ The debate on homeless ordinances points to a need for a long-term plan.
Ordinances presented to the Rome City Commission banning “urban camping” and panhandling have sparked a community conversation about homelessness.
Initial plans were to enact the new laws later this month, but City Manager Sammy Rich said the board wants to get more input first. Floyd County commissioners indicated during a caucus discussion that they want to be involved.
“I think it’s something we need to start taking a look at,” County Commission Chair Scotty Hancock said, following news of Rome’s plans.
The two ordinances, which have been adopted recently in a number of Northwest Georgia communities, were vetted by the city’s public safety committee.
Rome Police Chief Denise DownerMcKinney said officers need a clearer directive on how to deal with people living on the streets.
“We’re not trying to criminalize our homeless,” Downer-McKinney told city commissioners. “We feed them. We clothe them. My church is out there, our officers give them coats.”
But there are frequent complaints about beggars outside shops and at stoplights and the piles of personal belongings, garbage and human waste left in public spaces.
“Public works crews have to go clean that up when they could be doing something else,” she said.
The larger issue, however, is that those people have nowhere else to go.
Devon Smyth, executive director for The Davies Shelters, noted that a January count turned up over 200 “unsheltered” homeless people in Floyd County — meaning they don’t even have a friend’s couch or car to sleep in.
The problem has been growing since Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital was shuttered by the state eight years ago.
“We appreciate the police, but we need to be mindful,” Smyth said. “A huge population of the mentally ill were let out in 2011. Many are abusing substances to self-medicate and complications arise.”
City Commissioner Jamie Doss said he spoke with Capt. Jason Smith of The Salvation Army, who voiced concerns about targeting certain areas.
“He said there are three big camp sites and if we do close them, we need an alternate place for these people to go,” Doss said.
Merlene and Leon Justice, whose Reach Ministries works to serve and redeem homeless addicts, have also said criminalizing their survival behavior won’t solve the problem.
Issuing citations to mentally ill homeless people in the city will only push the problem into the unincorporated area, Commissioner Wendy Davis noted. And, at some point, they’ll just end up in jail, Commissioner Sundai Stevenson agreed.
“These people are part of our community,” Doss reminded the group.
Still, Mayor Bill Collins said there’s no doubt there’s a public safety issue that must be addressed.
“What’s our solution, then? This needs to be cleaned up,” he said.
Commissioner Craig McDaniel spoke of people sleeping in the West Rome post office, making customers afraid to go in. Commissioner Randy Quick said people camping out at the city bus stops frighten senior citizens who need to ride.
And Commissioner Milton Slack brought up the parking decks, saying one reason they’re not used is because of people sleeping — and defecating — in the stairwells and elevators.
“My heart goes out to them, but sometimes you’ve got to think with your head,” Slack said.
Downer-McKinney also said a bicycle officer is specifically assigned to patrol the city’s trail system because of the homeless camps. Police know many of the people who live on the land, the chief noted, and are becoming frustrated with a situation that appears to be permanent.
Stevenson also pointed out the stasis, saying her group leaves care packages out for the people who live in the woods off Tamassee Lane, partly to keep them from coming into the neighborhoods. She’s aware they have nowhere else to go.
“We have to do something for the homeless, but we also have to do something for the people who are afraid,” Downer-McKinney said.
A homeless task force was formed in the mid-2000s, but the Great Recession put activities on hold just as it was ramping up.
Smyth said the lack of action meant the Georgia Department of Community Affairs just estimated the number of people who needed assistance each year. The estimate for Rome and Floyd County was set at 37 unsheltered residents, she said, and that’s affecting the grant money allocated to address the issue.
Hancock said it’s clear the community must map out an effective plan to deal with the problem for the long term.
“That number shocked me. We all know there’s more than 37 homeless people in Rome,” Hancock said.
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We have to do something for the homeless, but we also have to do something for the people who are afraid.”
RPD Chief Denise Downer-McKinney