BROCKTON, Mass. — Fines could soon be issued for homeless people living in encampments or loitering in the city of Brockton after two ordinances passed City Hall Tuesday night.
The ordinances targeting public camping and loitering passed in a 7-4 and 9-2 vote, respectively, and will now head to the mayor’s office for him to sign off on or reject.
The first ordinance would set a $200 fine for camping on public property and allow the removal of the tent or campsite. The second would set a $50 fine for public loitering.
City Councilor Jeffrey Thompson, sponsor of the ordinances, said the purpose is public safety and not to criminalize homelessness or target a marginalized group.
“We cannot have encampments on our sidewalks, under our bridges, in the areas that our children walk to go to school,” Thompson said. “Unfortunately, sometimes the people who occupy these encampments are intoxicated, they have mental illness. So, they present threats to our citizens. Some of our citizens have been accosted, they have been verbally abused.”
City Councilor Phil Griffin also voted in favor of the measures, adding that he wants the state and federal government to step in and provide more money and resources to help the city tackle its homelessness problem.
“We have residents living downtown who pay taxes, market-rate properties, business owners whose quality of life is really being adversely affected by the people openly defecating on the street, using drugs openly on our streets, parents walking their children to school in the morning by all this,” Griffin said.
But opponents, including City Councilor Jean-Bradley Derenoncourt, called the ordinances “immoral.”
“It is unjust, it is unacceptable, it is cruel and it is morally wrong,” Derenoncourt told Boston 25 News before voting against the measure. “You cannot kick someone on the teeth when they’ve already been down.”
City Councilor Susan Nicastro also voted against the encampment ordinance, telling Boston 25 News the local shelter is at or near capacity, with even more need expected this winter. She said she could not vote in favor of charging a fine that someone would not be able to pay.
“They need help and support; they don’t need to go to jail. This feels really wrong to me,” Nicastro said, acknowledging the homelessness problem in the city. “We’re in a mess. We are. But at the same time, it doesn’t mean the ordinance is the right thing, because at the end of the day, homeless are people, too.”
City Councilor Winthrop Farwell, Jr., who voted against the ordinances, echoed concerns about human waste, trash, and drug use on public property while also calling for state assistance on the city’s mental health, drug abuse, and housing problems.
“I’m not convinced this ordinance is going to do what we want to do, trying to track down people who have no permanent address if they need to be taken into court,” Farwell said. “This is not an effort we are going to win alone. If you expect the city of Brockton to accomplish a change in what’s going on, it’s going to take outside resources and participation.”
Other opponents argue fining the homeless will simply move them further from the health care and services they need to survive.
Alex Hoxie, who used to live on the streets and now owns Brockton business Clean City Crew, joined more than a dozen people holding signs at city hall in opposition to the proposed laws.
“I was an addict for 20 years. I ended up on the streets of Brockton. I ended up in tent city. They ended up closing it down years ago,” Hoxie said. “So, I know what it’s like to disperse the homeless and what happens. A lot of people end up dead.”
But Thompson is hopeful the law would protect the public and make the city more inviting for businesses.
“There are areas in our city that we need to regain control over,” Thompson said. “This isn’t an ordinance that targets a class of people; this is an ordinance that targets behavior.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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