Stop Swopes Sweeps - Kyle Wheeler

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stop Swope's sweeps Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope has proposed an "Encampment Removal and Clean Up Policy" directed at our local unhoused population. This policy is up for vote on October 25th. Criminalizing homelessness and forcing people to move inflicts additional trauma upon an already marginalized population. Below are a few sections of Swope's proposed policy and some of their negative effects. "DCP" = Designated County Personnel No notice removal of Emphasis Areas are "obstructions" automatic 3.1 DCP may remove sites which "obstructions" in their discretion meet the 12.1 DCP may identify a specific area definitions of an obstruction or as an Emphasis Area and treat the immediate hazard without prior unauthorized encampments within notice to inhabitants. the area as an obstruction as Discretion is subjective to an provided in Section 3. individual and places an When considering sections 3.1 and enormous amount of power into 12.1 together, DCP can simply a single person's hands to designate any area an emphasis displace people in an already area and then remove all vulnerable situation. encampments within that area without notice. Emphasis areas are Identitfied on a website 12.5 DCP should identify Emphasis Areas on the County’s website. Commissioner Swope has a known history of dehumanizing behavior toward other community members and with recent incidents of purported harassment of outreach service providers, giving a map of our most vulnerable population freely available to anyone online is an enormous safety concern. Removal or disposal Recovery of stored of Personal Property Personal Property 8.6 DCP may remove and dispose of 11.2 DCP should not require a all items which are not personal formal legal identification, such as property, including, but not limited a valid driver’s license, as a to, solid waste, hazardous items, condition of releasing the and other like material. They may property. If a competing claim of remove and dispose of items of ownership arises, they should not personal property which may release the disputed property until present a health and safety hazard, the County Prosecutor has been or are saturated in liquid, or consulted. contaminated by solid waste or a potentially infectious agent. The word "should" is ambiguous. Ambiguous policy statements are The term "saturated in liquid" is open to interpretation by problematic policy language. individual DCP. The word "shall" is Unsheltered individuals in our irrefutable. Irrefutable policy climate spend 3/4 of the year in statements leave no room for wet conditions where their interpretation. possessions may be "saturated in liquid" numerous times on any DCP are instructed they "should" given day. The ambiguous writing not require identification for of this policy provides opportunity reclamation and they "should" not for DCP to freely dispose of release disputed property. Both of potentially any personal property these are ambiguous statements they may find during a majority of that may be broken by simple DCP the year. Ultimately, DCP may be misinterpretation. These policy encouraged to dispose of personal statements should be irrefutably property under this section rather worded and not ambiguous. than take additional steps required for personal property storage and recovery. additional issue considerations Sweeps don’t solve the problem of homelessness. Sweeps only serve to displace people from their community and inflict further harm upon them with failed attempts to make the problem of homelessness invisible. Disrupting people’s lives by perpetually displacing them and destroying their belongings only prolongs a person’s homelessness as they are repeatedly forced to start over. Unhoused persons who are continuously evicted lose trust in service providers as well as local government and they become increasingly difficult for outreach teams to locate and help. Leaders should provide services such as public toilets, showers, and trash receptacles to address hygiene issues at encampments without throwing away a person's personal possessions. Leaders should prioritize investment in affordable housing and outreach programs that connect people to holistic wraparound services. How you can help Read The full policy available online at: bit.ly/SwopesSweeps Share This graphic and other information along with your personal thoughts with local representatives and media. Write Lewis County Commissioners: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Letters to the Editor: [email protected] Attend Board of County Commissioners Public comment may be given in person or online. Lewis County Historic Courthouse, 2nd Floor Tuesday October 25th, 2022 - 10:00 AM