Attn: Mayor Sam Adams, Commissioners Randy Leonard, Amanda Fritz, Nick Fish, Dan Saltzman
Street Roots would like to thank both Mayor Sam Adams and City Commissioner Amanda Fritz for taking on the difficult subject of sidewalk management in our community.
Street Roots has the following recommendations for the ordinance:
- Dedicate funding for two or three homeless outreach workers who work with individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty downtown, including youths and people dealing with mental health issues.
- Dedicate funding for a neighborhood non-uniformed police officer to work with outreach workers and organizations working with people experiencing homelessness and poverty, including youths and individuals dealing with mental health issues.
- With the resources above, organize a response team made up of homeless outreach workers who respond to calls regarding people experiencing homelessness and poverty and people dealing with mental health issues in non-emergency situations on sidewalks during peak hours.
- Six-month reporting date to bring stakeholders, including people experiencing homelessness and poverty, to discuss the effectiveness of the ordinance.
Historically, Street Roots has come out against the sidewalk ordinance in 2002, and again in 2006 due to its strict enforcement guidelines that targeted people experiencing homelessness and poverty.
Street Roots feels this ordinance brings together a wide-range of community concerns, and on its face is fair to everyone accessing sidewalks. Saying that, in our recommendations, we suggest a six-month reporting date that will allow stakeholders to determine the effectiveness of the ordinance.
Mission: “Street Roots creates income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and poverty by publishing a newspaper that is a catalyst for individual and social change.”