(Newswire.net — October 26, 2014) — According to a report releasedby the National Coalition for the Homeless, 21 U.S. cities have passed measures aimed at restricting the people who feed the homeless since January 2013. In that same time, similar legislation was introduced in more than 10 cities. Combined, these measures represent sharing since the coalition last counted in 2010.
The latest city to pass such legislation was Fort Lauderdale. A measure passed this week stipulates only one feeding sites per city block. The sites must not be closer than 500 feet to each other, according to the Sun Sentinel.
The reasoning for these measures, according to Michael Stoops editor of the report, is that food-sharing programs draw hundreds of people. Cities have felt more pressure to prioritize economic development and tourism, and congregations of homeless people are seen as a drag on such development.
“We consider measures like the one in Fort Lauderdale to be criminalizing being homeless or helping the homeless,” says Stoops, adding that measures “will ultimately be ineffective in addressing the real problem: homelessness itself.”
Stoops said on The Salt website that these measures give “Cities a false look of resolved homelessness issue, as they could become less visible. However, even if these ordinances are adopted, it’s not going to get rid of homelessness”.
Apart from those who strongly oppose criminalization of feeding the homeless, others say that the solution is somewhere in between. A Robert Marbut, a San Antonio consultant on homeless issues, says that cities shouldn’t look for more ways to impose fines, however, he says that street feeding programs can do more harm than good.
“Street feeding is one of the worst things to do, because it keeps people in homeless status,” he says. “I think it’s very unproductive, very enabling, and it keeps people out of recovery programs.”
The restriction on food distribution measures generally take the form of a new set of rules on the use of public property or new food-safety regulations. Salt Lake City for example, that requires that anyone who is preparing or serving the food for homeless have a food handler’s permit.