I am writing to express my disagreement with the expansion of Everett’s “no sit, no lie” ordinance (“Mayor given new authority to expand Everett’s ‘no sit, no lie’ zones,” The Herald, May 4. The proposed expansion would not only increase the number of areas where it would be criminal to sit but it would also prevent people from doing outreach and providing food and water in these areas.
There is an exception for groups who have a permit to do so but I see an issue in that because it could be difficult for groups to obtain a permit, as getting the supplies they need to help people is hard enough. I understand the idea is to support business owners and decrease the public’s disapproval of having more shelters (a sort of out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach) but I think this is allowing people to disconnect with their empathy. Homeless people are our neighbors, whether we like it or not. The solution to homelessness is not to hide people away so they are not an eyesore but to provide places for them to go.
Additionally, I can see this proposed ordinance increasing the number of homeless people in jail. Jail is not a place to hide homeless people away or a substitute for housing. People will be used to being able to stay close to shelters as there are few day shelters and many overnight shelters ask people to leave early in the morning so if it is suddenly illegal to be in a space, they are most familiar with this will lead to frequent arrests. It is also likely that the people who do outreach with homeless folks will have a harder time connecting with them if they are forced to move, decreasing highly needed street-level services.
Devon Smith
Everett
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