FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — The Fond du Lac City Council voted unanimously to prohibit camping on city property. The ordinance will go into effect on Monday, Sept. 23.
- The ordinance will prohibit camping on public property.
- City council members say this is meant to address the public's concerns about homeless people living downtown.
- The Fond du Lac Police Department said they hope to connect people experiencing homelessness to resources.
- Advocates for the homeless population say there are not adequate resources to house everyone.
- People experiencing homelessness say they aren't yet sure where they'll go.
- Video shows various perspectives on the issue.
The ordinance will affect people like Maude LaFond, who is currently experiencing homelessness.
She currently sleeps outside on Main Street, but the ordinance will change that.
“We don't even know where to go," LaFond said.
City Council President Tiffany Brault said the ordinance is to stop people from sleeping on public parks and sidewalks.
"We have to define that behavior as not acceptable and that we need to figure out a different way to to work together," Brault said.
Fond du Lac Police Chief Aaron Goldstein said there are currently about 35 people living on the street every night. Chief Goldstein said the police department will start with warnings for people camping outside.
“We will start with warnings, so a written warning, so that this the individual knows what those rules are that are set," Goldstein said. "And then if they're not complying with it, and we can't push them to the resources, there may be a an ordinance ticket that that is is given.”
Chief Goldstein said once a person is ticketed, they can go to municipal court, get connected to resources and the ticket may be waived. He said the police department is not yet planning to arrest people for camping.
Goldstein said the city has tried to connect homeless people to resources in the past but it has not always been successful.
Then, in June, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Grants Pass v. Johnson that local governments can institute penalties for camping on public land.
"That compassionate outreach, that compassion and engagement, that's that's not changing," Goldstein said.
But this presents a question for homeless advocates like Crystal Champeau.
"Where are people supposed to turn?" Champeau said.
Fond du Lac’s homeless shelter St. Katharine Drexel has a waiting list of about 500 people, and Fond du Lac’s nightly warming shelter has not yet opened for the year.
Champeau and other advocates like Nick Teifke with Hope on the Block said they hoped a more long-term solution for homelessness would be in place before the ordinance was passed.
"We're imposing more barriers on individuals who are already probably facing more barriers than most," Champeau said.
But, City Council Vice President Keith Heisler said they needed to confront the issue now.
"We've just seen so much of a spike of concern that I felt like immediate action was necessary," Heisler said. "We had to weigh the concerns of those folks who said, I don't feel safe going downtown. I don't feel safe going to the library, all that sort of thing."
Advocates like Tanya Marcoe, Executive Director of ADVOCAP, said the community will need to come together to face this issue.
"I think the awareness is there, which is, I think, the first step of starting to solve this problem," Marcoe said.
And in the meantime, people like LaFond hope to be part of the conversation.
"We're not anything to be allergic to," LaFond said.
Chief Goldstein said police are already talking with people experiencing homelessness about where they can go, and are working with nonprofits to create a long-term solution.
