Homeless encampment ban coming to Brockton leads some to call for compassion
BROCKTON - The city of Brockton, Massachusetts is joining Lowell in cracking down on homeless encampments, sparking calls for compassion for the less fortunate.
Encampments on public property
Take a drive around downtown Brockton and it won't be hard to spot the problem.
"The encampments on our public property – especially underneath our bridges, along our sidewalks and alleyways and in the parks next to our schools," said Ward 5 Brockton City Councilor Jeffrey Thompson.
Brockton is close to banning homeless encampments – joining Lowell in banning camping on public properties in an effort, supporters say, to clean up the streets.
"A lot of times it breeds trash at times and unfortunately feces, needles," Thompson told WBZ-TV.
Divided opinions
Although the measure passed the Brockton City Council by a 7-4 vote this week, not everyone agrees with the ordinance.
"I'm not speaking as a politician," Councilor At-Large Jean Bradley Derenoncourt said. "We have a moral obligation to help those who are not able to help themself."
Since the shelter system is full, the Brockton mayor's office estimates that between 50 to 70 people sleep on the streets on any given night. Derenoncourt is calling for compassion.
"No one is immune of being homeless. None of us," he said during the meeting. "And by virtue of having something like this, in my view, I think is unacceptable. And it's morally wrong."
The city of Lowell is banning encampments only when shelter beds are available.
$200 fine
In Brockton, the first offense would result in a warning. After that, a $200 fine would be issued even if the person is homeless with little to no money.
"Any ordinance that we establish to deal with this problem has to have some penalty mechanism," Thompson explained.
"It's a recipe for disaster," Derenoncourt argued. "And there will be unexpected consequenes. And it's an opportunity for a lawsuit and I'll leave it there."
The ordinance would need Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan's signature before it becomes official. His office said Mayor Sullivan is reviewing the measure with city lawyers before making a decision.
