Kentucky lawmakers considering a bill that would make sleeping on sidewalks and under bridges illegal Wednesday shared a meal of fried chicken and green beans with those most likely to be affected by the bill.
At a luncheon in a Capitol annex, lawmakers offered a glimpse into the lives of unhoused Kentuckians as they consider sweeping criminal justice measures that critics say would criminalize homelessness. Leading advocates say the goal is not to put them in prison, but to get them into treatment.
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Passionate speeches over the bill, which would impose harsher penalties for a variety of crimes, gave way to a quiet buffet lunch where lawmakers chatted with a small group of people living in shelters. Lawmakers were in and out of the room, taking breaks from committee meetings.
Republican Sen. Adrienne Southworth said she spoke with a woman who had been on the waiting list for subsidized housing for two years. Democratic Sen. Robin Webb listened as another woman described the setbacks of living on the streets. They shared a bond as indigenous peoples of eastern Kentucky.
“These are just working-class people, people who are down on their luck,” Webb later said. “Affordable housing should be a priority for Congress and it definitely doesn’t hurt to bring it to the surface, especially in rural areas where resources are limited and sometimes it’s hidden. .”
Advocates say thousands of people experience homelessness in Kentucky on any given night.
The Kentucky House of Representatives recently passed a bill that includes the creation of an “illegal camping” crime. This means people who sleep or camp in public places such as roads, sidewalks, under bridges, and in front of businesses and public buildings can be arrested. The first violation will be treated as a violation and subsequent violations will be designated as misdemeanors. The proposed amendment would allow people to sleep for up to 12 hours in public vehicles without being charged with illegal camping.
Kentucky lawmakers broke bread with homeless people in Frankfort as they considered whether to make camping illegal. (Fox News)
Local governments can also designate temporary camping sites for people without shelter.
The bill awaits consideration in the Senate. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers.
One of the most controversial sections would create a “three-strikes” sentence that would lock up people convicted of a third violent felony for life. Provisions regarding homelessness have also drawn considerable backlash.
Advocates said Wednesday it’s important for lawmakers to hear directly from unincarcerated people.
“This is why we brought the public here so that members of Congress could see, hear and know the people who are affected by their actions,” said Catholic・Ginny Ramsey, director of the Action Center, said: street.
Andrew Chase Mason, 29, who is staying at the shelter, said he enjoyed chatting with Webb over lunch. “It’s always nice to meet new people,” Mason said. Although she struggled with her drugs and alcohol years ago, she said she is ready to find her job and her place.
She said she slept outside at night next to a building in Lexington, with her clothes under her as a cushion. Thomas Caudill, a volunteer who drives a van at night to shuttle people to shelters, said she would have violated the bill currently being considered. He also hands out food, blankets, gloves and socks as he checks on the homeless.
Caudill said he was highly skeptical of the portion of the bill that addressed homelessness, saying, “You’re judging them because they’re under a bridge.”
Groups criticizing the homeless provisions include the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, which calls the measures harsh and misguided.
“You can’t arrest your way out of homelessness,” ACLU of Kentucky spokeswoman Angela Cooper said in a statement. She said, “Investing in services that treat the root causes of these problems, such as affordable housing and job training, is a more effective solution than relying on punishment and incarceration.”
Republican Rep. John Hodgson, a leading advocate of homelessness provisions, said he had a pleasant conversation with an unhoused man during lunch. Their topics included the bills being considered.
He said homeless people camping on roads and sidewalks can create a traffic hazard and hurt businesses.
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The goal is to direct homeless people to substance abuse, mental health and job training services to improve their lives, not to put them in jail, Hodgson said. Mr Hodgson said some of them “wouldn’t get any help unless they had a bit of a stick to push themselves with.”
