By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
The Olean Common Council voted 4-2 Tuesday to prohibit camping or sleeping in public spaces in a bid to encourage homeless individuals to find help.
While the change in the city ordinance is designed to regulate conduct, the resolution approved by aldermen said it is not intended to criminalize homelessness or anyone’s housing status.
Fines of up to $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense and $250 for a third offense are included in the resolution.
Voting for the resolution were Council President Lawrence “JR” Bennion, R-Ward 1; Joseph Keary, R-Ward 2; David Anastasia, D-Ward 7 and John Crawford, D-Ward 5. Voting no were: Jennifer Forney, R-Ward 3 and Sonya McCall, D-Ward 4.
Several residents spoke on the homeless resolution during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Genesis House Executive Director Melissa Yaworski said, “If you move people out of their encampments, ticket them or send them to jail, the result is they are still homeless.”
The resolution does not solve the problem of where homeless people store their belongings or open the door to single room occupancy housing, she added. “Will this ordinance provide a year-round drop-in shelter that people can access even if they are sanctioned by the Department of Social Services, or if other shelter beds in the county are full?”
One woman, Debbie Sanburg suggested building a facility on the outskirts of town. “I know it sounds crazy, but a place where they could go to get them out of the parks and off the streets.”
Rob Kennedy, who has been organizing clean-ups at homeless encampments, said, “There’s a serious homeless problem here. I can show you hundreds of images of the trash that’s left out in the community. I’m out here every damn week. I’m picking it up. I can show you hundreds of needles that were just picked up last Saturday.”
Alderman McCall said the resolution takes people who already don’t have resources “and we’re going to penalize them.” She said two North Union Street merchants told her they found feces in their doorways, and blamed it on the mayor’s unilateral decision to close the Lincoln Park restrooms. Numerous people complained to her about the chains around the pavilion, she said., to be
McCalled called for the Homelessness Task Force, which has not met since Mayor Amy B. Sherburne took office in January, to be reinstated.
Anastasia also called for reinstatement of the Homelessness Task Force and to reach out to Gov. Hochul’s office for help. This is a national problem, he said. The city is not going to resolve the issue of homelessness on its own, he added.
“If they are homeless, they’re living on the streets.” Anastasia said. “I’m sure they don’t have $50 that they can give to the city because they decided to sleep on a park bench. I don’t think this resolution is the answer to helping them.”
Crawford said a lack of mental health beds, the opioid epidemic, increased housing costs and the end of pandemic-era rental assistance are all contributing to the homelessness problem locally. Last year there were 500 homeless individuals across the county in a 12-month period, with 74% experiencing homelessness for the first time.
Crawford said the conversations with the Homelessness Task Force “was the right idea, but the conversations never developed into a comprehensive, measurable plan. We want a playbook.”
Eight months into her term, “the mayor has not met with or utilized the task force in any meaningful way,” Crawford said. “Enforcement can be part of the plan, but it cannot be the plan. Writing a ticket to someone who has no money doesn’t create housing, and you can’t get blood from a stone.”
Crawford added: “Moving someone out of the LIncoln Park pavilion doesn’t eliminate homelessness. It just moves them somewhere else and that is not a sustainable strategy.”
Crawford called for Cattaraugus County to get more involved. “If Olean is carrying a disproportionate share of the visible problem, then we should be asking our county government what resources they can bring to the table.”
The needs of the homeless individuals interacting with Olean Police, the Department of Social Services and Genesis House must be assessed, Crawford said. “That playbook should involve individual-specific, how to handle and what the needs are for each individual. Why are they still homeless? What interventions do they need? Who’s responsible for making it happen?”
He added: “I remain skeptical that enforcement without a larger strategy is going to accomplish that change. But I’m willing to give the administration the opportunity to prove me wrong.”
The mayor said her first thought was “what can we do to help this problem. She went from compassion to how will the city pay for it. Most of the grant money for homeless goes to nonprofit agencies.
“It is my feeling that this is not a punishment, but rather an option that they move forward into finding what their solution or path is going to be,” Sherburne said. The city judge has discretion whether to fine the individual or order community service, she explained
Sherburne also thanked the volunteers who have been cleaning up encampments.
“My next path forward after this passes is to work with DSS on what our city can obtain to give us more resources, which in my estimation is really a health crisis.”
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