LAWTON – Complaints for homelessness are rising at city hall as leaders grapple to address an issue they say is getting worse before it gets better.
Lawton Mayor Stan Booker said calls to the city about vagrancy “are up” as council members hear more complaints—especially from business owners— about the issue.
Lawton police records obtained by Southwest Ledger show 137 calls in which a homeless person was cited with trespassing. The number of unsheltered people in Lawton is unknown until the results of an annual count conducted last month are tabulated later this year.
“We won’t have a count until late May, I think, but everybody believes the count is up,” Booker said.
As the mayor’s housing taskforce to address homelessness reaches its one year milestone, members say they hope to see Lawton and Fort Sill area residents and business owners come on board.
Meanwhile, the Lawton City Council approved a sign ordinance on Feb. 13 to discourage people from giving money to homeless people. Signs will be posted throughout town with similar language to those in other cities which read, “Say no to panhandling, “Contribute to the solution and give to a nonprofit.”
Booker said panhandlers often spend the cash to support a drug or alcohol addiction instead of attempts to obtain housing.
Though research on panhandlers’ spending habits is limited, a 2002 National Library of Medicine study found most panhandlers spent money on food first but also a significant amount to support their addictions. A 2022 Science Direct study indicated substance abuse is likely more common in the homeless population than the general public. Policies The council’s sign ordinance steers clear of more controversial policies to crack down on homelessness that could draw costly litigation.
As homelessness rises nationwide, city officials and state lawmakers across the U.S. have turned to legislation to solve the problem. Some of those laws, though, encroach on Constitutional rights and don’t survive lawsuits from homeless and housing advocates.
As reported by The Oklahoman, the City of Shawnee faces a potential lawsuit over an ordinance it recently passed to ban sleeping outdoors in the downtown area. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma said in a let ter to the city that its “ no sit, no lie” ordinance violates freedom of speech. The letter noted that Oklahoma City paid $1 million in legal fees for a lawsuit related to a similar ordinance that banned panhandling in 2015.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will decide whether an Oregon city Grants Pass ordinance to ban homeless people from sleeping outside will be upheld. Three homeless people, who claim they are involuntarily unsheltered, sued the city over several ordinances.
Booker said steering clear of litigation can be done with careful study and planning, but the work to address homelessness remains difficult.
“We have to have a balanced approach,” he said. “What that means is we have to have compassion to help people try to get back on their feet, but we also need to un derstand that society has rules that must be followed.”
What now? Lawton officials and nonprofit organizations continue to address what they say is a multifaceted issue with many causes, from substance abuse and mental health to job loss and the rising cost of housing.
“It’s like a diamond,” Booker said. “There are 57 facets of a dia mond and there are 57 facets to this problem.”
The local Continuum of Care (CoC), based in Lawton, is a con sortium of nonprofit agencies to provide housing and other human services to people who struggle with mental illness, addiction and other housing and employment challenges. Agencies are often funded with U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds and private donations.
CoC head for Comanche County and 16 other counties, Bernita Taylor said their work is a linear, comprehensive approach to address homelessness.
From preventing a person from losing their housing, to gainful employment and treatment for addiction and mental health needs, case managers tailor the plan to the person’s needs so they don’t become homeless again.
Taylor serves alongside Booker on the housing taskforce but they’re still looking for people to join, in pa rticular residents and business owners, she said. The CoC is largely made up of nonprofit organizations, hospitals and city staff.
The more variety on the taskforce, the better, she said.
“It gives us the ability to know where some of the problem areas are, what are they seeing out there, how can we address it and then how can we support them when they come across issues,” Taylor said.
The number of homeless people according to the 2023 point-in-time (PIT) count will likely be lower than the actual number. The count is mandated by HUD to qualify for federal housing money, but people can be absent from a camp on any given day and some refuse to cooperate with the count, Taylor said.
“We think it is rising,” she said of homelessness. “Sometimes the number (PIT) reflects that and sometimes it doesn’t.
Taylor’s outreach team is developing its own data using a geographical information system software to better monitor the number of homeless people who are unsheltered.
CoC members will share their data to be uploaded in the soft ware to identify gaps in services.
“Then we can begin to make informed decisions and plans on how to be e ffective in reducing those numbers,” Taylor said.