TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tucson city leaders say they are not planning extra enforcement on homeless camps in Santa Rita park ahead of the Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase.
A contingent attended the Tuesday, Jan. 24 public meeting to voice concerns over potential sweeps of homeless encampments.
Three organizations sued Tucson earlier this month—Community on Wheels, Community Care Tucson and People's Defense Initiative—claiming the city plans to remove the camps to "hide" Tucson's homeless population during the upcoming tourist season. The lawsuit states:
"This action challenges the City of Tucson's anticipated efforts to hide the region's unhouse population from public view by trespassing them from the public parks in the coming weeks.
Plaintiffs contend that the Constitution forbids the City from doing this so long as the estimated number of houseless individuals in the metropolitan area exceeds the bed capacity found in the region's various low-barrier, emergency homeless shelters."
Responding to the claims, City Attorney Mike Rankin told the public it has no plans to conduct the alleged sweeps.
The lawsuit is asking the court to prevent future sweeps of encampments, and the prevent police from enforcing city ordinances criminalizing homelessness.
In a press release from People's Defense Initiative, attorney Paul Gattone says "We challenge the City of Tucson to find adequate housing for our unsheltered neighbors. History will not look kindly upon the City if it continues to disappear the most vulnerable while onboarding only symbolic numbers of new shelter beds."
The organization says there are more unhoused individuals in Tucson than there are available shelter beds. The Tucson-Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness is today conducting its annual Point-in-Time street count to assess the number of people included in that figure.
The city says it follows structured protocols before removing encampments reported by the community.
The city of Tucson currently has a draft action plan for addressing homelessness in the community.
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Anne Simmons is the digital executive producer for KGUN 9. Anne got her start in television while still a student at the University of Arizona. Before joining KGUN, she managed multiple public access television stations in the Bay Area and has worked as a video producer in the non-profit sector. Share your story ideas and important issues with Anne by emailing anne.simmons@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.
