Senate Bill 1587: Homelessness is not a crime

Many of you are familiar with how my heart goes out to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. If I had enough space in my house, I’d probably have everyone come and watch Gilmore Girls with me so that they don’t have to be on the street if they don’t want to, but a) I don’t and 2) They probably wouldn’t want to. In my tenure as Office Administrator, I grew close to some of our neighbors experiencing homelessness, and they shared with me how tough it can be to simply find a place to sleep.

That’s why LAMA is closely watching the activity of SB1587. This ministry of the Grand Canyon synod is not in support of this bill for the following reasons - unless amended:

• This bill would criminalize homelessness as individuals found sleeping outside of the “designated areas” could end up in jail.

• This bill would essentially create “tent cities” which is not a long term, sustainable or best practice solution for homeless crisis

• $50 million is a significant amount of money that could go towards creating permanent supportive housing

This bill has passed the Senate and Committee hearings in the House. Sign up for the RTS system to tell your local politicians your stances on loving your Neighbor.