Why Won’t the City Council Do Something About the Homeless?

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐃𝐨 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬? 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏

We came across a post in a local forum a few days ago that gave us pause; it perfectly elucidates one of the main issues we see a lot locally, so we thought we’d share it with you.

Someone posted pictures from an unhoused person’s camp. This man is seriously and visibly mentally ill; law enforcement has been called about him on multiple occasions.

The problem is, unless he is a direct threat to others or himself, they can’t make him go in to for treatment. There is currently no law on the books that allows that.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐦 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞?

They could tell him to, and he might comply without escalation. He wouldn’t have any way to carry most of the stuff he has accumulated, so it would be left there, enraging folks who came by later.

He would find a new place, but given that other than moving, all other conditions remain the same, including his mental illness, he would start to accumulate more stuff and act out in the same ways again.

The neighbors of the new location would be alarmed and angry and call Chico Police.

And we go back to step one.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐦?

Assuming they could create a charge (and they probably could, something like disturbing the peace or using the Offences Against Public Property ordinance) there are very few cells in the jail and very little treatment available for the mentally ill. In general, they can’t “make” him get treatment there either, and as long as he is non-violent and not a threat to self or others, he will likely be out in a few hours, or a few days at most.

However, now he will have been released from the jail in Oroville, typically around 2 am, and be trying to make his way back to Chico.

He will likely not have bus fare, nor is there a bus running at 2am, so he may hitchhike or stay on the streets of Oroville for a few days or weeks while he tries to figure out what to do and how to get back. If he's very lucky, he may have a phone that is charged and someone to call who could come give him a ride.

Once he makes it back to Chico, he may or may not be able to retrieve his things (they may have been stolen or “cleaned up” by the time he gets back. He may look for a new place to hide and camp, or he may try again in the same place.

He will likely have a court date. If he makes it to court, he will likely be fined and released. He will likely have no way to pay the fine. So now he will have an oustanding warrant.

Even more likely, he will have no way to get to court, may not be tracking dates and times well, and will miss his court date. Keep in mind, he is seriously mentally ill, on top of the challenges of being homeless, without a vehicle or money. When he misses his court date, a warrant will be issued for failure to appear.

Next time the police are called, they will likely arrest him because of the warrant.

Back to step one.

This is all disheartening, but there are solutions. One of the big problems is that long-term solutions take a long time. But there are some short-term solutions that could be implemented swiftly; they aren't ideal, but nothing about the situation is. More about those in our next post.

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