Cincinnati homeless settlement: 'Tremendous victory for social justice'

Three people who once lived in a homeless encampment on Third Street in Downtown Cincinnati – before the city kicked them out six years ago – praised a new agreement that would allow encampments if there is no available shelter space.

Leon "Bison" Evans, one of the 2018 camp's leaders, said Tuesday that he wants people to know no one living in the encampment was there by choice.

"I do apologize," said Evans, 38 and still homeless. "But I had to do what I had to do. I'm glad there is a resolution."

And hopefully, he added, "it will do something more for homeless people."

Six years ago, the city of Cincinnati forced Patrick Chin and dozens of other people living in a tent camp Downtown out of what they considered their homes.

The move opened a debate about how people without shelter are treated and sparked two lawsuits, including one in federal court that concluded earlier this month. The city settled with Chin and the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition for $83,000. That money will be shared by the coalition and Chin.

Chin is now living in Alaska. Many of the people who lived in the encampment, once numbering almost 100, have since died, Evans said.

The settlement led to a new written police policy for "interaction with individuals residing in homeless encampments," aimed at better treatment of people experiencing homelessness.

"The city recognizes that imposing criminal penalties for sitting, sleeping or laying on public property against individuals experiencing homelessness who cannot access shelter is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment," the city's new policy reads. The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution bans cruel and unusual punishment.

The biggest changes: City policy now says that before there can be police involvement with a homeless encampment, an outreach service provider must have engaged with individuals living there and shelter space must be available and offered. The prior policy said when a complaint about an encampment was made, it would be referred to a police supervisor.

If, under the new policy, both those things happen and a person refuses to move, he or she can be cited for trespassing.

Potentially criminal violations like illicit drug use or physical assault can be addressed immediately by police.

Attorney Bennett Allen, who represented the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless in the settlement, called the new policy a "tremendous victory for social justice."

So could the encampments return to Downtown? They are still there, said Josh Spring, executive director for the coalition, just hidden. Spring said as word spreads among people living in encampments, there could be a return of visible sites if there are no shelter beds available, which is often the case.

"I don't know if we'll see visibly large camps," Spring said. "The question is 'What will the city do?' " The answer, one he has long pushed for, is for the city to build and incentivize more affordable housing, he said. Encampments out in the open bring the problem to the forefront, he said.

Cierra Burgan, 38, who also lived at the Third Street encampment and has since found housing, said she feels like the homeless population in Cincinnati is still treated unfairly. But she too is hopeful the settlement will change that.

As for Allen Howard, 43, who also lived in the encampment and remains homeless: "I just want affordable housing for everyone who needs it."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati homeless settlement: 'Tremendous victory for social justice'