Town hall attendees want City Council to reconsider changes to homelessness policies

She remembered the services that helped save her life.

Emergency shelters operated by Hope Ministries and Catholic Charities offered brief periods of refuge for Leah Waughtal-Magiera as she grew up with a mother coping with meth addiction.

"There were times when we were living out of vehicles," said Waughtal-Magiera, a 28-year-old from Des Moines' River Bend neighborhood. "There were times we were really transient."

She's struggling to grasp the city's proposed ordinances that would fine people $50 for sleeping in public spaces and ban camping in such spaces. People would also have fewer days to remove their belongings from public spaces.

Waughtal-Magiera on Wednesday night was among about 50 town hall attendees discussing the proposals. She said she hoped to learn how she could advocate for unsheltered people and push city officials to reconsider.

"The idea that folks just deeply struggling could be criminalized, it feels really sick, and evil, and wrong," she said.

The meeting, held at the Des Moines Area Community College's Urban Student Life Center, comes as the Des Moines City Council considers changes to ordinances that some community leaders and housing advocates say would unfairly punish people facing homelessness. It also comes about a week after the council passed a second reading of the ordinances.

Council members who support the proposed changes say they are intended to increase the city's effectiveness in getting people off the street and into programs to improve their lives.

A third and final reading of the ordinances is needed before they go into effect. A news release issued Wednesday night stated that the last reading will happen at a City Council meeting on Sept. 16.

Speaker: Council trying to 'fast-track' changes in homelessness policies

The town hall meeting was hosted by longtime River Bend resident Monika Owczarski, a mother of two who runs an urban farm. During the meeting, she criticized council members and said they should have sought more public input on the proposed changes.

"I think the ways in which the council put this forward and attempted to fast-track it are really troubling," she later told reporters. "Tonight really is just about informing people, trying to get questions answered, because there are a lot of service providers in this room, and then coming together and thinking of solutions."

Attendees included Jamie Nicolino, who earlier this week launched a petition demanding the City Council rethink its policies on homelessness and bolster funding for affordable housing projects and resources such as job training. The petition on Change.org has garnered more than 2,000 signatures .

"Criminalizing houseless individuals can lead to a cycle of punishment that exacerbates their already vulnerable situation," the petition on Change.org reads. "Arrests and fines (no matter the size) can result in criminal records, making it even more difficult for individuals to secure employment, housing and access to necessary services."

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The council next meets on Monday. City Manager Scott Sanders said in a statement that the Sept. 16 date was set due to staff still working on multiple "council directives" that are intended to remove barriers to accessing shelter. The directives include establishing an agreement with an animal service provider to hold pets while their owners are in a shelter and finding space to securely store people's belongings. The directives are supposed to be in place before the camping ordinance takes effect.

“We are continuing our work to fully complete the seven Council directives which also includes finalizing working agreements and contracts,” Sanders said in a statement.

More: As Des Moines moves closer to camping ban, Polk County Attorney says there's a better way

What does homelessness look like in Polk County?

January's annual point-in-time count showed 715 unsheltered people were found on a single night — an 11% increase from last year's 644. A second point-in-time count was held in late July, with results expected by September. Housing leaders and advocates have expressed the need for more emergency shelters to accommodate women and families, an increase in affordable housing units and steady funding for housing programs.

Shelby Ridley, program director of the service provider Primary Health Care, told attendees that area shelters are operating at capacity. Right now, 147 Polk County families are waiting for shelter beds, and only 18 shelter beds are available, Ridley said.

Pascha Morgan, who works with the nonprofit The Bridge, said the Ames-based organization's emergency shelter has only 22 beds available and serves five counties.

More: 'I'm scared every time I lay down': Homeless Iowans fear Des Moines' proposed camping ban

Community activist and Iowa House District 34 Democratic candidate Rob Johnson spoke about changes in behavioral health services, while other community leaders spoke about the lack of access to public transportation and about other barriers that prevent people from seeking help.

Toward the end of the meeting, Owczarski and Johnson had guests break up into groups. Each group was given a large piece of a paper and instructed to draw a single line down the middle. Owczarski asked people to list the challenges people face with housing on one side. The other side, she said, was for solutions.

Some noted how rent is expensive and hoped for rent control policies. Others envisioned the city offering free public transit, as well as boosting transit options and expanding bus schedules.

Anyone can experience homelessness, Waughtal-Magiera said, her page lined with ideas that she and her colleague and friend Sophie Savage jotted down.

"We're all just one small disaster away from also experiencing homelessness ourselves," Waughtal-Magiera said.

F. Amanda Tugade covers social justice issues for the Des Moines Register. Email her at ftugade@dmreg.com or follow her on Twitter @writefelissa .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Town hall attendees want City Council to reconsider changes to homelessness policies