Jason Benell lives in Des Moines with his wife and two children. He is a combat veteran, former city council candidate, and president of Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers.
Many are concerned about the direction the Des Moines City Council is taking, particularly concerning the homeless population—some of our least fortunate neighbors and fellow citizens. This approach lays bare the apparent goal of the sitting councilors who support this policy: they do not believe unhoused folks deserve the same level of respect and dignity as other citizens. They are willing to cast them outside of the Des Moines city limits, if not completely outside of our society.
The proposed ordinance, to be considered at a July 22 meeting, flows from a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that in effect allows local governments to criminalize homelessness. In the case known as Grants Pass v Johnson, six conservative justices held that enforcing criminal laws against sleeping in public does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Strange that a city council consisting entirely of registered Democrats is eager to oust their most vulnerable constituents as soon as a Republican decision is handed down.
Speaking to the Des Moines Register, city council member Chris Coleman euphemistically described his proposed ordinance as a more “assertive” way to handle the sighting of an unhoused person or their belongings. If the ordinance passes, the city would abandon the more humane and ethical complaint-based system used for decades. Under current policy, authorities can move in to remove an encamped person if there is a duly filed complaint with the city.
This complaint system is far from perfect. But at least it requires a minimal level of engagement before action is taken to target encampments of unhoused people.
The new approach would drastically change how the city handles such situations, removing any level of civic engagement. In effect, the Des Moines Police Department would have carte blanche to remove, harass, and target anyone they deem to be in violation.
From the words of the proposed ordinance, no person may occupy a campsite or camp (broadly defined as sleeping) on any publicly owned property. This sweeping policy would not require a complaint, probable cause, or any other reason to generate a 24-hour notice to vacate. Rather, if a law enforcement officer thinks you are camping, they can start a process to forcefully remove you from the premises and destroy or impound all your belongings.
The language goes further, allowing the city to unilaterally dispose of “items appearing to be stolen” (how would you know this?) or things that “have no apparent monetary value or utility.” The upshot is that if you are caught camping in the city of Des Moines, you are subject to search, seizure, and prosecution. You would be at greater risk of incarceration—all at the discretion of law enforcement.
The end goal of such an amendment to the city policy appears to be to get as many unhoused people as possible to leave Des Moines, or be put into a system that has no resources to help them.
Proponents of this ordinance like Coleman have acknowledged that this isn’t a holistic solution. He told the Des Moines Register that the community needs to show “tough love,” adding that “it takes both a carrot and a stick.”
I must ask: where is the love here? Where are the holistic solutions? Is there an accompanying funding plan to ensure the city is providing resources to house folks who are forcefully removed? The ordinance calls for no jail time, but does assess a $50 fine for a violation. That sounds a lot like a stick with no carrot.
Furthermore, ordinance would provide a defense for the unhoused citizen if they agree to community service—which means unhoused folks are supposed to work for the city for free, lest they be charged with multiple misdemeanors and pay fines.
Why should the least fortunate among us be required to become unwilling public servants, pay multiple fines, and start their lives over and over again after the city destroys their belongings, generating a record of misdemeanors for the “violation” of being poor and unhoused? Where is the future for them under this proposed ordinance? How can they get a job, or get themselves clean, or even find a place to use the bathroom if they are subject to search and seizure whenever a police officer sees them with a backpack and a pillow?
The city of Des Moines can and should do better for our citizens, for all of our citizens. Yes, that means even our unhoused neighbors. Homelessness is a serious problem. It is difficult and for many can seem intractable, but that doesn’t mean we need to take this kind of punitive approach.
We should not be relying on charity and non-governmental organizations to take care of our most vulnerable citizens and neighbors, especially when they are already stretched thin and often are at the whims of donors. Des Moines needs a more permanent solution to a longtime issue. The city has the ability, resources, ingenuity, and yes, compassion, as a civic institution to take care of our citizens. The research backs this up.
The city could build more affordable public housing while providing more funding for programs that serve at-risk people. Instead of shuffling the responsibility to a militarized police force, the city could invest in long-term solutions and public works programs, reducing the need for such a force.
The council could even propose an ordinance that allows for public campgrounds in controlled and designated areas. While that would a far cry from a solution, it would not worsen the problem with a ban on all camping.
I am very disappointed in my civic leaders that this is even coming up for a vote. I am further disappointed by the lack of transparency in this process. Local government should look like, work like, and live like the people it represents, using a well-reasoned approach based on data and long-term solutions. This is nothing like that that.
This is an attack on the unhoused for the “crime” of being unhoused. It’s not something for residents of Iowa’s largest city to be proud of. We can and should do better. Des Moines city council, do the right thing: vote against this ordinance.
Top image of Des Moines City Hall, photographed by James Steakley in 2009. Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.