City commission to hear request for campsite for homeless people

City commissioners are being asked to consider designating an area in the city as campsite that could be used by people who are homeless.

Longtime homeless services advocate Hilda Enoch will be allowed to present her case for such a designated area to city commissioners at their 6:35 p.m. Tuesday meeting at City Hall.

The discussion comes after city crews in late October removed an extensive homeless camp from city property on the banks of the Kansas River.

“Many of us consider the razing of the campsite – where no alternatives exist – to be unconscionable,” Enoch wrote in a letter to city commissioners.

The Lawrence Community Shelter offers 31 overnight beds for the homeless, but the shelter routinely operates at capacity. The Salvation Army sometimes has overnight space available, but people who want to stay there must pass a sobriety test.

Enoch is not proposing any specific location for a campsite, but she said any area should include amenities such as portable toilets, trash cans, picnic tables and be in an area that police can visit daily.