Letter to the editor: Math problem

To the editor:

Our mayor and some members of the downtown business community are calling for enforcement of the city’s no-camping ordinance as a solution to the homeless problem, and many other people feel this way. But let’s think about enforceability for a minute.

The number of the unhoused is currently estimated at around 350. To eat, they must spend the night within walking or busing distance to food sources in the city. Ticketing them will not change this, and they would be arrested for re-offending. As of this weekend, the sheriff’s website listed 186 people in custody at the jail, and this is about its maximum capacity. Even allowing for the 82 overnight places available this weekend at the Lawrence Community Shelter and the 50 or so people currently living in the city-supported camp in North Lawrence, enforcing the no-camping ordinance would increase the size of the jail population from 186 to over 400. Where would we put them?

Craig Voorhees,

Lawrence

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