The Daily Orange Editorial Board unanimously agrees that homeless people in the city of Syracuse should not be involuntarily placed indoors when temperatures fall below freezing.

An executive order issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo went into effect earlier this month that requires local governments and homeless shelters in New York state to move homeless people from off of the streets when those outdoors are vulnerable to weather-related health risks, including hypothermia. To help implement this, Cuomo cited that under New York state law, the state can take steps, including forcible removal, to protect individuals from harming themselves or others.

As individuals with agency, the homeless should not be required to go indoors by local law enforcement, a plan of action that has been backed publicly by Syracuse city officials. Rather than place emphasis on arresting those who refuse to go indoors, the state government should instead work to ensure that resources for the homeless are well-communicated, improved and are accessible statewide.

This is due in part to the fact that arresting at-risk individuals opens the door to criminalizing homelessness entirely, a concern that The New York Times reports has been raised by Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner in response to Cuomo’s order. In this way Cuomo’s call transcends political boundaries and edges onto social discrimination facing homeless people. Although the order says that under the New York Constitution, the state has an obligation to provide aid, care and support for the needy and to protect the health of its citizens, it can be argued that the order came from a place of privilege.

To respectfully navigate this measure while retaining its primary intent on the safety of New York citizens, local law enforcement officers should strongly encourage, rather than require, that the homeless seek out shelters in cases of extreme weather. This would align with the improvement of these resources to make them more appealing, a measure that would address concerns brought to light by the homeless and advocates alike that attribute poor conditions and limited space as potential reasons behind a refusal to go to a shelter.

Although it appears that Cuomo is working in the direction of improving the quality and accessibility of these resources, the weakest point of his plan lies failure to take into consideration that the severity of homelessness across the state is not uniform.

At the State of the State address last week, he proposed a $10.4 billion commitment to address homelessness, the largest investment of this kind in the state’s history, in addition to improving the conditions of New York state homeless shelters, according to the press release.

But it must be taken into consideration that in Syracuse, there are approximately 400 homeless people living at shelters and 10 homeless people living outside who refuse to seek indoor shelter, homelessness advocates told Syracuse.com in early January. Yet, as of November 2015, there were 59,929 homeless people sleeping in New York City shelters each night with thousands unsheltered sleeping on the streets, according to the advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless.

Cuomo and the state government must remain conscious of the fact that each town, city and village in New York faces a different situation when it comes to homelessness. When finalizing the proposal, state funding decisions should reflect that the issue of homelessness itself is not one for the state, and every single one of its taxpayers, to address. This could be accomplished by the state granting a set amount of funding to cities working to alleviate homelessness to use in a way local leaders see fit to meet the needs of the respective city.

In this way, the current narrative can be shifted to one that is geared toward addressing homelessness as a local municipality issue. Local governments should encourage citizens to seek safety, rather than arrest them, and the state should guarantee that resources are available for a healthier approach than what Cuomo has presented.

Published on January 19, 2016 at 1:52 am

Contact: opinion@dailyorange.com