Commissioners agreed to table homeless discussion to a later date at a work session meeting on Sept. 8.
The discussion was part of amendments to the Ordinance of Peace and Good Order, which included a ban on sleeping in the business district through the night, allows for penalties for the use of “insulting or indecent language” in public places and would make it illegal to block obstruct public roads, sidewalks or trails with personal items.
At the borough’s last commissioner meeting on Aug. 25, large crowds of citizens came out to voice both support and opposition for the amendments, though the measure did advance on first reading with Frank Troy and Mayor Dave Siedell voting “yes” and Itir Cole voting “no.”
Critics of the measures said they would only serve to criminalize homelessness, while supporters saw them as methods of ensuring public safety.
Nate Robertson, a Barrington resident, who has attended Haddonfield Methodist Church his entire life, shared some of his thoughts based on his own time experiencing homelessness, particularly highlighting the concerns of employed homeless individuals.
“When I was homeless – beyond concerns about shelters in terms of when they would reach capacity or run out of beds or potentials for physical or sexual violence – another concern for me was, will my vehicle get stolen? Will my work clothes get stolen? and then I won’t be able to maintain employment,” Robertson offered.
The government-run Interagency Council on Homelessness estimates that between 40% and 60% of homeless people are also employed.
Robertson went on to say that his two major concerns with the proposed amendments are about what would be done to protect an individual’s belongings so they would be able to maintain employment and whether an individual that complies with police and goes to an over-capacity shelter would still be in violation of the ordinance and subject to fines or jail time.
Borough resident and bioethicist John McGee raised ethical concerns over the new measures.
“Once we embrace something that’s wrong, it’s much easier to embrace the next thing that comes around that’s wrong,” McGee said. “So I suggest we stop here… arresting homeless people is not part of what Haddonfield should be about. This is just wrong.”
Several residents also asked whether or not the homeless in Haddonfield were also considered residents of the borough, and others highlighted the various backgrounds and situations the unhoused can come from.
Reverend Cricket Denton of the United Methodist Church in Haddonfield asked the commissioners to work with faith leaders and churches in the community.
“We’ve been trying to help our unhoused brothers and sisters for years,” he said. “We cannot do it alone, so I am asking you to work with us, to work in partnership with us, so that we’re actually giving the unhoused the resources that they need. We’re giving them the help that they need, instead of making them criminals.”
After hearing the public comments, the commissioners agreed to formally table the discussion for a later date, and work with nonprofits and Haddonfield’s faith-based organizations and communities to come up with possible solutions.
