NEWARK, Ohio — An ordinance in Newark is causing some people to question the city council’s judgment on addressing the issue of homelessness.
“You don’t take someone that is hurt and down on their luck and make it worse,” said Henry Doyle, Newark resident. “I feel council is doing wrong, those people are suffering enough. That's not going to help them, make it worse they can’t pay fines or anything,” he added.
According to the legislation, if passed, camping would be illegal on public property in Newark.
On the first offense, it would be a minor misdemeanor. Then, every offense after it would be a misdemeanor in the 4th degree.
Doyle said the penalty was wrong.
“I don’t agree with tents on sidewalks and stuff like that. But, they need some place to go,” he said.
Deb Dingus, the executive director of United Way Licking County, doesn’t agree with the ordinance. Instead, she’s pushing for a low-barrier shelter or a 24/7 shelter for the homeless in Licking County. Right now, that doesn’t exist in Licking County.
“Find a bed. Then once they have a bed, we then have the opportunity to start providing other solutions to help them improve their lives,” said Dingus.
Bill Cost Jr, a member of Newark City Council, is the only council person who agreed to do an interview with 10TV before the meeting about the ordinance. We also reached out to the mayor, who has not directly responded himself.
“The homeless have been an issue in Newark for some time. It’s a serious problem that needs to be dealt with,” said Cost.
He said he would not support the ordinance.
“We need to find a better solution than jail. That’s up to city council and us as a community. I think we are better than and bigger than that,” he said.
However, some members of Newark City Council do support the ordinance.
We asked Cost what he says to his colleagues who support the legislation.
“We all have different ideas. Everyone in their own way wants to try to help at their best ability. But, we are not going to always agree,” he said.