Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. and Threshold Continum of Care, which works directly with the homeless population, announced a 6-month pilot program focused on outreach as an alternative to criminalizing homeless encampments.
The announcement comes as Councilman Brinker Harding has proposed an ordinance that would criminalize encampments on public property. Penalties could result in a $300 fine and up to 30 days in jail.
Ewing said he wants the council to vote no on the proposal.
"We hope that the city council will either remove it while we work on this plan or that it will be voted down," Ewing said.
The city has received 360 complaints about homelessness since July. Ewing said the new plan will address those complaints more quickly while also connecting people to housing, treatment, and services.
Threshold CoC Executive Director Jason Feldhaus said the nonprofit will expand its hours, increase on-call staff, and provide weekend coverage.
"We understand that, just the current nature in our community, we kinda have to ramp that up and speed that process up, so we're committed to change those approaches," Feldhaus said.
Ewing promised on the campaign trail to connect nonprofits across Omaha to address homelessness. The pilot will adopt a seven-to-10-day notice process before encampment closures.
Ewing said this is the first step toward a bigger solution.
"While we're doing that, we will also be developing a long-term plan that allows us to get to what we know is the best solution, and that is getting as many people housed, treated for their addictions or other issues so that they can be productive people in our community," Ewing said.
The pilot program means closer collaboration between several nonprofits and the city. Feldhaus said Threshold will need 30 days for planning and to get policies in place. He's asking for three to six months to implement their plan and collect data.
Ewing said he disagrees with the approach of criminalizing encampments and said it's not a humane way to deal with homelessness.
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