Kansas City’s new houseless camp removal policy requires outreach, 48 hours notice
Kansas City has released its first policy outlining steps on how to continue clearing houseless encampments.
The policy, which outlines the “enforcement and removal of camps on city property,” went into effect Friday. The city said its goal is to preserve the rights and dignity of the estimated 2,000 people in the city experiencing homelessness, many of whom are living in the elements.
The new policy, created by the city’s Houseless Task Force, requires that the city give at least 48 hours posted notice before removing an encampment, which could include one or more tents. It also mandates that outreach workers visit the camp at least once to provide alternative housing resources.
Concerns around how the city has conducted these removals, also called “sweeps,” prompted the task force, created in 2021 by the mayor, to draw up a policy.
In recent years, in part because of the financial and health strains that accompanied the pandemic, Kansas City’s houseless community has grown in size, and encampments have become increasingly visible.
“The city very much feels shelter and other housing options are healthier, safer and more supportive living environments for our houseless residents,” city spokeswoman Maggie Green told The Star.
The resulting policy, which Green said was “safe, respectful assistance for those living on the street,” also looks to minimize police involvement during encampment clean-ups, unless danger exists.
Those experiencing houselessness over the past year have told reporters for The Star, who were present for a number of camp sweeps, that the city’s cleanup can be incredibly demoralizing and disruptive to getting permanently housed. Other have said that they’ve lost important documentation in sweeps that took them months to get again, further delaying their opportunities for work or housing.
Josh Henges, the city’s first ever homelessness prevention coordinator, said in March that those inside the city were starting to think more deeply about how to conduct sweeps with dignity.
He said that in practice, dignity in the best case scenario looks like no police presence and no construction equipment — last year, the city brought a front loader to at least a few sweeps — and plenty of time and resources to establish those living in tents under a real roof before the city cleanup crew arrives. Ideally, 90 days, he told The Star at the time.
“If our goal is to end homelessness we must begin the process of addressing the difficult topic of encampments,” Henges said in a statement this week.
While they serve an immediate purpose of providing shelter, they can also keep individuals trapped. As an individual’s problems become more complex, involvement with the criminal justice system and acute hospitalization become more likely, pushing them further and further away from the goal of permanent housing.”
When can the city close a camp?
The city said they will assess whether to take down encampments based on a number of factors.
The city can choose to clear a camp if they think it poses any of the following: safety or health hazards, criminal activity, difficulty getting emergency services to the site, work scheduled at the site or environmental damage.
If the city decides to clear a camp, they can do so on the grounds of loitering of trespassing under city code.
If that’s the case, the city is first required to post notices of the removal at least 48 hours in advance and include the time and date the notice was posted as well as the time and date of the clean-up.
“Removal notices shall be posted at the encampment in a manner reasonably calculated to be seen, preferably in multiple locations,” the policy reads. “The city shall monitor the area on a daily basis before removal, to ensure that the notices remain visible and shall repost if necessary.”
Before the city can touch an encampment, they have to offer those living there alternative places to stay, including housing or shelters, before the city begins clearing them out.
The city also has to provide transportation to their new location, which can also include authorized encampments, or, as Henges has hopes for creating in the future: a city-sanctioned enclosed encampment that gives regular access to resources and a safe place to put down stakes until they can move into transitional housing.
Outreach workers have to stop by at least once between the posted notice and the clean-up to offer resources to those living at the camp. Once a removal starts, outreach workers have to be present until the city leaves.
What happens during a removal?
While the city has authorization to throw away any non-personal items, or belongings that pose a health risk, such as dirty bedding, the city is also required to save and store any personal items found during clean-ups for at least 60 days.
The policy gives examples of personal items, including legal documents, tents, bicycles, radios, photos, medication, glasses and jewelry.
After a removal, signs must be posted for at least 10 days at the site telling people how to come get any of their personal items from the city. No identification is needed to reclaim their things.
If the city doesn’t follow through on the removal at the planned time, new signs have to be posted with a new removal date.
The city in its policy does allow for exceptions where camps can be swept immediately, including in cases where an “immediate hazard” is present, meaning those in the camp or in the surrounding area are at risk of serious injury or death. The city’s examples include tents set up on highway shoulders or camps exposed to immediate environmental hazards.
“We know that adjudication will never end homelessness,” Henges said. “At the same time remaining encamped will not end homelessness either. We need to work together to find better solutions than tents. Our houseless community deserves better than that.”
