Tonight, Des Moines City Council is on track to take up, for the third and final time, proposed city code changes that would ban individuals found camping in public spaces. These changes mean that individuals found sleeping could be fined and their belongings taken from them (with no clear understanding of if, when, or how these items will be returned).
I’m a lifelong Des Moines resident and a small-business owner. The job I left before starting my business was at an affordable housing nonprofit, raising funds to support programs and services in our community that worked to get and keep people housed. Individuals in our community who lack stable, affordable, safe and adequate housing are all around us. They are our neighbors, our kids’ schoolmates, our bank tellers, and they are vulnerable.
In my previous role I learned, quickly, through discussions with our housing providers and by looking at community data and organizations’ financials, that our community simply does not have enough housing for all who need it. There are simply not enough resources to house all the individuals who currently need stable homes.