A controversial measure that may force New York’s homeless into shelters during cold weather has not been well received by the people it’s meant to protect, and has civil libertarians concerned about its possible overreach.
“The governor is going about it the wrong way. It’s not going to work. You can ask any one of us,” said Amy Kaufman, a homeless woman who has slept in New York’s financial district for most of the past two years.
The statewide executive order, signed by New York’s governor Andrew Cuomo, took effect on Tuesday, when city temperatures plunged below freezing due to an incoming arctic front. The order, which mandates municipalities conduct increased outreach to the homeless when the temperature or wind chill goes below 32F (0C), also includes a provision that would permit “involuntary placement” to prevent people from harming themselves.
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“Our state, which has a beautiful tradition of social progress and community, should not leave anyone outside in freezing temperatures. That’s called basic humanity,” Cuomo said in an interview with NY1.
But homeless New Yorkers are weary of being compelled into shelters against their will, citing the environment – commonly described as full of filth, drugs, theft, and violence – as the main reason.
“I’ve been robbed, I’ve been assaulted, I’ve been name-called. I don’t have any comfortability with the security or the staff there,” said Angel Starks, 29, who is homeless and visually impaired.
“It’s very hard. I know disabled people that don’t want to go in there any more,” Starks said.
As of Tuesday, it was still unclear exactly what, if anything, the executive order would change in New York City, where the vast majority of the state’s homeless reside. The city already implements a “code blue” procedure, doubling the number of outreach vans on the streets, when the temperature goes below 32F.
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The executive order’s “involuntary placement” provision isn’t a requirement, but it does cite New York’s mental hygiene law to bolster the claim that the state has discretion to move vulnerable people out of the cold against their will.
Kaufman, who said she has both bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia, worried that this could force people like her, who live with mental illnesses, into unsafe environments, even when their reasons for not wanting to go are perfectly clear-headed.
“The shelters are filthy. They steal from you. The food makes me sick,” Kaufman said. “We’d rather deal with the freezing cold than be in a situation like that.”
“It’s violating your rights. If you feel unsafe going into a shelter, then that should be your choice,” said Jason Grimes, 34, who is currently homeless.
The New York Civil Liberties Union shares Gimes’ concern. “Homelessness is a tragedy, not a crime,” said executive director Donna Lieberman. “The law prohibits the state and city from rounding up people solely for being homeless and forcing them off of the street. New York should approach homelessness with permanent, humane solutions by providing access to long-term housing and social services.”
The organization’s associate legal director Chris Dunn added: “A temperature of 32 degrees alone would not be a basis to involuntarily detain someone, either under New York’s mental health commitment scheme or the due process clause of the constitution.”
Kaufman, like thousands of homeless New Yorkers, has applied for housing through the city’s Department of Homeless Services, but she’s not hopeful. “I think it’ll take another 10 years,” she said.