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Published: Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 / Updated: Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 01:56 PM

Steele Creek advocate fears Occupy Charlotte protest could harm homeless

STEELE CREEK -- 

As Charlotte leaders struggle to handle the Occupy Charlotte protests, one Steele Creek advocate has concerns for another population. What about the people who already were occupying Charlotte?

“(Homelessness) it is being overshadowed by the fate of Occupy Charlotte,” said Nichole Jaworski, founder of service group Steele Creek Outreach which recently became Serve Charlotte’s Homeless.

Jaworski and neighbors in the Berewick area began Steele Creek Outreach in summer 2009, stocking their community pantry, collecting items for homeless, hosting community events and helping with holiday meals in Lake Wylie, among other ventures. In May, the group partnered with Mecklenburg County social services through the Homeless Resource Center, led by fellow Steele Creek resident Peter Safir, to increase its services to Charlotte’s homeless population.

The name and mission change soon followed.

“After starting the weekly meal service, I realized that we needed to take the focus off of Steele Creek and offer the volunteer opportunity to concerned citizens in the greater Charlotte area,” Jaworski said. “The ultimate goal of the program is to raise awareness about the obstacles that surround those experiencing homelessness while at the same time providing homeless individuals with food, vital supplies and encouragement.”

But Jaworski is concerned about Charlotte City Council’s latest discussion for curbing overnight stays on city property. Last week, Republican members Andy Dulin and Edwin Peacock lobbied colleagues for an ordinance to remove overnight camping that’s part of the Occupy Charlotte protest. Democrats argued the city should take the issue slowly to handle the First Amendment issue.

City Manager Curt Walton said the city is writing ordinances related to protests that will be ready for council review in January. The city has written a draft ordinance that would prohibit camping on all city property, which would include the space outside City Hall being used by Occupy Charlotte.

The ordinances are being written to prepare for next year's Democratic National Convention. It’s unclear if a new ordinance would impact Occupy Charlotte or if the group would be grandfathered in since it began before the ordinance.

“It’s a delicate issue,” said Robert Hagemann, deputy senior attorney.

Jaworski fears it won’t be the Occupy Charlotte protestors who are hurt, but rather the homeless.

“Most of the Occupy Charlotte individuals have housing to return to, while most area homeless individuals do not,” she said. “If this ordinance is passed, entire campsites where homeless individuals reside will disappear.”

To make camping on city property a public nuisance offense, punishable by a $500 fine, would hurt not only the homeless but also taxpayers, Jaworski said.

“If they are arrested for sitting on a sidewalk, then they will not be able to pay the steep $500 fine,” she said. “After the fine goes unpaid, a warrant will be issued for their arrest, and once caught, they will go to jail – all at the expense of taxpayers.”

Jaworski says there is a solution - create an ordinance but include a provision or exception for people who can’t afford housing. But she’s already hearing from people she works with that longtime safe havens for the homeless already are being impacted. For now, she’s preparing to take legal action against any passed ordinance that doesn’t allow for the homeless to circumvent the rule.

She hopes, instead, city leaders will recognize it’s “not illegal to be poor or homeless.”

“Visible poverty in itself is a sign of underlying social stresses,” Jaworski said. “Our city is failing these homeless individuals, and the proposed ordinance is a perfect example of intellectual arrogance. Making their way of life illegal creates a vicious cycle, one that they will not be able to escape from.”