Sleeping bags and belongings of men living inside the gazebo at Memorial Park in Lansdale are seen on Tuesday, July 23 2024. Photo by Dan Sokil | The Reporter.
Police chief gives update after Supreme Court ruling
One of the thorniest topics in Lansdale has had several new developments lately, including a national court case that could have implications here.
“We have all been waiting for the Grant’s Pass decision, to come from the United States Supreme Court. It’s something that’s been weighing on our community, and many other communities,” said police Chief Mike Trail.
Lansdale’s council and staff held lengthy talks on homelessness in 2023, building on discussions that began at the county level after heavy flooding in summer 2021 damaged low-income housing near Norristown, then the only county homeless shelter was closed in 2022.
Lansdale officials began talks with the county in summer 2023 on the topic, and borough police updated council through the fall on how they’ve helped people found sleeping in local parks, including at Stony Creek and in the gazebo at Memorial Park, and referred them to local service agencies.
Lansdale police have partnered with a mental health co-responder to help respond to those experiencing mental health challenges or other problems not typically addressed by police when they respond to calls, volunteers staffed a Code Blue shelter in town all winter providing a place to stay on chilly nights, and local residents dubbed “Lansdale Angels” have started a GoFundMe online fundraiser to raise money for permanent housing for those in need.
Trail gave council an update on the late June Supreme Court decision in the case of Grant’s Pass vs Oregon, a case regarding whether a municipality can ban people from sleeping or camping in public areas, such as sidewalks and parks. The court ruled that such bans are legal, prompting an outcry from county advocates for the homeless saying the ruling put the vulnerable at more risk.
Alexis Moyer, the Lansdale Police Department’s mental health co-responder, has over 500 formal contacts with members of the community since September“Immediately following that decision, we met with our partners in the borough, and some elected officials, and we started working on our game plan to remedy and work through this issue,” Trail said.
“It’s still a sensitive issue, with respect to individuals who are unhoused, and dignity, and how do we go about achieving public safety concerns, while also mitigating any undue harm to those folks who are adversely affected by being unhoused,” he said.
Individual response
Council heard from Linda Rowland, who detailed how for the past three years, she’s helped house and shelter those in need of a place to stay, particularly on nights just barely too warm for the Code Blue shelter to open.
“In the temperatures of 33 degrees, with the wind, rain, snow, they were not getting hot meals. So my husband and I fed 12 men, seven nights a week,” she said.
“We need to do something for these people. They are not the bottom of the barrel people. Some of them are wonderful, wonderful people. I have 20 men, and I know each of their first names, most of them I know their backstories, and most of the backstories have nothing to do with drugs, alcohol abuse, or breaking the law,” Rowland said.
Lansdale Catholic High School students Sarah Grosch, Shannon McKenna, Grace Rymdeika, Kayla Kalkbrenner, and teacher Joseph Corbett at center bring a total of 3,100 donated pairs of socks to Lansdale’s Code Blue shelter on Friday, Dec. 17 2021.She’s also aware of “at least eight to ten women” living on local streets, in cars, in parks and/or in tents, and over the past year has formed a nonprofit meant to help coordinate efforts to help those in need.
“Many of them lost jobs due to Covid, and have not been able to find new ones. Out of my 20 men that I take care of, five have jobs, but guess what: is there any housing in Lansdale? Is there any housing in North Wales? Is there any housing anywhere that a $15 an hour paycheck will get them in? No,” she said.
One of the men she’s helped is “not the best on following rules,” but the others clean up after themselves when asked to leave the park, Rowland told council. Over the past winter, she and a friend housed a total of 11 women, and spent roughly $32,000 largely from donations to ensure they had a safe and warm place to stay.
“We do not have a shelter for our women. I took women in during the coldest nights, into my own home, so they didn’t freeze to death, or so they didn’t get sick,” she said.
She has contacted “every church that I can think of” about additional ways to help, and urged council to find ways to do more.
“We, as a community, need to step up and take care of these people,” she said. “Help me find something we can do for them, before winter gets here.”
Park neighbor
Kenneth Wieland said he’s also been following the Grant’s Pass case, particularly as a close neighbor to Memorial Park.
“In the gazebo, there are tents, sleeping bags, tables, lawn chairs, coolers, plus an electrical cord to provide electricity. I’ve been told by several residents around the park that they can no longer let their children play in the park, because they’re afraid of safety concerns,” he said.
“This arrangement is dangerous to the health and safety of the community, as well as to the people occupying Memorial Park. Plus, it sends a negative image of the quality of life in Lansdale,” Wieland said.
Diane Wieland added that she’s worried about her husband during his walks through the park, and has seen in her career as a nurse how changes in mental health laws meant to protect the vulnerable, have had the opposite affect.
“I know we can’t institutionalize anyone, unless someone is a danger to themselves or to others. I’ve never been attacked or harassed by the homeless in the park. I do feel uneasy walking through there,” she said.
“They really need a safe place, a safe haven for these folks to sleep, especially in summertime when the heat is unbearable, and in the cold weather” beyond Code Blue nights, she said: “When it’s 40 degrees, it’s pretty cold to sleep outside.”
Safety concerns
Kelly Haynes said she can see the gazebo from her window, and recently walked her mother through the park and worried for her safety, before asking if the town provides electricity for those sleeping in the gazebo.
“Today there were four gentlemen: one had a tent, one had a cot, multiple chairs, and sleeping bags. And I saw them using our electricity — I know the lights are on all night long, because I wake up at one or two in the morning and see it,” she said.
“Do I blame the homeless? No. Do I feel that they should have a place to go that’s safe? Yes,” Haynes said.
She then asked what to do if a resident wanted to rent the park or gazebo for a private event, pay a deposit, then arrive to find it occupied. Trail answered that anyone who does so can contact the police department, which works with their coresponder and those who live in the parks to find other places for the park occupants to go during major events.
“If you do rent a public space, here in the borough for an event, and you go there, and there are people who are not supposed to be there, you call the police, and we will remove them,” he said, adding that he’s heard no such reports recently.
“They’re good people. They’re challenged by their environment. And they will work with us, when do we map out a plan: ‘On certain days, this area’s not going to be accessible to you.’ And we’ve been successful in years past, because we work together, in partnership with the community, being respectful and having dignity to everyone in our community,” he said.
Council President Mary Fuller added thanks for the comments and concerns from the residents, and urged anyone interested in learning more to attend the monthly council public safety committee meeting at 6:30 p.m., next on Aug. 7.
“That’s where we discuss solutions. Will this issue be solved on August 7th? No, but we’re gonna be discussing it,” she said.
Lansdale’s borough council next meets at 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 7 and the public safety committee next meets at 6:30 p.m. that night, both at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine Street. For more information visit www.Lansdale.org.
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