GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — After recent reports of safety concerns downtown, city officials in Grand Rapids are taking stock of existing resources — and looking into what else can be done.
At Tuesday's Public Safety Committee meeting, officials continued a discussion regarding safety and public health in downtown Grand Rapids and the city's neighborhoods.
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Specifically, there's been more and more reports of "problematic situations" in the downtown area, such as health and sanitation issues, aggressive or threatening behavior, sleeping in public and private spaces, trespassing and littering, public intoxication, and assault.
Last week, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce asked city commissioners to consider an ordinance barring people from lying or sitting in the public right-of-way and to discourage aggressive panhandling.
However, the ordinance was also supposed to take care of safety issues without targeting the population of people experiencing homelessness.
MORE COVERAGE: GR Chamber requests city address homelessness, promote downtown safety
During the Public Safety Committee meeting, the city pointed to measures that would use city personnel, the Homeless Outreach Team, mental health providers, and other provisions of the current City Code.
Officials also highlighted recent efforts the launch of an additional team to the Homeless Outreach Team.
The city also voiced its commitment to supporting the unhoused, by helping to offer temporary shelters, permanent stable housing, and access to supportive services.
The idea that law enforcement is being leveraged to solve homelessness is the exact opposite of what's being done in practice, the city says.
City Manager Mark Washington says that access to affordable housing is a key piece in the ongoing discussion of public health.
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However, Washington also said he's ready to take action when it comes to enforcing the city's many existing ordinances.
Washington explained that, during the pandemic, the city deprioritized nonviolent offenses in order to preserve necessary resources and decrease COVID exposures.
Now, he's instructed departments on ways to enforce these ordinances appropriately.
"We are still deprioritizing nonviolent offenses but now are prepared to resume more normal operations and redeploy our resources to address the more violent and criminal acts in key locations throughout the city," Washington said. "But let me be clear, we will not arrest our way out of homelessness and need more holistic approaches."
A list of key points in the city's "Safe Community" strategic priority is included below:
- Continued funding for services and shelters.
- Directing monetary support benefiting the Affordable Housing Fund.
- Engagement in various initiatives to end homelessness.
- Collaboration with social service providers to ensure mental and behavioral health issues are addressed among members of the unhoused community.
- Continued operation of the Homeless Outreach Team.
- Collaboration with Network180 for dedicated services support GRPD during mental health calls.
- Increased focus on public health problems in the downtown area, including sanitation issues, with the Public Works Department and Homeless Outreach Team.
- Cooperation with Mel Trotter Ministries to run a storage program to curb the accumulation of personal possessions in outdoor areas.
- Alliance with Downtown Grand Rapids Incorporated (DGRI), as well as others, to ensure increase lighting and visibility in public spaces.
- Collaboration with DGRI and independent endeavors to increase security in the Monroe Center area as well as and downtown parks while major events are in progress.
- Establishment of a 24/7/365 public restroom near Division and Weston.
- Heartside Park and Veterans Park upgrades that offer year-round public restrooms facilities.
- Purchase and use of public safety camera trailers during high-traffic periods.
Tuesday's Grand Rapids City Commission Meeting can be watched below:
