Opinion: Laws that target homeless should be repealed

On Oct. 22, the latest law in a trend of targeting the homeless through the restriction of food distribution was passed by commissioners in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The law limits the number of feeding sites to one per city block, and requires them to be at least 500 feet away from each other and residential properties.

Fort Lauderdale is not the only city restricting food sharing. Raleigh has its own law, which prohibits any distribution of food in city parks without permits that cost $800 a day.

One of the arguments for the laws is that giving food to people in need enables them to stay homeless. However, barriers to affordable housing and jobs with sustainable wages are what cause homelessness, not feeding the hungry. Reducing help for those in need will only create more hardship for them. The argument also implies that homelessness is a choice — a total absurdity.

Food-sharing laws are a subset of a growing number of laws criminalizing homelessness. Such laws aim to restrict panhandling, sleeping or lying down and loitering in public. In Chapel Hill, it is illegal to sleep or lie prone on benches, seats, and tables downtown.

Criminalizing the homeless and those who try to aid them does not address the causes of homelessness. Rather, these laws aim to “improve” the public image by removing homeless people from certain communities and areas.

Towns in North Carolina, including Chapel Hill, should consider repealing anti-homeless laws and instead dedicate more resources to preventing and ending homelessness.