{"id":503,"date":"2026-06-18T20:04:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T20:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=503"},"modified":"2026-06-18T20:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T20:04:28","slug":"north-carolina-advocacy-groups-speak-out-against-homeless-ban-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=503","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina advocacy groups speak out against homeless ban bill"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Two statewide coalitions opposed to House Bill 437 have teamed up to urge homeless service providers, local elected officials and others to share their concerns about the bill with state lawmakers. H437 would ban homeless encampments outside of official city-maintained sites and establish that facilities that provide services for people experiencing homelessness are drug-free zones.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The N.C. Coalition to End Homelessness and the N.C. Housing Coalition issued a joint statement Wednesday contending that H437 would create financial, operational and legal hardships for communities that already struggle to meet housing and service needs for people experiencing homelessness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCommunities need practical solutions that address homelessness through housing, treatment and support services, not mandates that shift costs and liabilities onto local taxpayers and organizations,\u201d\u00a0 Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, director of housing policy for the N.C. Housing Coalition said in the statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two groups called on lawmakers to talk to local government leaders, service providers, faith leaders, law enforcement agencies and others before advancing the legislation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As NC Newsline previously reported<\/span>, Senate lawmakers revived the bill last week. The Senate Judiciary Committee adopted an amendment that\u2019s a version of a controversial bill from last year, which passed the House but stalled in the Senate. This year, it could go to the governor\u2019s desk.<\/span><\/p>\n

H437 would require municipalities to approve a location for homeless camps on municipal property for less than a year at a time, and only when indoor shelters don\u2019t have enough space. Local governments would have to provide restroom facilities, water and public safety personnel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

North Carolina\u2019s bill doesn\u2019t criminalize people for being homeless. But it does open up local governments for civil liability if they don\u2019t evict homeless people sleeping anywhere but in shelters or approved campsites, which essentially forces local governments to not allow homeless people to sleep anywhere else.<\/span><\/p>\n

The measure does not appropriate funding for cities to set up the required locations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt allows for the humane treatment of these homeless persons among us,\u201d Sen.Brad Overcash (R-Gaston) said during a committee meeting last week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnauthorized camping\u201d bans have been controversial in North Carolina and other states. Supporters of the bans say they reclaim public spaces taken over by people experiencing homelessness and provide incentives for them to seek shelter, while opponents argue that such laws criminalize homelessness and waste taxpayers\u2019 money.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s nowhere safely for people to be, arresting them essentially for a crime of poverty or a crime of crisis only puts further barriers in the way of that person returning to housing, returning to gainful employment, all the things that make it harder for that person to be stable and successful again,\u201d said Liz Carbone\u00a0 with the N.C. Coalition to End Homelessness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carbone noted that 26 of the 79 counties served by the North Carolina Balance of State Continuum of Care agreement currently do not have a qualifying emergency shelter under H437. The continuum of care coordinates planning and funding for homeless services across 79 rural and suburban counties.<\/span><\/p>\n

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H437 would increase pressures on all of those counties, Carbone said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor many rural North Carolina counties, compliance would require the creation of entirely new facilities requiring staff time, significant financial resources, and increased law enforcement capacity,\u201d Carbone said. \u201cAt the same time, metropolitan areas are already working to meet overwhelming local demand while serving individuals and families who travel from surrounding rural communities in search of shelter and services.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Carbone said the two coalitions would welcome the chance to work with lawmakers to develop viable solutions to the state\u2019s homelessness crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime that lawmakers want to convene folks around solutions related to homelessness generally, but specifically, unsheltered homelessness, we\u2019re first in line to want to have that conversation,\u201d Carbone said. \u201cIt\u2019s not that we don\u2019t appreciate that there are lawmakers who want to do more, but the parameters laid out within this bill are what I would call the opposite of helpful and the opposite of solutions-oriented.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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NC Senate panel resurrects \u2018unauthorized camping\u2019 homeless ban<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n