Recent conversations around camping ordinances in our community have stirred strong opinions — and understandably so. Business owners and residents are frustrated by concerns over public safety, cleanliness and the visibility of homelessness.

While these concerns are valid, camping ordinances are often harmful, short-term responses to a much deeper issue. Though framed as efforts to maintain order and create safer spaces, these ordinances often end up criminalizing homelessness, rather than addressing it.

Instead of connecting people with services or housing, they push individuals from one location to another, without offering a path to stability. This ongoing displacement is especially harmful to vulnerable individuals — those who are elderly, disabled or living with mental illness. Many physically cannot move their belongings each day, yet are forced to do so to avoid citations or arrest.

For them, this cycle is not just disruptive — it’s dangerous and inhumane. Even more troubling, citations for violating these ordinances can lead to criminal records, stacking up fines that unhoused individuals can’t pay. These records become barriers to employment, housing and even access to identification — further deepening people in homelessness.

If we truly want to make a difference, we must shift away from disciplinary measures and toward compassionate, long-term solutions. That means investing in affordable housing, mental health care, addiction treatment and supportive services that meet people where they are.

Real progress comes not from hiding the problem, but from addressing its root causes with empathy and action.

ALLEGRA MURRAY
Astoria