PEKIN, Ill. – The city of Pekin is looking to address homelessness in the city.
The City Council on Monday passed an ordinance that would ban camping on public property and leaving personal items out to see.
Police Chief Seth Ranney says while the city is not overwhelmed, the city is seeing multiple calls with a lot of the same people. He says there’s between 30-40 people they receive a majority of the calls about.
He says the department’s approach to homelessness is about striking a balance.
“We want to be understanding, obviously, if they’re in an unhoused situation, they’re already basically pretty down on their luck. So the last thing that we want to do as a police department and a city is come in and make things worse. But we also can’t allow things that are unsafe to go on,” Ranney said.
Ranney says there’s numerous reasons why someone could end up on the streets; whether that’s a lack of housing, a lack of a job, or mental health issues. That’s why he says the approach officers will take when encountering a homeless person is to find out what put them in the situation, and guide them to the right resources.
Ranney says the city has around 20-30 Peoria-area organizations they’re working with to get the homeless people the resources needed to get them back on their feet.
The chief says the ordinance had been in the works prior to the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding how cities can deal with homeless encampments on public property.
Ranney says the ultimate goal is to meet the needs of all citizens in Pekin; whether it’s someone who’s homeless, a person walking down the street, or a business owner needing assistance.
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