NATCHEZ, Miss. – A new state law is forcing local officials to crack down on homeless people encamped in public spaces and is reviving discussions about Natchez-Adams County’s lack of a homeless shelter.
Adams County Emergency Management Director Brad Bradford is wondering whether the county must now fence off the grounds of the county’s disaster shelter, where homeless people have been congregating. The community’s Safe Room building on Liberty Road was constructed to provide temporary refuge for people during weather-related emergencies. However, vagrants routinely gather there and must be chased off by sheriff’s deputies, said Bradford, who met today with the Adams County Board of Supervisors.
The state homeless law, which went into effect last month, specifically prohibits encampments on public properties not intended to be campsites. People convicted of violating this law can be fined and jailed for up to six months.
To enforce the new law, Natchez has begun posting signs in known homeless encampments telling people to vacate the premises and remove their belongings and litter or face legal action.
Adams County Supervisor Ricky Gray expressed concerns about the state Legislature enacting the law against the homeless but doing little to help local officials enforce the law or provide itinerants a place to stay.
Bradford pointed to previous discussions about Natchez-Adams County’s lack of a homeless shelter. In 2018, he called for creating a committee to find a location and come up with money to pay for a fully operational facility. Nothing has come of that.
Comments