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Residents urge council to change policies after reported sweeps of unhoused neighbors; city staff and council cite rehousing work
Summary
Several residents spoke during public comment about recent sweeps of unhoused people, saying possessions (including IDs and medicine) were taken; speakers urged humane practices and storage of belongings. City staff and council members said outreach and rehousing efforts are underway and invited submittted written concerns to United Way and city l
Multiple residents raised concerns at the Aug. 19 Columbus City Council meeting about recent enforcement activity described by speakers as “sweeps” of people without housing. Speakers said belongings, including identification and medicine, were taken during those actions and asked the city to change practices to avoid losing essential items and to increase access to safe, permanent housing.
An initial resident commenter asked the council for the long‑range plan regarding sweeps and asked that personal property be preserved so people can retrieve IDs and medicine. “Our friends had IDs and medicine and personal valuable belongings taken from them,” the speaker said during public comment.
Maya Nickerson, who identified her address as 31 Jones Street, described witnessing a person have a seizure and said that person’s medicine had been taken. Nickerson said she is troubled by efforts that remove people from parks and other public spaces and urged the community to adopt policies that treat all residents with dignity and prevent criminalization of homeless conditions.
Megan King (525 Harrison Street) asked the council to ensure the city does not discard or destroy the few possessions of people experiencing homelessness and raised concerns about access to safe shelter in extreme weather; she described assisting people suffering heat exhaustion in recent weeks and said one person’s cooler and cold drinks had been removed during an enforcement action.
Council members and city staff responded in the meeting record that outreach and rehousing activity is ongoing: council discussion referenced that, to date, the city and partner organizations report they have rehoused 82 people and prevented more than 60 people from becoming homeless through prevention efforts. Staff described plans for permanent supportive housing (16 units under development), an expansion of the engagement center footprint, preliminary site control for tiny houses on permanent foundations as deeply affordable units, and ongoing partnerships with local service providers including United Way, Volunteers of America and faith community partners.
Staff asked residents making public comment to put concerns in writing and said United Way staff were taking notes during the meeting and could coordinate follow up. City representatives acknowledged reports that personal property and medicine had been lost in some enforcement actions and said the city would examine procedures and partner engagement to reduce that risk.
Ending: Council members invited continued conversation and follow up with city staff and United Way. Several speakers urged prompt changes to preserve belongings and expand housing options.
