Advocates press council for water, services at sanctioned encampments; city names response coordinator

Ithaca — Community members and service providers told the Ithaca Common Council on Feb. 5 that sanctioned encampment sites lack basic services and urged immediate fixes, including a permanent water source and better outreach; the city announced a new encampment response coordinator.

Theresa Fulton, coordinator of the mutual-aid food-sharing cabinets and vice chair of the Tompkins County Human Rights Commission, told the council a sanctioned encampment near Walmart lacks drinking and washing water and that volunteers currently deliver and refill plastic jugs. “A faucet would be a huge benefit,” Fulton said, adding that the plastic waste created by jug deliveries is “notable” and that people and animals at the encampment have nearly no source of water.

Fulton said the council previously approved a plan in September 2023 to create a sanctioned homeless encampment with bathrooms and showers, but that putting those facilities in place has been difficult. She warned that without basic services, unhoused people are unlikely to move to sanctioned areas.

Members of the Tompkins County Housing Justice Collective and other advocates urged the city to address both urgent conditions and the structural causes of homelessness. Cassandra Ponton, speaking for the collective, recounted the death of Roland Hoyt, a 60-year-old Ithaca resident found unconscious while sleeping outdoors in December; local advocates said outreach and publicity about code-blue shelter locations had been inadequate and that some unhoused people avoid shelters because of safety or dignity concerns.

At the meeting the city manager announced that Kanish Fatima has been hired as the city’s encampment response coordinator and that a working-group advisory committee would provide oversight and recommendations. Council members characterized the body as a working-group advisory committee (not a formal permanent committee) and said appointments and further details had been discussed in prior meetings.

Opinion among speakers varied on the merits of sanctioned sites. Zach Wynne, a resident who raised concerns about a person later arrested in Ithaca, argued that sanctioned areas lacking infrastructure can be “dangerous” and suggested the council consider whether maintaining unsanctioned encampments is more harmful than ending them.

Advocates recommended steps the council could take quickly: install a potable spigot or faucet with automatic shutoff, improve signage and outreach about shelter access, and coordinate county and city agencies to increase trust and service uptake among people who remain reluctant to enter shelters.

Council members and staff said they would continue work through the advisory group and through city-county coordination. The appointment of Fatima and the advisory working group follow prior council directives to create a coordinated encampment-response plan.