Khrystian King Opposes Worcester Camping Fine, Calls for More Outreach

Who Was Missing From the Ordinance Discussion

By-Hank Stolz
Graphic-Radio Worcester/ Photo: Submitted

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Worcester, MA-Worcester City Councilor Khrystian King, vice chair of the Worcester City Council, discusses his opposition to a proposed city ordinance advocates feel targets homelessness by including a $25 fine and the potential for criminal proceedings against individuals found sitting, sleeping, or lying in public spaces. King argues that the ordinance was developed without input from the city’s own homeless steering committee, without feedback from people with lived experience of homelessness.

Public Health and Public Safety

“Public health is public safety and vice versa. Obviously, housing is the goal. Our residents and businesses deserve safe, clean neighborhoods and public spaces. Of course, people who are experiencing homelessness deserve dignity, services, and a pathway. Those things are not in conflict.”

he continued, “We have to distinguish conduct from condition, violence and threats and unlawful behavior or conduct. Being homeless is a condition.”

Filling the Commission and Expanding Outreach

He said one thing needs to happen immediately, “We have a commission on homelessness that’s been unfilled for the entire Batista administration and prior. That is an executive commission, meaning what do they do? They set policy.”

“This commission needs to be filled immediately. It’s a nine-member commission. It sets policy. It advises the city, and that’s another thing that we can do.”

And he said, “The number of folks that are chronically unsheltered is around 60 in the city and we know them and we have the same staff that we’ve had for the last six, seven years. We need to double that staff. That’s number one. If we expect outreach to work, we’ve got to invest in the people.”

“I’ve had this discussion in the last two budgets about a reorg where we’re having more outreach workers, more social workers, clinicians responding.”

He also advocates for public bathrooms.

Existing Ordinances and Other Solutions

King advocates for a public health-centered approach, “We have local ordinances in place to address just about every single issue that’s mentioned in this ordinance. The city manager has his own policy right now as it relates to encampments.”

“If you take a look at it, you look at overnight parking, you look at public spaces, the parks, loitering, vagrancy, trespassing in public spaces, you look at public urination or defecation. We have mass general laws and we have local ordinances in place already outside of this.”

King also highlights the importance of securing state and federal funding, improving city responsiveness to 311 complaints, and partnering with the private sector to deliver visible, tangible results for both residents and businesses.

King moved to file the proposal, but the council rejected that motion and voted to send it back for revisions.