The City of Lawrence is planning to ban people from camping “anywhere in Lawrence” effective in mid-August, representing a change that has long been in the works.
Still, the change has come as a surprise to some.
Katie Kraus, who is currently experiencing homelessness in Lawrence, said she’s worried about her friends after learning of the camping ban.
“Things are changing really fast and it’s scary,” she said.
An effort to ‘compassionately gain compliance’
People have set up camps all across the city. Though the city has closed some of the larger camps, the ordinance banning camping has not been enforced consistently while the city has taken steps to address homelessness over the past several years.
Effective Aug. 15, though, “Camping will no longer be allowed anywhere in Lawrence, including Brook Creek Park, Burcham Park and Sandra Shaw Park,” according to a city flyer given to people living outside.
City staff members said back in September 2023 that their plan was to work on closing one camp at a time, working with individual people to move them into shelter. As those people progressed into housing, staff could start to work toward closing another camp, and so on.
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At the same time, the city, local nonprofit organizations and others have been working to increase shelter capacity and various transitional and supportive housing options, as well as increase Lawrence’s affordable housing availability.
Misty Bosch-Hastings, director of the city’s homeless solutions division, also wanted to establish an outreach team. The Homeless Response Team is now in place.
Assistant City Manager Brandon McGuire told city commissioners a year and a half ago that “Arresting our way out of this is not an option,” and Bosch-Hastings said this week that the goal is not to criminalize homelessness.
“Importantly, no camping ban will be enforced against any individual unless they have been offered a viable, safe alternative,” Bosch-Hastings said in emailed responses to questions this week. “Our approach is always person-centered and grounded in support—not punishment.”
Bosch-Hastings also stressed that her division is “not an enforcement agency.”
Under the city code, if convicted of illegal camping, a violator “shall be fined in an amount not to exceed $1000 dollars, or sentenced to a jail term not to exceed 6 months, or both.”
But Laura McCabe, a spokesperson for the Lawrence Police Department, said that after Aug. 15, if someone who is camping illegally has been offered shelter and refused it, LPD would work with the homeless solutions division and the parks and recreation department to determine the best course of action, depending on circumstances.
“Our hope is that those entities are able to compassionately gain compliance without the need for law enforcement action,” she said.
By the numbers
The newly launched city/county homelessness data dashboard indicates that over the past few months, there have been roughly 575-625 people who have interacted with a homelessness service provider in Lawrence/Douglas County.
On the surface, that number seems like far too many people for the city to stop allowing camping, given the availability of shelter options. But Bosch-Hastings estimated that only about 60 to 75 of those people are currently living in outdoor encampments in Lawrence.
She said the Homeless Response Team is engaging with each of them “to create and implement personalized transition plans as shelter capacity increases.”
Other people counted in the dashboard’s total are staying in shelter or transitional housing, are doubled up or couch-surfing, have recently been housed but are still receiving services, were temporarily unsheltered but returned to home communities with assistance or engaged with outreach or case management, even if they’re now housed, Bosch-Hastings said.
As of April, 151 people were staying at Lawrence Community Shelter facilities each night, on average. The shelter is a nonprofit organization that receives millions in funding from the city and county.
That 151 average included:
• 34 people involved in longer-term shelter programming, working with case managers to secure stable housing while they are staying at the main shelter on the eastern edge of town;
• 72 people staying one night at a time at the shelter; and
• 45 people living at the Village, the community of Pallet shelters on North Michigan Street that LCS operates, according to the data dashboard.
What is a Pallet shelter?
Pallet shelters take their name from the Washington-based company that produces them; they are not made of pallets. Each unit has a locking door, small HVAC unit, smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector.
The village of cabin-like shelters on North Michigan Street aims to offer up to 50 people safe, private space so they can transition out of homelessness with dignity.
Each person staying there is assigned their own unit for an average stay of about 90 days.
By mid-August, Pallet 24 — an additional 24 Pallet shelters, plus two double bathroom units and an office unit — will be constructed behind the main shelter building at 3655 E. 25th St. Each unit can accommodate two people per night.
Bosch-Hastings said LCS’ options will total more than 220 beds “designed specifically to meet the needs of those who have historically struggled to access traditional shelter.”
Pallet 24 will be opened as a low-barrier shelter, according to the city flyer the Homeless Response Team has been handing out to people living outside: “Pets are ok, partners in the same unit, sobriety not required,” the flyer reads.
Bosch-Hastings said the main shelter will then shift to a program model, and it will be able to accommodate about 125 people. Guests will have access to support throughout their days, including classes on cooking, cleaning, budgeting, landlord relationships and more, she said.
Bosch-Hastings said Pallet 24 is intentionally designed to support people who haven’t been able to access traditional shelter for reasons such as pets, partners, trauma histories or behavioral health needs.
“One individual who has long declined shelter told our team, ‘I think I’m ready for that,’ after hearing what Pallet 24 will offer,” she said.
In addition, she said seven people are currently on track to move into permanent housing within the next month.
Coalition forming
Bosch-Hastings did not directly address a question asking whether a camping ban will apply to people who are not allowed to stay at the shelter.
And some people will likely feel that none of the available shelter options fit their situations.
Kraus, the woman who voiced concerns about the camping ban, is organizing a coalition of homeless Lawrencians.
She’s holding a meeting at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17 at the South Park gazebo for people who want to make their voices heard, push back against the ban and “rise up and defend our rights to live.” Those in attendance will also vote on a name for their group.
“This gathering is organized by and for the unhoused — but all who stand in solidarity are welcome,” according to a Facebook event page for the meeting.
Anyone with questions can call Katie Kraus at 785-397-3587.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Molly Adams (she/her), photojournalist and news operations coordinator for The Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Check out more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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