CAMDEN, S.C. (WIS) – You can no longer live, sleep or shelter on public property in the city of Camden, according to a unanimous decision passed Tuesday.

The regulations define this as “camping”; This means using public property for sleeping, preparing meals, building shelter, and/or storing personal items. If you violate any of these, you may be issued a trespassing warning and may be arrested if you return or continue to do so.

Matt Dewitt, Camden’s city manager, called the ordinance “an opportunity to help those in need in the community.”

He said the ordinance was modeled after similar ones in both Columbia and Charleston.

Camden isn’t the only Midlands council to introduce a similar ordinance recently. The city of Newberry recently adopted a similar ordinance.

Despite what Dewitt described as “sensitivity in the city,” he said, “We are not trying to outlaw homelessness.”

Newly elected Sen. Jeffrey Graham, D-Camden, spoke to WIS News about the city’s camping ordinance.

“Yes, they can get a warning. Yes, they can give them notice,” Graham said. “Yes, they can be fined, but the reality is we need to connect them with existing services because we have a community that cares rather than our individual churches or nonprofits, but it allows that conversation to happen and at the same time “He keeps a tally.”

Dewitt said the ordinance allows officers to show compassion by first giving a warning if someone is seeking shelter or sleeping on public property, then officers can provide guidance on where people can go to get help.

He said there are many resources the city supports financially, such as United Way and Food for the Soul. Many homeless people suffer from mental health issues, so compassionate enforcement will be top of mind, Dewitt said.

“This is the best way for nonprofits and city police officers to work together toward a common goal and help those who are homeless in the community,” Graham said.

But some people WIS News 10 spoke to disagreed with the ordinance, including United Way, one of the sources Dewitt mentioned.

Angie Shirley, homeless street outreach coordinator for the United Way in Camden, said it was “a slap in the face” to all her work.

He said the city will quickly realize how full its existing homeless shelters and transitional housing programs are.

“I’m not going to stand behind this, I’m going to go to jail for them, I’m going to do whatever it takes to change this, but that’s not the answer and we need to come together and find a better solution because that’s not the answer.” said Shirley.

Donny Supplee, president of United Way in Camden, told WIS they have a great relationship with the city and police department but disagrees with the ordinance.

He called it a “bump in the road” for the city. He said he was confident they would achieve this despite the current division.

“It’s not fair to our community members who are out there, that this will allow them to take themselves to their resources and they’ll find out really quickly and they really already know that there are no resources for them,” said Shirley.

Dewitt told WIS that the city does not want to arrest anyone and that is not the intent of the ordinance.

He said that from now on, city officials will meet with police officers and train them on how to talk to people who violate the rules so that they can help them in the first place.

“This is the beginning of a new conversation where our officers and nonprofits can have a real dialogue with the people we’re trying to serve; we didn’t have a way to keep up with that before and coordinate,” Graham said.

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