Another
battle in a long-running war between Lakewood and Ocean County
officials on one side and “Tent City” leaders is under way. And though a
two-week truce was called Monday, the war is far from over.
Last
week, legal notices were posted announcing that, starting today,
authorities would come in and disassemble the camp if the tents had not
already been taken down. Eighty people would have been completely
homeless.
Last
year, Superior Court Judge Joseph Foster refused to allow Lakewood to
shut down the camp, stating that the residents could not be moved
without an alternative place to live. Officials
contend that Tent City leaders have not abided by their part of the
bargain to forbid more people from moving in. But neither has the
county. It hasn’t offered any alternatives, including entering into a
partnership with other parties, public or private, to build a county
homeless shelter.
Before
bulldozing Tent City, both the county and the township need to come up
with alternatives for those who find themselves, literally, out in the
cold. Some of these residents have substance abuse problems and/or
mental illness, and have been reluctant to leave Tent City. But many
have fallen on bad luck and hard times. All of them need some help.
Long-term
homelessness may be a tough nut to crack, but what is becoming
increasingly clear is that Lakewood simply lacks the will to keep its
citizens safe — in Tent City and in the township’s thousands of
dilapidated rental houses. And Ocean County lacks the desire to use
anything more than an iron fist to deal with the homeless in its midst.
A
judge properly ruled that alternative housing must be provided before
Tent City can be razed. That has yet to happen. Authorities must, as a
matter of basic decency, provide a shelter or some alternative before
sending in the bulldozers.
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