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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A new survey shows that people who live in Phoenix did not support a recently passed ordinance that restricts feeding and medical aid to homeless people in city parks.
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This is the first time we’re seeing this survey. Phoenix city officials say this survey was not made public.
What stood out first was a pie chart at the end of the survey.
It says more than half of the people who took part did not support the ordinance.
This survey went live at the end of March and was up for about three weeks. Roughly 23,000 people participated.
60% said they strongly opposed an ordinance that would restrict helping homeless individuals in city parks.
The questions ranged from “What parks do you visit?” and “Why?” to “How was it?” and “Are there reasons you wouldn’t go?” At the end, it asked whether there was support for the new ordinance.
The Phoenix City Council passed the ordinance in May.
Then in June, two nonprofits sued the city over it.
One of them is St. Herman’s Table. The group shows up to parks to support the homeless on a regular basis.
They have been granted a temporary order to continue doing that for now.
Arizona’s Family spoke to Lance Brace, the nonprofit’s leader, when the lawsuit was filed and again on Tuesday after the survey surfaced.
“It seems to me that the city thought that it would go the other direction, and when it didn’t it stopped being talked about. So now it’s come out, so to me that seems like it was a tactful approach to hiding the information,” Brace said.
The chart tells one side. However, the comment section is about 300 pages long.
It’s not clear whether the chart reflects the comments, but after reading them, it’s clear that the majority didn’t align with “yay” or “nay,” suggesting that people who took the survey were confused.
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Many of the comments in the written section opposed the ordinance.
Brace says he thinks the survey could have been done a better way.
“When I was taking it, it seemed to me like it was meant to force people, to well not force but encourage people to vote for the ordinance by having loaded questions,” Brace added.
Brace says he respects city leaders, including the council, but can’t help but question the motives here.
“It seems to be the people on the other side of this think that if they can stop people like me from feeding them then our homeless neighbors just won’t be here and that’s not right,” Brace said.
We asked officials from the city of Phoenix about this survey.
We were told it was meant to help them regulate and manage how parks are used.
About a month ago, after the lawsuits were filed, the city released this statement.
“We will comply with the Court’s very narrow temporary order, which applies only to St. Herman’s Table and Lance Brace, for two weeks. The City Council adopted this ordinance to ensure that all residents can enjoy their neighborhood parks, and it applies equally to anyone who wants to hold a feeding event at a park. It makes no distinction based on religion. The ordinance simply provides an effective tool to regulate and manage the growing competition in City parks between food distribution events and other, more traditional park uses, like children’s play, youth sports, adult recreation, and family outings. We encourage anyone who wants to provide food to people experiencing homelessness to participate in Healthy Giving. Residents can find opportunities to give back to trusted organizations at givesmartaz.org.”
Right now, city leaders say they can’t talk about it because of the lawsuits, but they said they would be open to discussion at a later date.
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