Join MCAH, the ACLU, and the National Homelessness Law Center.  You can take action today. Email your City Council member and ask them to vote NO on Ordinance 1560, or attend the council meeting in person to make your voice heard. Local advocacy matters—and it truly can change outcomes for our neighbors.

Homelessness is not an abstract issue—it’s happening in our own backyard. Right now, the East Lansing City Council is considering Ordinance 1560, a proposal that would effectively criminalize homelessness by punishing people for attempting to shelter themselves, even when there are no safe or available alternatives. This approach does not solve homelessness. It deepens harm.

Ordinance 1560 threatens the constitutional and human rights of unhoused East Lansing residents by prioritizing enforcement over solutions. Criminalization pushes people further into crisis, makes it harder to access housing and services, and wastes public resources that could be invested in real, proven solutions—like affordable housing, rental assistance, and supportive services. This is not who East Lansing is, nor who we aspire to be as a community.

We urge the City Council to reject Ordinance 1560 and instead commit to policies that address the root causes of homelessness: rising rents, low wages, and a lack of housing options. Communities across the country have shown that housing-focused solutions work. Punishment does not.