Mutual-aid director warns Lincoln against 'criminalizing' homelessness at council meeting

Matt Ford, executive director of Military Mutual Aid, told the Lincoln Town Council during public comment that the town should not "criminalize" homelessness and urged officials to pursue alternatives to fines and encampment sweeps.

"When you break up homeless encampments, people inevitably die," Ford said, arguing that dispersing encampments severs informal support networks, raises overdose risk and increases first-responder calls and costs. He criticized a draft proposal that would impose a $250 fine for a second offense, calling it "inhumane" and urged the council to form a study or working group and to coordinate with nonprofit mutual-aid groups rather than imposing penalties.

Ford also cited Rhode Island open-meetings law while urging more back-and-forth with the public and offered his group's contacts and assistance to help address homelessness without criminal penalties.