Circle the City files lawsuit over Phoenix parks ordinance, alleges it directly targets homeless people

Circle the City and Valle del Sol filed a lawsuit and a motion for preliminary injunction against the city of Phoenix Monday, challenging a Phoenix parks ordinance.

The ordinance bans the provision of medical care and food in Phoenix public parks, and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit believe this is directly targeting people experiencing homelessness in the city, a news release said.

Organizations under the ordinance are disallowed from providing evidence-based care to those who use drugs and are restricted from providing those people with medical help and food.

The ordinance allows for two permits per month for medical care and food distribution, and Circle the City says that forced providers to go through an “arduous application process.” Combined with the threat of criminal penalties for outreach workers, the plaintiffs believe this ordinance is trying to cut off these services.

The lawsuit argues the restrictions of medicare care and food distribution are “unconstitutional and unlawful,” stating it denies First Amendment rights to “express their beliefs” through charitable aid, the release said.

It added that the ordinance is preempted by Arizona’s state laws that allow harm reduction programs to operate.

In the meantime, St. Herman’s Table has been able to get an order against the city of Phoenix so it can continue distributing food to people experiencing homelessness. However, the organizations involved in the lawsuit believe this action is necessary to allow all programs to meet the needs of the community.

“Every day, Circle the City’s street medicine teams do life-saving work of providing primary care, behavioral health services and heat relief to our neighbors who sleep outside,” Kim Despres and Sister Adele O’Sullivan, CEO and Founder of Circle the City, said. “Thousands of people experiencing homelessness in Phoenix and across Maricopa County rely on these services. Circle the City’s model of care depends on our ability to provide medical services for patients experiencing homelessness in their own surroundings when they are unable to come to us.

“The restrictions in this ordinance mean that, without our unique medical support, persons in parks will face preventable illness, suffering and even death. Access to medical care should never depend on whether a person has a home. Circle the City is taking this action because we believe every member of our community deserves the opportunity to access medical care that is provided with dignity, compassion and respect.”

Despite public opposition, the ordinance was passed on May 6 and went into effect on June 5.

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