ACLU issues warning to city of Greensboro on removing unhoused people's belongings

Attorneys with the ACLU of North Carolina sent a letter to the city of Greensboro last week warning against removing the belongings of unhoused people.

The notice dated Aug. 29 comes after the organization learned police could seize the property of people living near the Interactive Resource Center downtown.

On Tuesday, several speakers with the Working-Class & Houseless Organizing Alliance, or WHOA, further criticized officials' actions at a city council meeting.

Del Stone, a WHOA member, says taking unhoused people's possessions is not the first time their rights were abused.

"Their rights were violated the moment they were evicted," Stone says. "They were violated the moment that basic needs like shelter are commodified and humans are turned into revenue streams."

Stone says the needs of people forced to live outside have only continued to increase. She says the intensified housing crisis precipitates the ACLU's warning.

The letter says any effort to regulate unhoused people must remain constitutional.

In other business, the city's new leaf-collection program drew predominantly favorable support, with only one resident asking officials to reconsider.

The ordinance eliminates plastic bags and vacuum leaf collection.

Resident Nicole Gaines says she supports the new change. She says a lot of complaints are coming from communities with forests, hills and parks.

"I would ask those residents to come by areas that don't have trees, they don't have shade and they don't have leaves to complain about picking up," she says.

Gaines says it's a good thing the city council decided sometimes this responsibility falls on a homeowner.

Residents will be provided a waste bin for leaf collection under the program. They can purchase a second bin or use biodegradable paper bags for additional yard waste.

The ordinance goes into effect fall 2024.