Iam writing to express my deep concern regarding the Brainerd City Council’s recent decisions to criminalize public camping and deny local shelters the ability to operate year-round. These actions not only fail to address the root causes of homelessness but also exacerbate the struggles of some of our most vulnerable city residents.

Making public camping illegal as a method of correcting a systemic issue will not work as the city council may have intended. People experiencing homelessness often have no choice but to sleep outdoors due to lack of safe and affordable housing. Penalizing them for this only adds to their hardships, creating legal and financial barriers that make it even more difficult to find stability.

Equally troubling is the decision to deny homeless shelters the ability

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