I am a nuisance. I occasionally stop my car and pull over to the side of the road, warning lights flashing, to hand some food or water to someone begging on a street corner.
Recently I saw an obviously malnourished man in 90-degree heat standing on a corner. By the time I could get him something to eat and come back, he was being arrested. When I stopped to ask if the officers could give him the food I had brought, one officer said, “The next time you do this, you’re going to get ticketed.” I said, “For what? For feeding someone?” He said, “No, for obstructing traffic.”
When I looked up the nuisance laws for the city of Vancouver, I could be defined as a nuisance if I were to “obstruct or render dangerous for passengers any stream, public park, parkway, square, street or highway …” (Nuisance Code Ordinance, Section 8.20.010). A homeless person (or anyone else) could, per the same ordinance, be considered a nuisance if they simply offended decency or were offensive to the senses.
The way homeless people are treated by our society could be described as a nuisance; it offends my senses. I find it offensive to decency. If I’m ticketed in the future for feeding someone, I will consider it my privilege, for I am privileged to have a job and a home.
