COLUMBIA, Mo 4/16/25 (Feature) -- The circle of empathy around Columbia's homeless crisis is only partly inclusive. It has left out one beleaguered but important group: landowners under threat of city fines forced to remove homeless campers trespassing and often trashing their land. 

Columbia Mayoral candidate Tanya Heath tackled the topic at both the League of Women Voters forum and in a March 20 Facebook video in which she interviews a woman and her husband "who had to clean up several encampments just in five days during the work week," she explained.

Real Columbia Missouri Facebook page admins, many of whom work in camp and hazardous site cleanup, posted a notice (below) detailing their experiences with city fines targeting trespassed landowners.

Empathy equity

"Put yourself in the shoes of all involved," Heath said. "Where do you go if you are homeless? What boundaries do you set if you are a landowner?

"The landowner was told by the city that she and her husband would need to clean up the homeless encampments on their property within 5 days, including getting workers and equipment to do the job OR face a fine of $15,000."

Five years of coping with homeless campers has been a frustrating and fruitless experience, said the woman, who remained off camera.

Columbia police remove the trespassing campers "but they're right back the next day," the woman said, her voice shaking and emotional. "We've had to deal with trash everywhere, trash in our creek. We have children and we have to constantly keep our doors locked. We can't let them go outside or play by themselves on our own property for fear of something happening to them.

"We've had stuHeathff stolen from up near our house, and people in our driveway blocking our exit. When we ask them to move, they get belligerent with us.

"We feel like we've been victimized, starting from when we first tried to help. That was when they [homeless campers] first moved in and we let them stay, they promised for a few months. That became months and months and we finally told them they had to move on."

Caring and crisis

Heath became known for her video interviews of Columbia at the nexus of caring and crisis. She visited homeless camps and the landowners coping with them several times during the campaign.

"We definitely want the best for people who are displaced and homeless," Heath explained, citing addiction, mental health care and "the spirit to find that new job, that turning point.

"But we also have to include the people who own property and their experiences," she added. "As the City of Columbia moves forward, we have to develop a comprehensive long term plan for people who are displaced or homeless, keep our creeks and streams clean, and our property owners' rights respected."

Columbia's current approach "is not working for anyone." 

 
Heath video interview