Criminalizing Homelessness

Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city of Grants Pass, Oregon , setting a precedent for the criminalization of unhoused people.

Instead of viewing homelessness as the humanitarian crisis that it is, this Supreme Court has decided to ignore the Eighth Amendment and empower cities to fine and arrest people who have nowhere to go, without providing them shelter or services.

At a time when 650,000 people in the U.S. are estimated to be homeless, with half of that number sleeping outside, cities now have free reign to forget about the real issues exacerbating this problem, like an acute lack of housing, shelters, addiction and mental health resources, and basically sweep people off the street and into incarceration.

We need policymakers who can focus on the fact that housing and supportive services are the only key to seeing our way out of this issue. Stabilizing low income Americans with assistance and support mixed with strong community resources is a start, but we must prioritize giving people a place to live their lives. Anything short of that is a disgrace.