The Supreme Court will soon decide whether local communities can criminalize homelessness by pushing unhoused people out of sight and mind. The case before the Court, City of Grants Pass v. Gloria Johnson, is one of the most important cases related to homelessness in modern history. The plaintiffs argue that the city’s ordinances against camping and sleeping in public criminalize homelessness, while the city argues that the ordinances are aimed at promoting public health and safety.
The question of where homeless people should go is a complex one that has long confronted local government officials, advocacy groups, loved ones, and, most importantly, unhoused people themselves. It is astonishing that it is just now coming before the high court.
The causes of homelessness today are complicated, with many unhoused people having experiences with substance-use and mental health disorders, incarceration, and housing and income insecurity, domestic violence, and more. Oftentimes, myriad factors compound onto one another.
According to a recent survey by YouGov, 67% of Americans believe that homelessness is a very serious problem, up from 54% the previous year. Additionally, 78% of Americans believe that housing is a basic human right. However, there is also support for policies that deter people from sleeping in public spaces and for tearing down homeless encampments.
Regardless of one’s views on these policies, it is important to recognize that criminalizing homelessness is not the solution. As Chief Justice John Roberts said during oral arguments in the Grants Pass case, “It’s not a solution to say ‘we don’t want homeless people,’ so therefore we’re going to criminalize them.” True solutions to homelessness require a multifaceted approach that addresses the underlying causes of the problem and provides a range of housing and support services to those in need.
