The Intricacies of Homelessness: A Deeper Exploration
The issue of homelessness has been a subject of heated debates and complex legal battles for decades. At the heart of these discussions lies a fundamental question: where should homeless individuals go? This question has confronted countless local governments, advocacy groups, and, most importantly, the unhoused population themselves.
A landmark case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, City of Grants Pass, Ore. v. Gloria Johnson, has brought this question to the forefront once again. The case revolves around ordinances passed by Grants Pass, Oregon, which criminalize camping and sleeping in public spaces. Advocates argue that these ordinances essentially criminalize homelessness, while the city maintains that they are necessary for public health and safety.
The crux of the constitutional question before the court is whether such ordinances constitute cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited under the Eighth Amendment. If the court permits the criminalization of homelessness, experts warn that it could have far-reaching implications for other forms of cruel and unusual punishment, such as the death penalty for non-homicide offenses.
Oral arguments before the court revealed a clear ideological divide among the justices. Conservative justices, such as Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, questioned the court’s role in dictating local housing and homelessness policies. Justice Elena Kagan, on the other hand, emphasized the necessity of sleep, comparing it to breathing.
The history of laws governing homelessness in the United States is deeply intertwined with white supremacy. Vagrancy laws, which were often used to target homeless and unemployed individuals, proliferated in the South after the abolition of slavery. These laws allowed Southern states to criminalize the existence of formerly enslaved people and force them into convict leasing programs, where they could be profited from.
Today, the causes of homelessness are multifaceted, with many unhoused individuals struggling with mental health issues, substance abuse, incarceration, housing insecurity, and domestic violence. Data from YouGov, a U.K.-based data and analytics website, indicates that Americans overwhelmingly recognize homelessness as a major problem and believe that housing is a basic human right. However, there is also significant support for measures that deter people from sleeping in public spaces, such as infrastructure that makes it uncomfortable to do so.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness provides further insights into the state of homelessness in the United States. Homelessness has been on the rise since 2017, with the number of chronically homeless individuals reaching record highs in 2022. Racial disparities in homelessness are stark, with Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders experiencing the highest rates and Black people experiencing rates that are more than four times higher than white people. Washington, D.C., has the nation’s highest rate of homelessness, while Mississippi has the lowest.
The upcoming Supreme Court decision in City of Grants Pass, Ore. v. Gloria Johnson will have profound implications for the lives of tens of thousands of unhoused individuals across the country. The outcome will determine whether cities can continue to criminalize homelessness or whether they must provide alternative solutions for those without a permanent place to call home.
