Editor’s note: This article was put together by Sarah Menefee, Sandy Reid and Gloria A Lightheart of the People’s Tribune.
With the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Grants Pass vs Johnson, it has declared —with much passionate dissent — that homeless people can be criminalized for the basic acts of survival. Already politicians in cities such as San Francisco are applauding and making plans for full-on attacks against people living on their streets who can’t afford the high rents or who have fallen there due to conditions beyond their control. The decision eliminates the previous ruling under Martin vs Boise that alternative shelter must be offered and available before people are ticketed and arrested for being homeless and their survival and personal gear confiscated and destroyed. This is alongside full city shelters with closed waiting lists as in San Francisco, and many other cities.
This cruelty will unleash further the sweeps of encampments already happening everywhere and the daily attacks on men, women and families—people whose only crime is being too poor to afford housing—for sleeping or even existing, anywhere on public property, with nowhere to go, and giving them no legal recourse against these attacks.
This is a dangerous ruling that violates the right of hundreds of thousands to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. It constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, for the crime of poverty. And as more and more people fall into the streets of this country due to gross economic inequality, this is a threat to all of us and a gross moral violation that needs to be resisted.
A movement of outraged people is growing against the ongoing attacks and this latest “legalized” atrocity on the most vulnerable – in local and federal governments, among advocates and ordinary people, and not least and most importantly, by organized and individual homeless people themselves. As they say in the homeless movement, “We only get what we are organized to take!”
Here are some of their voices (excerpts) as reported in various media outlets and social media posts:
“The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Grants Pass! NOW is the time to UNITE and get organized and demand our rights! We are homeless NOT helpless!” – Crystal Sanchez, President of the Sacramento Homeless Union.
“Today, June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that cities can fine and arrest you for sleeping in your car, laying on cardboard, or using a blanket – even on “public property.” In the richest country in human history, we place full blame for homelessness on this poverty-producing system. No longer will we accept record profits amidst Medicaid cutoffs, public housing destruction, SNAP reductions and poverty wages” – Statement by the Sacramento Homeless Union
In a dissent calling the criminalization of unhoused people “unconscionable and Unconstitutional,” Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that “sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime. For some people, sleeping outside is their only option. . . On any given night, over half a million people across the country lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Many do not have access to shelters and are left to sleep in cars, sidewalks, parks, and other public places.”
“Criminalizing poverty and homelessness not only fails to address systemic causes of mass homelessness, it also exacerbates both the underlying structures of oppression that continue to plague our society, racism and classism” – Paul Boden, WRAP [Western Regional Advocacy Project]
“This ruling must not be used as an excuse for cities across the country to attempt to arrest their way out of this problem or hide the homelessness crisis in neighboring cities or in jail. The only way to address this crisis is to bring people indoors with housing and supportive services. We cannot go backwards – we must continue innovating and moving with intention and urgency until every person experiencing homelessness is able to access housing, services and support.” – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
“What this ruling has done is stripped any kind of hope that the homeless community here in Grants Pass had. How can you beat someone down even more? It is appalling to me that nine people in little black dresses can have the power to hold the fate of someone’s life in their hands.” —Helen Cruz, Grants Pass resident, homeless off and on for years.
“They already look down on us as bad people, and they don’t even take the chance to know us.” — Renae, Saginaw MI
“It was devastating. We’re not homeless because we want to be homeless. Go ahead and try to build day centers, or maybe ways around the city to help them stay clean and ahead of that curve.” – Andrew Tilot, homeless for two years, Saginaw, MI
“Because of today’s decision, we can expect to see a rise in armed police arresting and fining unhoused people and more people being traumatized and injured during police interactions.” – Kat Mahoney, Sisters of the Road, Portland, Oregon
“The solution is, and has always been, safe and affordable housing.”
—Jennifer Friedenbach, Coalition on Homeless executive director
“We call for full funding of: Universal rental assistance for lowest-income households; Public housing repair and preservation; National Housing Trust Fund; Eviction and homelessness prevention; Voluntary supportive and emergency services.” — National Homeless Law Center
“We are Homeless, NOT helpless. When we organize together, we can take what we need – Healthcare, Housing, our Dignity! Join the Fight.” NationaUnionOftheHomeless.org
