What the SCOTUS Ruling Means for America’s Homeless

The recent United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling on homelessness has significant implications for America’s homeless population.

In a 6-3 decision, the court overruled Grants Pass v. Johnson, which barred cities within the 9th Circuit from enforcing bans on public encampments, citing the Eighth Amendment. Cities now have the freedom to determine which policies work best to address homelessness.

The case originated when homeless plaintiff Gloria Johnson sued Grants Pass, Oregon, for its ban on public camping in 2018. The case relied on precedent from the 2018 case Martin v. Boise to claim Grants Pass was punishing the “unavoidable consequences” of homelessness, violating the Eighth Amendment’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment.” The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2022 on behalf of the plaintiff, but the Supreme Court overturned that ruling with Friday’s decision.

The Supreme Court ruled that the enforcement of public camping bans against individuals who are “involuntarily” homeless does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual” punishment. This decision essentially means that cities can enforce anti-camping ordinances even if there are no available shelter beds, provided the penalties are not excessively harsh, such as severe fines or long jail terms.

This ruling overturns the precedent set by the 2018 Martin v. Boise decision, which had prevented cities from enforcing camping bans if they could not provide adequate shelter options. The Grants Pass ruling now allows cities more latitude to impose and enforce these bans, potentially leading to increased fines and arrests of homeless individuals for sleeping in public spaces.

Advocates for the homeless argue that this decision will exacerbate the problem, as it empowers cities to criminalize homelessness without addressing the underlying issues of housing and support services. Critics contend that the ruling neglects the needs of vulnerable populations, forcing them into an untenable situation where they must choose between staying awake to avoid punishment or facing legal consequences for merely existing without shelter.

Conversely, proponents of the decision, including several state and local officials, argue that it restores local control and allows for more effective management of public spaces. They believe this ruling will help reduce unsanitary and unsafe conditions associated with large homeless encampments and encourage better resource allocation towards more permanent solutions like housing and mental health services.

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a record number of people are currently not housed in the U.S. Several factors are driving this increase, such as rising housing costs, a shortage of affordable housing, surging immigration, limited access to critical healthcare, and the end of many COVID-19 relief programs.

Experts cite the complexity of the homelessness problem, which is rooted in poverty and a lack of affordable housing, but also includes medical, psychiatric, substance-use issues.

The HUD noted in its 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) that on a single night in 2023, roughly 653,100 people in the U.S. experienced homelessness.

That represents the most documented homeless individuals since the inaugural report produced in 2007 and reflects a 12 percent increase over 2022.

The Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement reports the official poverty rate in 2022 was 11.5%.

Here are some key findings from the survey:

111,620 children were homeless in America
Homelessness increased in 41 states between 2022 and 2023, with the highest percentage increases in New Hampshire, New Mexico, and New York.
New York, Vermont, and Oregon had the highest per-capita rates of homelessness in 2023.
More than one-half of America’s homeless individuals reside in the nation’s 50 largest cities. New York City and Los Angeles alone contain one-quarter of the country’s non-housed people.
Every ethnic group endured an increase in homelessness last year. The Asian community experienced the most significant percentage increase (64 percent), while Hispanics/Latinos saw
the most significant surge in raw numbers (an additional 39,106 people).

Although experts cite several prominent factors, no single cause has driven the troubling trend of increased American homelessness.

The SCOTUS decision represents a significant shift in the legal landscape surrounding homelessness in the U.S., with potential for both increased enforcement of camping bans and a continued debate over the most humane and effective ways to address homelessness.

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