A man in Nashville was arrested 198 times and received over 250 charges for petty offenses in his twenty years of being homeless. After receiving stable housing, he had no additional encounters with the police.
His outreach worker had difficulties scheduling appointments for him due to his frequent arrests, even making him a t-shirt that said, “Please do not arrest me, my outreach worker is working on my housing.”
This anecdote is just one story of how the criminalization of homelessness has no feasible benefits; it’s inhumane, further hurting those who are already struggling while also having no benefit to decreasing rates of homelessness.
In Lehigh and Northampton counties, the 2023 Point-in-Time Count found that approximately 686 people in 465 households were unsheltered, according to the Lehigh Valley Regional Homeless Advisory Board.
By criminalizing people without housing, we punish individuals for their poverty rather than offering support or solutions, perpetuating systemic inequality rather than addressing root causes. In some areas, residents can’t share food with the homeless, and police can arbitrarily fine and arrest the homeless for asking for money/resources, sleeping, eating, or just sitting.
Those who disagree with me say: “Why can’t they just work like the rest of us? I don’t want my tax dollars going to those programs,” and to that, I say: how do they get a job when every application requires an address and a bank account? How do they shower before work, store their clothes, or get to this job if it is not within walking distance?
Besides the humanitarian aspects, the criminalization of people experiencing homelessness is economically inefficient. Arrests, fines, and court proceedings cost taxpayers more than supportive housing or social programs that would help relieve the unsheltered population.
In Grants Pass v. Johnson, the Supreme Court ruled that fining and arresting homeless people does not violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, even though these laws force unhoused people into a feedback loop they cannot escape. The criminalization of eating, sleeping, and encampments stigmatizes and marginalizes these individuals, stripping them of dignity and perpetuating the cycle of poverty.
Criminalization does not maintain public safety, as homelessness is not inherently dangerous, and this criminalization diverts resources from addressing actual crime. Instead, police time spent ticketing homeless individuals could be redirected to genuine safety concerns or offering support to those suffering from homelessness.
Penalizing homelessness doesn’t reduce it; people cannot simply stop being homeless without access to housing or resources. Instead, studies indicate that punitive measures drive homeless individuals into more dangerous and less visible areas rather than solving the problem, leading to even more safety concerns.
And for those who say these laws preserve the aesthetic of public spaces? You should be ashamed. Prioritizing aesthetics over human lives reflects your misplaced values, and investments in social services will lead to long-term improvements in public spaces without dehumanizing the vulnerable.
Instead, cities should invest in Housing First initiatives, a homeless assistance program that prioritizes rapid, permanent housing to individuals experiencing homelessness; this program shows a reduction in overall costs AND homelessness rates.
A review of 26 studies found that Housing First programs decreased homelessness by 88% and improved housing stability by 41%. Providing stable housing is the foundation for addressing other issues like addiction, mental health, or unemployment.
America also needs to increase funding for education, mental health, and addiction services, as many homeless individuals struggle with untreated mental illness or substance use disorders or cannot work since they are not educated.
By addressing the root causes instead of the symptoms, our society can better reduce homelessness. Local governments must expand affordable housing projects and provide rent assistance programs – there simply isn’t enough housing for our current population rate.
Most importantly, Americans must push for the decriminalization of homelessness to replace punitive policies with compassionate solutions, such as resource centers, public restrooms, and safe sleeping areas.
Advocate against hostile architecture, which often includes leaning benches so one cannot lay down, benches with multiple armrests or odd shapes, and anti-homeless spikes, studs embedded in flat surfaces to make sleeping on them uncomfortable.
If you want to make a difference, sign local petitions advocating for affordable housing. Write a letter to your members of Congress and say why funding for unsheltered people matters; if our representatives feel that we don’t care about an issue, they won’t bother to fund or address it. Sign up for advocacy alerts and inform yourself and those around you of the moral failings of anti-homeless architecture.
Don’t look away the next time a homeless person asks you for something; they are a human, just like you, and that could be you one day.
