From Houston to Atlanta to Dallas, Cities Are Policing Homelessness Instead of Solving It
A growing number of cities across the country are issuing citations to people who are homeless as their goals for providing housing and shelter continue to fall short.
Over the last several years, many cities across the U.S. have established goals to increase the number of homeless people living in emergency shelters, temporary housing, and permanent supportive housing. These goals were mainly established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw a surge in unsheltered homelessness because of the spike in demand for non-congregate shelter options.
The Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Johnson v. Grants Pass only seemed to make matters worse, according to some advocates. The decision effectively allowed cities to impose punitive punishments, fines, and fees to address homelessness, something that was prohibited under the 2019 9th Circuit decision Martin v. Boise. In turn, more than 300 cities across the U.S. adopted new laws that give police officers more latitude to remove homeless people from public spaces, according to the National Homelessness Law Center…