LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) – In the wake of City of Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling by the Supreme Court back in June, concerns continue to be raised about criminalizing homelessness. Local organizations and lawmakers cite affordable housing and a lack of shelters as some of the issues.
State Democratic lawmakers held a hearing in Lancaster City Council Chambers on Friday afternoon to hear about the experiences of those who have no place to call home.
Dr. Bill Fife, an associate professor of family medicine at Lancaster General Hospital, spoke about a diabetes patient that he knew.
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“She sadly died of complications of an infection,” Fife says. “Lack of housing was at the heart of her illness.”
Dr. Fife says the number of homeless in Lancaster County on a single day in January was 597 people with not enough shelters to take them all in.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to uphold bans on people sleeping in public spaces. The ruling allows cities, counties and municipalities to fine or even arrest people for staying in public.