As the Criminalization of Homelessness Intensifies, Those Offering Aid Are Met with Hostility and Punishment by Law Enforcement
As Invisible People reporters interview social workers, harm reduction specialists, activists, and advocates, we are hearing a lot of first-hand stories of police brutality, not only against homeless people but also against workers trying to help the unhoused community. Many have described being pushed, shoved, spit on, and called names by police officers.
The horrific truth is that as the US increasingly moves toward criminalization agendas, nobody’s safe from the violence, housed or unhoused.
From Kensington to California, Vicious Attacks on Harm Reduction Specialists and Advocates Abound
The summer of 2024 was a brutal one for our unhoused neighbors, particularly those people suffering from illnesses or addictions. The urban heat island effect really took its toll this year, causing innumerable deaths and human suffering.
Standing there on the frontlines of the crisis was the University of Pennsylvania’s clinical researcher and harm reduction specialist Kelsey León, who took a moment to provide an exclusive quote for Invisible People about what the post-Grants Pass atmosphere looked like in Kensington, Philadelphia.