Jerry is a musician. He is a father, a brother, a son. He is a man
with a rich and complicated story.
'Banned From Public Spaces': Report highlights
criminalization of homelessness
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Esther Schrader Read the full piece here
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Friend,
Walk through downtown Athens, Georgia, on any given day and you may
hear the sound of drumsticks - sometimes heavy, sometimes sharp,
sometimes warm - beating in complex rhythm against upturned
5-gallon buckets.
The drumsticks are wielded by a man named Jerry. The buckets they
strike serve as drums. But to Jerry they hold memories of the
rainwater his grandfather used to catch in buckets very much like
them, receptacles in which Jerry first found rhythm as a young boy.
Jerry is a musician. He is a father, a brother, a son. He is a man
with a rich and complicated story. But he is also a man defined by
this society not for all those parts of himself but for just one
thing: He has for much of his life experienced homelessness. And for
that, Jerry has repeatedly been cited, arrested and banned from public
spaces.
In towns and cities across the U.S., men and women like Jerry are
beset upon by public policy and a criminal legal system that has been
weaponized against them. Bans on sleeping, camping or panhandling in
public spaces, passed in increasing numbers by state and local
governments, are criminalizing people with no place to shelter,
instead of addressing them with comprehension and compassion.
A new report released by the Southern Poverty Law Center draws
attention to this inequity.
The report, Sheltering Injustice: A Call for Georgia to Stop
Criminalizing People Experiencing Homelessness
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, is focused on Georgia. There, a state law went into effect in 2023
requiring the enforcement of bans on public camping. But lawmakers
passed the legislation with no study of the immediate impact it will
have on people experiencing homelessness.
Read More
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In solidarity,
Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond,
working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy,
strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of
all people.
Friend, will you make a gift to help the SPLC fight for
justice and equity in courts and combat white supremacy?
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