In New York and across the country, displacing, arresting, and fining people who sleep outside makes it harder to solve homelessness. Instead of throwing homeless people into jail or throwing their belongings away, cities must focus on the only proven and lasting solution to homelessness: housing that people can afford paired with voluntary, supportive services.
As Siya Hegde, a Staff Attorney at the National Homelessness Law Center and co-counsel for the plaintiffs in this case said in our statement, “The damaging effects of the sweeps policy represent an abject failure of New York City governance and exacerbate the trend of criminalizing homelessness that has been escalating across the country. Since the Supreme Court effectively criminalized homelessness this summer with the Johnson v. Grants Pass ruling, more than one hundred bills cruelly targeting homeless people have been introduced across the country. The billionaire-led campaign to arrest, fine, and displace homeless people must be met with increased funding for the proven solution to homelessness: housing paired with voluntary services.”
Hear directly from homeless folks from around the country who endured encampment raids in this new reporting from ProPublica.
It does not need to be this way. Together, we can ensure our elected officials focus on housing, not handcuffs, services, or sweeps.
Onward,
Jesse Rabinowitz
Campaign and Communications Director
National Homelessness Law Center
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