The Law Center has created a Coronavirus hub to share information, resources, and recommendations related to COVID-19. To stay up to date on COVID-19 information related to homelessness, please visit the website, as it is regularly updated, and stay on the lookout for any press releases circulated by the Law Center.

 

The Law Center produced a statement on how COVID-19 affects people experiencing homelessness in which it makes recommendations for how communities can account for people experiencing homelessness. These recommendations can also be found directly on the Coronavirus hub.

 

The Law Center has also created a template letter and press release campaign for communities to rely on when advocating for people experiencing homelessness. There are three letters available—a letter requesting that communities comply with CDC recommendations and cease sweeping encampments absent available individual housing units, a letter requesting that communities cease relying on congregant shelter facilities to protect people experiencing homelessness from COVID-19, and a letter asking for both. If your community is engaging in these practices and you wish to send a letter on behalf of your organization, please contact [email protected].

 

The Law Center, in conjunction with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, has been identifying how communities nationwide are protecting people experiencing homelessness in their COVID-19 responses. Record of these practices are intended as a reference to assist communities in crafting their responses. A breakdown of noteworthy practices based on the Law Center’s COVID-19 recommendations can be found here.

 

The Law Center is also conducting webinars on COVID-19 once every two weeks. So far, these webinars have highlighted combating criminalization of homelessness amidst COVID-19, protecting constitutional rights, and the human right to housing. The next webinar in the series will take place on June 3 at 2PM ET / 11AM PT and focuses on racial equity during the COVID-19 crisis.

 

Finally, the Law Center has compiled various other resources relevant to COVID-19, including its previous publications related to the criminalization of homelessness, data related to housing, racial equity, and youth and education, as well as resources hosted by other organizations.

According to the CDC, COVID-19 primarily spreads from person-to-person, between people within six feet of each other, and through droplets that are expelled when a person infected with COVID-19 coughs or sneezes. To prevent contracting and transmitting COVID-19, the CDC recommends for people to wash their hands properly and frequently, wear a cloth face mask at all times when out in public, avoid close contact with others, and to stay home if they are feeling sick.

 

For people experiencing homelessness, however, options for following these recommendations are extremely limited. There are too few private housing and shelter options available, even as the pandemic continues to grow worldwide, and congregate shelter settings do not allow for recommended social distancing, air circulation, and sanitation necessary to stem the spread of the virus.

 

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, the CDC advises that communities should not clear any encampments unless they can provide individual housing units for those displaced. The rationale for this recommendation also applies to clearance of vehicle shelters through towing and impoundment which, like tents, represent many unhoused persons’ best options for sheltering in place and social distancing. Moreover, the CDC recommends installing hand-washing stations, portable latrines, and other sanitation services for unhoused people near the areas where they are located outside. Additionally, communities are recommended to coordinate with local partners and ensure “continued linkage to homeless services, housing, medical, mental health, syringe services, and substance use treatment, including provision of medication-assisted therapies.”

 

Nationwide, communities are adopting different ways to protect people experiencing homelessness in their responses to COVID-19. Some of these responses include temporarily procuring hotel rooms, motel rooms, and individual trailer units for people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis, placing a moratorium on sweeping encampments in accordance to CDC recommendations, and increasing access to medical and sanitation services for people experiencing homelessness.

 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act authorized funding to promote the needs of people experiencing homelessness. The CARES Act specifically sets aside $4 billion “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, among individuals who are homeless or receiving homeless assistance.” This money is available to reimburse communities for costs associated with responses to coronavirus for people experiencing homelessness. Furthermore, communities would be able to “deviate from applicable procurement standards when procuring goods and services to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus” so that they may more quickly authorize services to support people experiencing homelessness.

On May 5, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission voted down a proposed anti-camping ordinance in a 3-2 vote. This ordinance, which was unanimously approved in its first reading, prohibited any camping on any public property “within 1,000 feet of a school or childcare facility.” This new ordinance was construed in addition to an ordinance on record Lauderdale already prohibiting encampments on public property in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

 

The first reading of this ordinance was identified in the Law Center’s “SWAT” Criminalization Tracker, a project maintained in conjunction with attorneys from Fish & Richardson. In this tracker, media coverage from across the country is compiled to identify communities pursuing conduct that would criminalize people experiencing homelessness. As a result, the Law Center was able to submit a letter to city officials in Fort Lauderdale condemning the ordinance. HNH campaign members Southern Legal Counsel and the ACLU of Florida also submitted letters against the ordinance

 

The Law Center further advocated against the ordinance for the second vote. Initially, the second vote was scheduled for April 7, 2020. The Law Center mobilized 15-20 people to testify against the ordinance, but the vote was postponed to May 5, 2020, likely due to the presence of that many advocates. A similar number of advocates turned out to testify against the ordinance on May 5, including Eric Tars, Legal Director at the Law Center, who called in.

 

After the debate, the three city council members who voted against the ordinance even relied on talking points from the Law Center to justify their decision, including one taken directly from Eric’s remarks: “if, as we say, we are trying to help people experiencing homelessness, why do we need a criminal ordinance to do that?” Proponents of the ordinance tried to argue that people experiencing homelessness did not want shelter or were camping by choice. However, testimony from persons experiencing homelessness in Fort Lauderdale was able to rebut these claim. People do not want shelter with preconditions—if you promote housing first, people will happily accept. We are proud to have contributed to this combined effort and to this victory for #HousingNotHandcuffs.

 

People living in vehicles in the City of San Diego—many with disabilities that increase the risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19—sought an emergency court order preventing the City from criminalizing living in vehicles under the City’s Vehicle Habitation Ordinance, and to stop towing and impoundment of vehicle homes during the COVID-19 outbreak. Represented by the Law Center, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Advocates, and pro bono counsel, including Fish & Richardson LLP, plaintiffs filed a request for a temporary restraining order in federal district court in San Diego on April 30, 2020.

 

Plaintiffs’ ability to self-isolate depends on keeping their vehicles—the only shelter they have. Yet, the City routinely cites unhoused people and threatens their arrest for vehicle habitation, even during the COVID-19 outbreak; the City has also impounded vehicle homes despite the local shelter-in-place order. Plaintiffs argued that the City’s actions increase their risk of being exposed to the coronavirus, and will further the spread of COVID-19, much like what happened during the City’s Hepatitis A outbreak in 2017.

 

As a result of plaintiffs’ advocacy leading up to the filing of the motion, the City reduced enforcement, suspended towing and impoundment of certain vehicle homes, re-opened public restrooms and a black water dumping station, and enhanced services at the City’s “safe lots” where people can now park and access hand-washing stations, toilets, and meals during the pandemic. Citing these changes, Judge Battaglia of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California denied the emergency motion on May 14, 2020. While plaintiffs sought additional changes, the city’s steps mark an improvement, and the case continues.

 

The case, Bloom v. City of San Diego, was filed in 2017 and litigation is ongoing. Read our full statement here.

 

 

Separately, on May 11 California legislators proposed an amendment to their state constitution recognizing the human right to housing. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 10 (ACA-10) states: “The fundamental human right to housing is hereby declared to exist in this state. This right ensures access to adequate housing for all Californians. This right is exclusively enforceable by a public right of action. It is the shared obligation of state and local jurisdictions to respect, protect, and fulfill this right through progressively implemented measures, consistent with available resources, within an aggressive but reasonable time frame.”

 

During a time of unprecedented financial insecurity, pursuing the human right to housing is especially important. Polling conducted by the Justice Collaborative on behalf of Moms 4 Housing finds that 66% of Californians, including 54% of Californians that identify as Republican, support this amendment. The Law Center is proud to have worked in conjunction with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (“ACCE”), Moms 4 Housing, and Assemblymember Rob Bonta’s office to develop and introduce this amendment.

 

The Law Center launched an ongoing webinar series in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upcoming topics include racial equity, policing and incarceration, and renters’ rights. Register for the webinar on racial equity here. Our webinar page is updated every week with video recordings of past webinars and information on more to come. 

 

 

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 concerns, the Law Center is indefinitely postponing its National Forum on the Human Right to Housing. We are looking to determine alternative events and will let you know soon as we have more information.