Litigation Successes
Several positive litigation rulings in recent months have helped to clarify the impact of the Martin v. Boise decision and the CDC guidance stating no sweeps of homeless encampments should take place unless people can be placed into individual housing units.
In Sacramento Homeless Union v. City of Sacramento, advocates, supported by research from the Law Center, filed a lawsuit against the City for conducting sweeps of homeless encampments despite an order issued by the Health Officer of the County prohibiting sweeps. This order relied on CDC guidance that stated communities should allow people experiencing homelessness to remain in encampments unless individual housing is provided, as to minimize the transmission of COVID-19. On July 16, Judge Laurie Earl of the Sacramento Superior Court found that the City of Sacramento was conducting sweeps of homeless encampments despite the County Health
Officer’s order and issued a Writ of Mandamus prohibiting further sweeps.
In Blake v. City of Grants Pass, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted the Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment in a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of “all involuntarily homeless individuals living in Grants Pass, Oregon,” challenging the litany of laws imposing civil penalties for living outside. For example, Grants Pass prohibited sleeping on any public sidewalks or streets as well as camping on any public property. The District Court relied on Martin v. Boise, a 9th Circuit case which ruled that homeless persons cannot be punished for sleeping on public property in the absence of adequate alternatives.
The City of Grants Pass argued that its anti-camping ordinances complied with Martin because they did not criminalize the act of sleeping, but instead prohibited sleeping in a campsite and the ordinances only imposed a civil fine, not a jail sentence. The Court found that these ordinances were unconstitutional under Martin, because “it is not enough under the Eighth Amendment to simply allow sleeping in public spaces; the Eighth Amendment also prohibits a City from punishing homeless people for taking necessary
minimal measures to keep themselves warm and dry while sleeping when there are no alternative forms of shelter available.”
The Court also found “It is the punishment of a person's unavoidable status that violates the constitution, not whether that punishment is designated civil or criminal.” The court also cited extensively from the Law Center’s 2019 Housing Not Handcuffs report and
other information submitted in an amicus curiae brief, and recommended the city undertake constructive solutions rather than further criminalization.
Varied Responses to Sweeps
On May 13, the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued an executive order relying on CDC guidance which stated that “homeless encampments, including both new and existing encampments, should not be subject to sweeps or disbandment by state or local governments, as such sweeps or disbandments increase the potential risk and spread of COVID-19,” the first example of a state-wide
moratorium identified in the Law Center’s COVID-19 response tracker. When, the City of Maplewood, MN conducted a sweep of an encampment in July, the City housed people in individual hotel rooms due to the order’s protections.
Despite the CDC guidelines, Detroit was conducting sweeps of homeless encampments. On June 2, the Law Center sent a letter in conjunction with the ACLU of Michigan and Street Democracy to Detroit’s mayor, city council members, and public health departments urging Detroit to cease conducting sweeps unless the City was able to provide individual housing units to all residents of the encampment. The letter argued that sweeping encampments hindered public health and violated the constitutional rights of encampment residents. As a result of this advocacy, the Detroit Housing and Revitalization
Department agreed to add a line onto the city’s encampment removal policy, requiring that sweeps be conducted in compliance with CDC guidelines. The policy was said to be implemented within 30-40 days of their response to the letter on June 9, and has been used in three sweeps so far.
However, in Denver, sweeps have continued without adequate notice, storage, or alternatives provided, despite the Lyall settlement. This week, a large encampment in front of the Denver Statehouse was swept despite advocacy by HNH Campaign member Denver Homeless Out Loud.
The Law Center hosted a webinar on organizing and legal strategies to stop sweeps as part of its ongoing webinar series on homelessness during COVID-19.
Successful Transition of Homeless Encampment to Permanent Housing in Gainesville
In Gainesville, Florida, a homeless encampment known as Dignity Village, in which approximately 350 people experiencing homelessness resided, was closed through provision of housing. Dignity Village was located near GRACE
Marketplace, the largest homeless services center and shelter in the city. When the city made it clear they wanted the camp closed, advocates from GRACE proposed a phased plan to the City of Gainesville so residents could obtain permanent housing. Advocates worked with residents of Dignity Village to address their needs to create interim support systems that would lead
to permanent housing.
A complete roster of Dignity Village residents was taken. They created a temporary campground for Dignity Village residents on the GRACE campus while permanent housing options were being identified. Residents were given a private tent, and an unarmed security guard restricted access to only Dignity Village residents. GRACE hired a case manager whose sole job was to find permanent housing for Dignity Village residents, who were welcome to utilize GRACE services in the meantime.
As of now, Dignity Village has officially closed. 82 residents have transitioned to permanent housing. Approximately 60 residents are residing in the temporary campground and are being worked with so that permanent housing can be identified. The remaining Dignity Village residents stopped seeking services from GRACE or have otherwise left town. During this process, there were no arrests of Dignity Village residents nor positive cases of COVID-19.
Here, advocates and residents created a holistic plan that utilized continuums of care with the sole goal of finding permanent housing.
Equal Access Rule
HUD has announced a proposed change to the Equal Access Rule, which protects transgender people from discrimination in homeless shelters by ensuring transgender people are able to access HUD-funded shelter consistent with their gender identity. The new proposed rule would allow shelter providers to decide whether people seeking shelter are eligible for single-sex or sex segregated shelters. By allowing shelters to consider a range of factors, including religious objections, in determining whether or not to appropriately house a
transgender person, the proposed rule condones discrimination against transgender people and makes shelters an unsafe place for them.
The Law Center is working with pro bono partners and other organizations to develop official comments disputing the legality of this proposed rule and highlighting the harms it will inflict on the trans community. You can join the fight against this proposed rule change at https://housingsaveslives.org/.
Representative Jayapal Seeks Co-Sponsors for Housing is a Human Right Act of 2020
On March 19, 2020, Representative Jayapal introduced a bill, co-sponsored by Representative Grace Meng, intended to "address and end root causes of homelessness; transition communities towards providing housing for all; and ensure full democratic participation of persons experiencing homelessness."
The full bill text is available here, and includes restrictions on Department of Justice funding from being used to promote criminalization of homelessness. The Law Center is proud to have worked with Representative Jayapal's office to develop the Housing is a Human Right Act. Currently, Representative Jayapal is seeking further co-sponsors and Housing
Not Handcuffs endorsers are encouraged to contact their representatives and ask them to co-sponsor the Housing is a Human Right Act.
Additionally, Representative Jayapal offered an appropriations amendment to the Justice section of the appropriations minibus. This amendment "prohibits federal funds from being used to penalize persons experiencing homelessness for the life-sustaining activities of sleeping, resting and eating in recognition of the sharp increase in unsheltered homelessness likely to be caused by secondary
economic effects of COVID-19, especially absent further federal housing voucher and eviction relief; the inherent human right of all persons to sleep, rest and eat; and the 9th Circuit's holding in Martin v. Boise that criminalizing unsheltered persons violates the Cruel and Unusual Punishments clause of the Eighth Amendment."
The amendment was unfortunately rejected by the Rules Committee, but plans have been made to introduce a similar amendment on the Senate side. If passed, this would be the first measure prohibiting the criminalization of homelessness in the budget.
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