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April-May 2022

 

 

Dear Supporters and Endorsers of the Housing Not Handcuffs Campaign,
 
Thank you so much for your continued support. We appreciate your partnership while we advocate on behalf of people experiencing homelessness.
 
The concerns articulated in the last HNH newsletter about legislation criminalizing homelessness gaining traction in states and municipalities across the country remain relevant, as more jurisdictions continue to push ordinances and laws that punish our unhoused neighbors for existing in public spaces. Many of these laws come despite ongoing litigation and despite efforts by the Law Center and local partners to work with state legislatures and city councils on meaningfully and humanely addressing homelessness. Still, we are encouraged by grassroots organizers and advocates, and people with lived experiences of homelessness and criminalization, who continue to forge coalitions and fight for housing over handcuffs. We are, too, invigorated by legislation being passed in jurisdictions like New Orleans, Detroit, and Illinois aimed at affirmatively protecting low-income tenants’ rights to ensure accessibility of housing and to prevent unjust evictions.  
 
The perseverance of our partners, even amid the rise of regressive policies across the country, reminds us that the fight to decriminalize homelessness is more than a series of discrete battles. Truly decriminalizing homelessness will require a sustained movement, led by people with lived experience and engaging stakeholders across sectors, departments, and practice areas. Now, more than ever, those of us committed to ending the criminalization of homelessness must step up and speak up in the face of egregious injustice. If you have ideas about cross-sector coalition-building or want to learn more about how to fight back against the criminalization of homelessness in your community, please do not hesitate to reach out to our campaign.  

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If you have submissions for the next newsletter, please email [email protected]
 
The Law Center is planning to host a National Forum on the Human Right to Housing in October 2022. We would greatly appreciate if you are able to fill out this survey[[link removed]] to gauge interest in an in-person versus virtual forum. Please reach out to [email protected] with any forum-related questions. 

 
 
IN THIS ISSUE
 
Legislative Updates

Litigation Updates

Federal Policy Updates

International Updates

Announcements

 

Campaign Updates

Legislative Updates
 
Tennessee Makes Camping on Public Property a Class E Felony  
In April, the Tennessee legislature passed bill SB1610/HB0978[[link removed]] which makes camping on all public property, “unless otherwise stated,” a Class E felony punishable by up to 6 years in prison.[[link removed]] The bill effectively criminalizes homelessness and necessary actions of survival, including sleeping on public property. Through the Equal Access to Property Act of 2012, camping on state-owned property is already a felony offense in the state. The new legislation adds a public property provision to this existing law. Governor Bill Lee refused to sign the legislation but did not veto it, instead allowing it to take effect on July 1st of this year. 
 
The Law Center is working with local partners – including Open Table Nashville, East Tennessee Harm Reduction, and the ACLU of Tennessee –  to form a statewide coalition in Tennessee to combat enforcement of this law and implement proactive measures to protect unhoused Tennessee residents from criminalization. If you are interested in joining the coalition, please contact Lily Milwit at [email protected][mailto:[email protected]].  
 
Edmonds City Council Passes Ordinance Criminalizing Camping on Public Property 
On May 17, the Edmonds City Council passed an ordinance[[link removed]] with a 5-2 vote which criminalizes “occupying public property overnight” if available shelter services within 35 miles of the city are refused. A proposal to revisit the ordinance in a year, as well as another to begin with solutions advocated for by the city’s Homelessness Task Force to focus on increasing shelter capacity, both failed to garner enough votes among council members.  
 
In April, the Law Center sent a letter[[link removed]] to the Edmonds City Council urging them to reconsider passing the ordinance, which criminalizes homelessness and could be in violation of the constitutionally protected rights of unhoused residents. “These types of ordinances create more problems than they solve,” Tristia Bauman, senior attorney for the National Homelessness Law Center, told The Daily Herald.[[link removed]] “Taking a punitive approach,” she said, “wastes money, causes harm and does not reduce the number of people living outside.” 
 
San Luis Obispo, CA City Council Adopts Ordinance Banning People from Erecting Tents in Public Parks  
Earlier this month, the San Luis Obispo City Council narrowly voted[[link removed]] to pass an ordinance prohibiting people from erecting tents in public parks. The ordinance came amid ongoing litigation[[link removed]] against the City of San Luis Obispo in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, which survived a motion to dismiss[[link removed]] in February of this year. The Complaint alleged that “the City’s systematic enforcement of a constellation of local ordinances effectively makes it a crime for homeless individuals to exist in certain public areas and, thus, punishes them by virtue of their homelessness.”  
 
This new ban on erecting tents in public parks is now added to San Luis Obispo’s preexisting “constellation of local ordinances” that criminalize homelessness, which at the time the Complaint was filed in September of 2021 included prohibitions and regulations on being present in parks during certain hours, camping overnight on areas of city land, and sleeping overnight in vehicles, among others.   
 
Missouri Bill Banning Unauthorized Camping Passes in State Legislature
On May 18, the Missouri House of Representatives delivered to the Governor HB 1606[[link removed]], a legislative package that includes language that would ban people from sleeping on state-owned land, and would withhold state funding from local governments that refuse to enforce the ban unless they have a per-capita homelessness rate that is lower than the state average. A version of the bill was first introduced in both houses of the state legislature earlier this year, but did not gain traction until it was added as an amendment to a larger piece of legislation in April. 
 
The language mirrors model legislation put forth by the Cicero Institute, a conservative Texas-based think tank. The "Reducing Street Homelessness Model Bill[[link removed]]" aims to divert funding away from housing solutions and criminalize sleeping in public places. Missouri's version of the bill redirects state and federal funds currently allocated to the construction of permanent affordable housing toward short-term housing and substance use treatment. While the legislation has yet to be signed into law by the Governor, its passage through the state legislature puts Missouri in the crux of a dangerous trend to criminalize homelessness while withholding funding for long-term housing solutions, as Missouri joins[[link removed]] Georgia, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin in adopting the model legislation. 
 
New Orleans, Detroit Pass Right to Counsel for Tenants Facing Eviction  
New Orleans[[link removed]] and Detroit[[link removed]] became the 17th and 18th jurisdictions, respectively, to pass legislation providing a guaranteed right to counsel for tenants facing eviction. The New Orleans legislation was passed by the New Orleans City Council unanimously, and covers all tenants regardless of income. The Detroit legislation guarantees a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction who are at 200% or below the federal poverty level. It also provides a right to counsel for homeowners at 200% or below of the federal poverty line facing mortgage or property tax-based foreclosures.  
 
New Law Protects 'Nonwage Income' Earners from Housing Discrimination in Illinois 
Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois signed into law HB2775[[link removed]] which aims to protect individuals seeking housing from discrimination based on their source of income. Illinois follows several other jurisdictions that have passed legislation eliminating source of income discrimination as a means of expanding access to housing for people who are eligible for supplemental income, including Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, social security, and disability insurance. The Poverty & Race Research Action Council maintains a full compilation[[link removed]] of state, local, and federal statutes prohibiting discrimination in the housing market based on source of income.  
 
Litigation Updates
 
Usher v. Portland Voluntarily Dismissed by Plaintiffs   
In June of 2021, a class of unsheltered individuals in Portland, Oregon brought suit against the City of Portland in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon to challenge the City’s practices of discarding the Plaintiffs’ personal property during sweeps. According to the Original Complaint[[link removed]], Portland regularly hired third party contractors to conduct sweeps throughout the city, and “systematically failed to comply with [state law] by failing to make property taken from the plaintiffs reasonably available to them for 30 days, and by discarding property taken from the plaintiffs …” The class alleged violations to their due process and Fourth Amendment rights, and requested injunctive relief.  
 
On May 9, the Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed[[link removed]] the action without prejudice. The dismissal came after negotiations and conversations with the City during which the City agreed to adopt written policies regulating the process of removing unhoused residents from living in public places.  
 
Where Do We Go Berkeley v. Caltrans reversed at Ninth Circuit  
In September of 2021, 11 unhoused individuals in Berkeley, California sued[[link removed]] the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging violations of their due process rights, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act based on Caltrans’ practice of evicting Plaintiffs from their outdoor encampments. The District Court granted a preliminary injunction[[link removed]] for a period of six months, enjoining Caltrans from evicting the Plaintiffs in almost all of the relevant encampment sites.  
 
Caltrans appealed the District Court decision, and on May 3, the Ninth Circuit vacated the injunction[[link removed].], holding that the district court erred in its merits analysis and in its balance of equities. The Ninth Circuit decision was made primarily on ADA grounds, and found that the injunction was not a “reasonable modification” to Caltrans’ program of clearing encampments under its authority to maintain the highways. The Court found that a six-month delay in sweeps was a fundamental alteration to Caltrans’ program, and therefore not required by the ADA.   
 
Denver Homeless Out Loud v. Denver reversed at Tenth Circuit, Plaintiffs Seek Rehearing En Banc  
On October 5, 2020, Denver Homeless Out Loud and several individuals experiencing homelessness in Denver filed a class action lawsuit against the City and County of Denver and several of its officials in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, alleging constitutional violations based on Denver’s practice of sweeping encampments and confiscating personal property without proper notice. In support of Denver Homeless Out Loud’s allegations, The Law Center filed an amicus brief[[link removed]] with the district court. The Plaintiffs requested, and the District Court granted[[link removed]], a preliminary injunction enjoining Defendants from conducting sweeps and property confiscations without notice. The preliminary injunction specifically required Defendants to provide seven days advance written notice prior to initiating sweeps.  
 
The Defendants appealed, and on May 3, the Tenth Circuit vacated[[link removed]] the preliminary injunction and raised, sua sponte, the issue of claim preclusion based on a 2016 settlement between a class of unhoused Denver residents and the City of Denver. The Plaintiffs in that case had alleged[[link removed]] Fourteenth Amendment violations against the City based on sweeps without proper notice. Prior to trial in that case, the Plaintiffs reached a settlement agreement[[link removed]] with the City, which, in part, released the City from future liabilities. The Tenth Circuit in this case held that this prior settlement discharged “any and all claims arising out of the City’s alleged custom or practice … of sending ten or more employees or agents to clear away an encampment of multiple homeless persons by immediately seizing and discarding the property found there.” Based on this finding of claim preclusion, the Tenth Circuit vacated the district court’s order and remanded the case.  
 
Attorneys for the Plaintiffs are currently working with the Law Center and partners on filing a motion for a rehearing en banc with the Tenth Circuit.  
 
Lafayette, Louisiana Panhandling Legislation Repealed After Lawsuit Filed   
An unhoused man living in Lafayette, Louisiana brought suit[[link removed]] against the City of Lafayette and a group of City officials in November of 2021 to challenge the city’s panhandling ban. Represented by attorneys from the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center in New Orleans, the Plaintiff alleged that the City’s panhandling ban and enforcement thereof violated his free speech rights under the First Amendment. On April 5, the Plaintiff filed a motion[[link removed]] with the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the City from enforcing the challenged ordinances. On April 19, the Lafayette City Council set a vote to repeal[[link removed]] the two challenged ordinances, and on May 3 the City Council repealed their “Begging and Soliciting Money” and “Criminal Mischief” ordinances. A city ordinance and state statute regulating the obstruction of highways remain in effect, and are still potentially subject to the preliminary injunction requested by the Plaintiff.  
 
The plan to repeal the challenged ordinances comes after the Law Center’s finding[[link removed]] that 100% of cases challenging panhandling bans since 2015 have led to favorable results, including orders of preliminary relief, repeals or revisions of challenged policies and practices, findings of unconstitutionality, overturned convictions, and/or settlement agreements.  
 
Human Rights Watch Sues Los Angeles to Force Compliance with Public Records Request  
On April 20, the nonprofit advocacy group Human Rights Watch filed a lawsuit[[link removed]] against the City of Los Angeles to force the City to comply with a public records request for files relating to the City’s homelessness policies. The records request sought to obtain information about the City’s encampment bans, which began in the fall of 2021 after the expiration of a “shelter in place” strategy during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit aimed to access information from the City about its enforcement of the encampment bans and per-unit costs of shelters, among other information and records.  
 
Encampment Demonstrators Sue State of Idaho After Being Criminalized for Protesting  
In April, seven unhoused protesters sued the State of Idaho after the State filed, and subsequently dropped, a lawsuit against them for violating state code by protesting[[link removed]] the lack of affordable housing and low-barrier shelter options in the area. The individuals had camped outside of the Ada County Courthouse for two months to draw attention to the criminalization of homelessness and lack of shelter options, and the Governor’s office filed a lawsuit[[link removed]] in March seeking a court order to remove the protesters and their belongings from the courthouse property. After the State dismissed its lawsuit in early April, the individuals filed a Complaint[[link removed]] for injunctive relief, declaratory judgment, and damages in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho, alleging that the state and its officials had interfered with their rights under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The protesters-turned-Plaintiffs are represented by Howard Belodoff of Idaho Legal Aid, who was the lead attorney in Martin v. Boise.  
 
Plaintiffs Challenge Enforcement of Boulder Ordinances Prohibiting Camping and Public Property Storage  
On May 26, ACLU of Colorado and a Denver-based law firm, on behalf of unhoused Boulder residents, a homelessness services nonprofit, and Boulder taxpayers, filed a lawsuit[[link removed]] against the City of Boulder in Colorado state court . The lawsuit challenges enforcement of two Boulder ordinances that prohibit sheltering outside and storing property outside. According to the Complaint[[link removed]], Boulder has continued to enforce the challenged ordinances to prevent unhoused residents from sleeping outside, even as the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless has turned away more than 250 people. The Complaint came after many months of advocacy[[link removed]] in Boulder by ACLU of Colorado to make shelters more accessible and end the displacement of unsheltered residents.  
 
Federal Policy Updates
 

USICH Responds to “Growing Crisis of Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments”  
On May 26, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) released a statement[[link removed]] responding to unsheltered homelessness and encampments. Calling out the increased prevalence of encampments as a public health crisis, USICH notes that “there is not a single community in the country that has implemented a perfect system to solve unsheltered homelessness.” The statement calls for cross-sector collaboration and coordinated outreach to people with lived experiences of homelessness. USICH also notes in the statement that “removing encampments without providing access to low-barrier shelter and a range of housing options does not work” and suggests that jurisdictions work creatively to create safe, inclusive indoor spaces.  
 
Biden Administration Releases Housing Action Supply Plan  
On May 16, the Biden-Harris Administration released its Housing Action Supply Plan[[link removed]], which aims to “ease the burden of housing costs over time, by boosting the supply of quality housing in every community.” Under the Plan, the federal government will reward jurisdictions that reform their zoning and land-use policies to allow for the creation of affordable housing, deploy new financing mechanisms to build and preserve more housing, and expand existing forms of federal financing for affordable multi-family development and preservation. The Housing Action Supply Plan comes after the Administration released a plan[[link removed]] in September of 2021 to create 100,000 new units of affordable housing.   
 
USICH Releases Racial Equity Action Plan  
In mid-April, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) released its Racial Equity Action Plan[[link removed]], which was developed in accordance with Executive Order 13985[[link removed]], the Biden-Harris Administration’s Order on “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”  The Executive Order called on all agencies of the federal government to conduct equity assessments, allocate resources to advance racial equity, and develop plans to engage with members of underserved communities. USICH’s Racial Equity Action Plan aims to establish racial equity as a core part of the upcoming Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness[[link removed]], engage with tribal and indigenous groups to address Native American homelessness, and explore opportunities to develop a Civil Rights Office within USICH.  
 
HUD Releases Notice of Funding Opportunity for Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program  
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released[[link removed]] a new round of funding for its Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program[[link removed]] (YHDP), an initiative designed to support communities in developing and implementing coordinated community approaches to preventing and ending youth homelessness. The Notice of Funding Opportunity application process, which will remain open through June 28, is open to county governments, city or township governments, state governments, special district governments, tribal governments and housing entities, and select nonprofits and continuums of care. HUD will select up to 25 communities to participate in YHDP, and will fund between $1 million and $15 million per community, based on the community’s population size and poverty rate. By participating in the program, communities will receive funding and technical assistance from HUD to implement innovative and comprehensive approaches to reduce youth homelessness. The program’s homepage[[link removed]] includes information about past program participants and funding recipients.  
 
International Updates
 
Report on US racial disparities in housing and homelessness filed with UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination  
On May 13, the Law Center, together with the University of Miami School of Law Human Rights Clinic, South Florida Community Development Coalition, Partners for Dignity & rights, National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, and Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity filed a report[[link removed]] with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, describing racial disparities in housing and homelessness in preparation for the August review of the U.S. by the Committee. As stated by Rob Robinson of Partners for Dignity & Rights, "Gentrification leads to displacement, which leads to homelessness, which leads to criminalization.” The government will hold a consultation with non-governmental organizations on June 2 to discuss issues raised by the report, and steps the federal government can take to better comply with the treaty.
 

Announcements

 
 
Panhandling and Food Sharing Webinar Available Online  
On May 25, the Law Center hosted a webinar on lawsuits challenging bans on panhandling and food sharing. The webinar was the second in a series associated with the Litigation Manual Supplement[[link removed]], which includes case summaries for more than 180 cases challenging laws that criminalize homelessness, as well as key findings and trends. The first webinar, which focused on cases challenging camping bans and sweeps, is available to stream here[[link removed]]. The most recent webinar, focused on cases challenging bans on panhandling and food sharing, is available here[[link removed]]. 
 
Law Center, Partner Organizations Introduce Poor Not Guilty: Fines & Fees Challenge  
The Law Center, in partnership with the Fines & Fees Justice Center, Matters Play, DePaul University, and the University of Miami School of Law Human Rights Clinic, recently launched the Poor Not Guilty Challenge. The Challenge is an interactive educational tool[[link removed]] based on a series of real-life experiences that highlight how fines and fees for petty offenses create impossible situations for those experiencing poverty and/or homelessness. The challenge tool can be used to sensitize audiences to the difficulties faced by poor and unhoused Americans. The Law Center’s webpage provides a suggested lesson plan[[link removed]], but it can also be set up at a conference table on a tablet for attendees to interact with on their own, or used as part of a webinar or in person presentation, board training, or even in an advocacy visit with an elected or appointed official. Please feel free to use the exercise however you need it, and let us know[[link removed]] how it works and if you have any suggestions for improvements.  
 
ACLU, National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel Release Research Brief on the Consequences of Eviction Without Counsel  
Earlier this month, the ACLU and the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (NCCRC) published a Research Brief titled, “No Eviction Without Representation: Evictions’ Disproportionate Harms and the Promise of Right to Counsel[[link removed]].” The Brief finds that eviction has devastating and long-term consequences for families and communities, including sweeping negative impacts on child development, physical health, and civic engagement. Using empirical research, the Brief finds that tenants facing eviction who have access to counsel are significantly less likely to be evicted and that providing representation to people facing eviction balances out the disparity in access to legal resources between landlords and tenants, and is cost-effective for the government. The Brief concludes that, “… Legal representation in eviction proceedings is a demonstrably effective intervention, and is therefore critical to preventing the harsh consequences of homelessness.”  
 
NLIHC Releases “The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes” Report 
Last month, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released its 2022 annual report titled, “The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes[[link removed]].”  The Report finds a national shortage of 7 million affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters, and calls for long-term federal investments to preserve and create affordable housing. It also finds that the shortage of affordable housing disproportionately impacts households of color: 20% of Black households, 18% of American Indian and Alaska Native households, 15% of Latinx households, and 10% of Asian households are counted among the lowest-income renters, compared to 6% of white non-Latinx households.  
 
Stay Up to Date!
Check out the Law Center in the News[[link removed]] section of our website to see coverage of our staff and of our work in communities across the country. Additionally, make sure to subscribe to our organizational news letter In Just Times[[link removed]], check out press releases[[link removed]] from the Law Center, and follow our social media[[link removed]]!
 
HNH Campaign / Organizational Resources
This one pager[[link removed]] provides an overview of the HNH Campaign and outlines concrete ways for people to get involved. It also includes a fact sheet on the criminalization of homelessness. This tool is useful to share with people who are already familiar with homelessness issues and are looking for more information about the HNH Campaign. Additional resources can be found here[[link removed]].
 
Resources, news, and initiatives by the Law Center regarding Coronavirus can be found at our Coronavirus hub[[link removed]].
 
Campaign Branding 

We encourage campaign endorsers to link relevant events to the national Housing Not Handcuffs campaign. Please see the guidelines for branding your materials here[[link removed]].  

 

 

 

 
 

 
This newsletter was designed, drafted, and distributed by the
National Homelessness Law Center
homelesslaw.org[homelesslaw.org]
 
on behalf of the Housing Not Handcuffs Campaign
housingnothandcuffs.org[[link removed]]
 

 

 
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