Ramirez: If ending homelessness is the goal, punishing the poor isn't the answer - San Jose Spotlight

"Following a Supreme Court ruling last year, we saw changes at the local level, as numerous cities rushed to pass camping bans. Fremont made national news when it attempted to make helping the unhoused a misdemeanor. Earlier this year, San Jose implemented its Responsibility to Shelter policy, enabling the arrest of unhoused residents who decline shelter three times within an 18-month period."

"The federal administration recently issued an executive order that contradicts proven best practices for tackling homelessness. It even deployed the National Guard to Washington D.C. as a response to the city's crime and homelessness, and it has threatened to do the same in other cities including Oakland and San Francisco. Following a Supreme Court ruling last year, we saw changes at the local level, as numerous cities rushed to pass camping bans."

"These laws don't reduce homelessness. Rather, enforcement-based approaches impede progress toward housing. They cause relocation to higher risk areas, disrupt access to support including health care and lead to the loss of personal belongings. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, while there have been laws criminalizing homelessness in some cities for decades, there is no evidence indicating this works."

Policymakers across the country are criminalizing homelessness through laws and enforcement actions. Federal actions have included an executive order and deployment of the National Guard in response to crime and homelessness. Many cities enacted camping bans and punitive measures, including making assistance a misdemeanor, penalizing refusal of shelter, and banning overnight parking of large vehicles. Enforcement-based approaches do not reduce homelessness; they force relocation to higher-risk areas, disrupt access to supports such as health care, cause loss of personal belongings, and divert public funds to ineffective policies. Service providers recommend Housing First, which secures housing quickly without excessive entry requirements.

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