Humanity and Homelessness: Dignity and Empathetic Policy-Making

This post originally appeared on Indiana Community Poverty Institute’s blog

“Every American deserves a safe and reliable place to call home. It’s a matter of security, stability, and well-being. It is also a matter of basic dignity and who we are as a Nation.” -White House Federal Strategic Plan: Dec. 19, 2022  

The year is 2014. It’s November in southern California, and my partner and I just got kicked out of our home - less than a month after paying rent with money loaned to us by my grandma. We started living in our 1996 Ford Taurus, officially homeless. We had three jobs between us, but that still was not enough, and I was still walking into businesses looking for more work: anything to get us out of our rut and to gain more financial security. We were young and remained hopeful despite our problems, but being homeless made us an easy target for law enforcement to harass. Many of our friends were ticketed for simply existing without a home, exactly what we were forced to do due to the lack of enough income. 

I remember one time, we were merely standing by the pier with many others, chatting with friends, and enjoying the weather. A cop came out of nowhere with his ticketing pad ready to write us all tickets, only because he knew we were homeless. We weren’t causing a ruckus. We weren’t in anyone's way. We just were like everyone else--enjoying the pier and talking. Homelessness felt like a target on our backs. 

Police harassment continued even during times when we could have used assistance instead of aggressive law enforcement engagement. One evening, a friend of ours wasn’t feeling well and was laid out under the otherwise empty pavilion on a bench resting in the shade. A cop came by repeatedly, not to check on our friend’s poor health but to tell him to move and not fall asleep on the bench. We kept telling the cop that our friend wasn’t feeling well, was just resting and we were waiting on someone to fetch him some water and light snacks. As this is a public space, we had every right to be there but because we were homeless, it was deemed unlawful. These punitive actions towards us did not help improve our financial conditions to obtain housing but were harmful and made us more cautious around law enforcement even in instances where we needed assistance. 

Sadly, policies and actions targeting homeless individuals –from California to Indiana and in others states and cities throughout the country only worsen the crisis we face. In California, multiple local city ordinances have further worsened engagement with those experiencing homelessness such as the passing of “Sit and Lie” laws (Alpert Reyes, 2019). These city ordinances such as the one in Los Angeles make it illegal to sit, lie, sleep in public spaces anywhere in these cities, and enforcement of such rules will be likely be disproportionately applied to the homeless. Since the passing of the LA ordinance, data from the city controller shows a steady increase in arrests and the over-representation of minorities being arrested for “Sit and Lie” violations (Mejia, 2024). Ordinances such as “Sit and Lie” laws are influenced by the public perception held by individuals such as business owners that claim those who are homeless threaten the profitability of their businesses, ignoring the humanity of those experiencing homelessness (Martin, 2018). We are human and live in a system that makes it hard to remain housed despite our best efforts.    

National rhetoric has similarly dehumanized and criminalized individuals experiencing homelessness. Most recently, in June 2024 the Supreme Court threw out protections for those staying in encampments, including sleeping in your own car (Whitehurst, 2024). Those in support of this ruling have framed it as, “local governments previously having their hands tied” in dealing with “unsafe” encampments, ignoring that this ruling will violate the dignity, rights and wellbeing of those that are already the most vulnerable in society (Whitehurst, 2024). This Supreme Court ruling allows governmental entities to tread on the individual rights of those experiencing homelessness, such as the ability to simply exist in public spaces.

Because of the Supreme Court ruling, local governments across the U.S. will now be allowed to implement punitive approaches, which have been found to not decrease homelessness but further entrench individuals into poverty (Darrah-Okik et al., 2018). Between the years of 2006-2017, the National Homeless Law Center tracked 187 cities that used a punitive model for policing homelessness. Those cities saw significant growth in violations including loitering, camping, panhandling, and public sleeping, which were the actions that those cities sought to prevent with such ordinances (Tars, 2021). By using punitive approaches to addressing homelessness these cities worsen the financial conditions of those they punish for experiencing homelessness, engraining them further into poverty.  

While it may appear simple to just direct those experiencing homelessness to shelters or other social services, this fails to recognize the limited number of beds and resources that currently exist. The number of people experiencing homelessness increased significantly in 2023, with over 100,000 additional people being counted as homeless. When looking at the overall number of those who are experiencing homelessness nationally, in 2023, a significant proportion (39.3%) of these individuals are unsheltered (de Sousa et al., 2023). Such a high percentage of those experiencing homelessness unsheltered reinforces the limitations of our current service structures to support homeless people. Shelters and transitional housing may have additional requirements related to substance use disorder, leading to those struggling with these issues having a harder time obtaining shelter. Such housing options are commonly tight on space due to costs leading to limited capacity for those experiencing homelessness to retain personal belongings. Shelters also may close during the day, therefore, where are people experiencing homelessness expected to go then during the day, especially with sit and lie city ordinances popping up more often across the U.S.    

Other approaches to addressing homelessness exist beyond both only shelters or transitional housing and the harmful punitive city ordinances. Housing First Initiatives are one potential remedy and is based on the idea that having a safe and secure shelter is the foundation for improvement in life (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2022; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023). An in-depth examination of research conducted across North America and Europe on the use of Housing First approaches to address high-risk homeless individuals found that those participating in Housing First required fewer routine visits to healthcare facilities, which contributed to fewer health problems. Results show that Housing First as a viable and scientifically-supported approach to help those experiencing homelessness and provide access to needed services, ultimately supporting a pathway to financial stability (Baxter et al., 2019). Housing First restores the humanity and dignity of those experiencing homelessness, recognizing the importance of a place for rest and to call one’s own as a first step to stability.  

It is now 2024, and I am blessed to have a home to call my own and rest without threat of harassment for simply sleeping. I have moved back to my hometown of Fort Wayne, IN and I see a lot of the aggressive policies against homeless people I saw in California now see happening here in my home state of Indiana. The city is rapidly changing: the population, the infrastructure, the culture, everything. Some days it feels like nothing has or will stay the same. With all this change, there has been a rise in homelessness as affordability for housing in Fort Wayne has become increasingly out of reach for the average Hoosier (McMahan & Dahlen, 2024). Many people in Fort Wayne and Allen County can be considered Assist Limited Income Constrained Employed or “ALICE.” These are everyday working people in my county, just like me, who are your line cooks, Uber drivers, childcare workers, and factory workers. Those who are ALICE are at increased risk of financial instability in the event of an unexpected costly life event such as an accident, expensive medical need, major car repair or other financial shock (United for Alice, 2022). The most recent ALICE numbers for Allen County (2022), show that 28% of our neighbors are currently under the classification of ALICE and at a higher risk of significant financial instability in the instance of an unexpected cost (United for Alice, 2022). All it takes is one life event, and these individuals could potentially lose their housing and become homeless.  

Supporting our neighbors and ourselves when in need does not weaken us but invests in the health of our nation. Efforts that support instead of punishing those who are experiencing homelessness are proven to help stabilize the wellbeing of those in these situations and provide a pathway out (Baxter et al., 2019; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023). So, how can we as a community advocate for these policies?  

We must call on our local governments to recognize the critical need to support and not punish those in need, the most vulnerable in our county, and pursue Housing First as an area of exploration to address the root causes of homelessness. I’ve joined the Institute as a policy fellow to do just that - and I ask you, if you embrace that we are all better off when every Hoosier is stably housed, to let your legislator know that today.  

Find your state senator here and reach out, share your thoughts! 

Want to keep informed about our work at the Institute and what we will be doing to help address the criminalization of homelessness and the housing crisis? Join our listserv here.  

About the Author: 
Hello, my name is Sarah. I wrote this piece because I was devastated about the Supreme Court Ruling that removes protections for those who are homeless. As someone who spent a lot of their young adult years being homeless or couch surfing, I wanted to write a piece to honor that time and the people I met who helped me along the way. Today I am a line cook for a local restaurant and I am a Policy Fellow for Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute. My focus is on Housing and Homelessness as it is a topic very close to my heart. The Institute has been a big support in my research, growth, and finding positive solutions to support the community. 

References 

Alpert Reyes, E., Stiles, M. & Menezes, R (2019, September 6). Homeless face new sleeping ban rules in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-06/homeless-sleeping-ban-rules-los-angeles 

Baxter AJ, Tweed EJ, Katikireddi SV, Thomson H. Effects of Housing First approaches on health and well-being of adults who are homeless or at risk of homelessness: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2019 May;73(5):379-387. doi: 10.1136/jech-2018-210981. Epub 2019 Feb 18. PMID: 30777888; PMCID: PMC6581117. 

Darrah-Okike, J., Soakai, S., Nakaoka, S., Dunson-Strane, T., & Umemoto, K. (2018). “It Was Like I Lost Everything”: The Harmful Impacts of Homeless-Targeted Policies. Housing Policy Debate, 28(4), 635–651. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2018.1424723  

De Sousa, T., Andrichik, A., Rush, K., Tano, C., & Wheelter, M. (2023). The 2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress: Part 1. HUD User. Retrieved July 22, 2024, from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2023-ahar-part-1.Pdf

Martin, R. (2018). Homelessness hinders local business, survey says. Federal Way Mirror. Retrieved July 17, 2024, from https://www.federalwaymirror.com/opinion/homelessness-hinders-local-business-survey-says/ 

Mejia, K. (2024).  Recent arrests analysis. Los Angeles City Controller. Retrieved July 30, 2024, from https://controller.lacity.gov/landings/analysis/4118recentarrests 

McMahn, C., & Dahlen, E. (2024, January 23). Statewide homelessness count aims to inform officials, help those who need it. WANE. Retrieved July 22, 2024, from https://www.wane.com/top-stories/statewide-homelessness-count-aims-to-inform-officials-help-those-who-need-it/ 

National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2022). Housing First. National Alliance to End Homelessness. Retrieved July 22, 2024, from https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/ 

Tars, E.S., (2021) Criminalization of homelessness: A state-by-state examination. National Low Income Housing Coalition. https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/AG-2021/06-08_Criminalization-of-Homelessness.pdf 

United for ALICE. (2022). County reports: Indiana. Retrieved July 17, 2024, from https://unitedforalice.org/county-reports/indiana 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2023). New research sheds light on housing instability among renters. HUD User. Retrieved July 22, 2024, from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/em/spring-summer-23/highlight2.html 

Whitehurst, L. (2024). Supreme Court to review laws on homeless camping bans. Associated Press. Retrieved July 17, 2024, from https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-homeless-camping-bans-506ac68dc069e3bf456c10fcedfa6bee