Supreme Court ruling on homelessness comes at 'worst moment possible,' fair-housing advocates say

By Maya Levine

Housing is unaffordable for many people in the U.S.

Advocates for fair housing on Friday criticized a Supreme Court decision allowing cities to enforce laws restricting sleeping on public property.

The justices ruled that the city of Grants Pass, Ore., did not violate the Eighth Amendment by fining and imprisoning people for camping on public property or parking overnight in city parks.

The 6-3 decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson will allow cities to more easily and directly address homeless encampments through law enforcement.

Many fair-housing advocates have joined the dissenting justices in condemning such action.

This ruling "comes at the worst moment possible, where the housing market is so erratic and the affordable-housing crisis is so acute," said Kate Walz, associate director of litigation at the National Housing Law Project and co-author of an amicus brief before the court.

"We have to walk away from the idea that the criminal legal system is the antidote to the affordable-housing crisis. It's not," Walz added.

In her dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that people become homeless for many reasons, including some beyond their control.

"Stagnant wages and the lack of affordable housing can mean some people are one unexpected medical bill away from being unable to pay rent. Every $100 increase in median rental price is associated with about a 9 percent increase in the estimated homelessness rate," she wrote.

Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan joined the dissent.

In recent years, housing has become increasingly unaffordable in the U.S. For many Americans, homeownership is out of the question, and rental costs eat up a large share of their incomes.

Low-income workers are feeling this rent burden to an extreme degree, which has contributed to rising homelessness, said Morgan Williams, general counsel for the National Fair Housing Alliance.

Between 2022 and 2023, the total number of people in the U.S. experiencing homelessness went up by 12%, or 70,642 people, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the number of unhoused individuals in 2023 was the highest it has been since data reporting began in 2007. "On a single night in 2023, roughly 653,100 people - or about 20 of every 10,000 people in the United States - were experiencing homelessness," the report said.

The justices overturned a lower-court ruling prohibiting the punishment of people who are involuntarily homeless due to a shortage of shelter beds.

Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote: "Homelessness is complex. Its causes are many. So may be the public policy responses required to address it."

He said that allowing cities to enforce public-camping rules benefits not only communities, but also people living in the encampments who are encouraged by public officials to seek help.

Walz disagrees. "I see no value with these types of ordinances whatsoever," she said.

Williams said that the ruling creates another avenue for the continued policing of vulnerable communities of color. "Laws criminalizing homelessness are impacting those most marginalized in society," he said.

Fair-housing advocates are worried that the ruling could trigger a crackdown on encampments. Multiple cities filed amicus briefs in support of Grants Pass.

The city of Los Angeles summarized the challenge many jurisdictions are facing. The city told the justices it is "trying to solve the humanitarian tragedy facing unhoused residents, while simultaneously dealing with the health and safety concerns raised by having tens of thousands of people living with their possessions in public spaces intended for other, shared purposes."

The Los Angeles area - including the city and county - ranks second only to New York City for the number of people experiencing homelessness, according to HUD.

Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, does not believe that this ruling will solve cities' problems.

"At a time when elected officials need to be focused on long-term, sustainable solutions that are grounded in evidence - including funding the affordable housing and supportive services that their constituents need - this ruling allows leaders to shift the burden to law enforcement. This tactic has consistently failed to reduce homelessness in the past, and it will assuredly fail to reduce homelessness in the future," she said in a statement.

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-28-24 1707ET

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.