Experts Warn That Punitive Laws Push Unhoused People into Danger While Worsening Stigma, Isolation, and Harm
Invisible People: The growing criminalization of homelessness is contributing to increasing incidences of violence against people who are homeless, according to experts.
Nearly every city across the country has quality-of-life ordinances that restrict or prohibit acts associated with homelessness, such as eating in public or building a temporary shelter to protect oneself from the weather.
These laws are not new, but more than 300 cities adopted new laws or increased penalties on existing ones following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Johnson v. Grants Pass in 2024. The case allows cities to use punitive punishments like ticketing people who are homeless or arresting them for sleeping outside when no other shelter options are available.
Advocates say these laws primarily serve political ends by allowing cities to quickly remove encampments. However, experts say there is a growing correlation between laws criminalizing homelessness and the rising incidents of violence against people who are homeless. This is happening at a time when homelessness is increasing because of the rising cost of living.
“There’s been an increase in violence, and an increase in law enforcement activity that frankly lacks humanity and effectiveness,” Jeff Olivet, senior advisor to Harvard University’s Initiative on Health and Homelessness, said during a recent webinar.
How Criminalization Creates Conditions for Violence
While laws criminalizing homelessness often do not contain language that allows people to commit violent acts against the unhoused, they can inspire violence in several ways.
For instance, laws that criminalize homelessness force people who are homeless into isolated areas, making them easier targets. These laws also help spread a social message that people who are homeless are less worthy of respect and dignity than other folks. They can also increase the number of contacts between unhoused people and police officers, thereby increasing the chances of someone being mistreated.
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