Maina wa Njuguna
Homelessness in the United States of America has been on the rise for years. There are over 653,000 thousand homessess people according to United States Census Bereau. These people live in temporary shelters, abandoned buildings and on the streets of major cities.
These ever increasing encampments has seen rise of tensions between the homeless, cities dwellers and cities officials. According to World Polulation Review, three-quarters of the homeless are single individuals with the rest consisting of families.
Some of the main factors contributing to the surge in homelessness include – rising housing costs, partly due to limited housing units, limited or low incomes partly because of inflation, health challenges be they mental and unaffordable care, immigration surges, and the end of many COVID-19 relief programs that sheltered many.
Key findings by the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress in 2022 found “an over representation of people who identify as Black, African or African American, as well as indigenous people (including Native Americans and Pacific Islanders) compared to other demographics.”
The US population of Black people (African Americans, Africans) is just over 12 percent of the total population, but this demography comprised 37 percent of all people experiencing homelessness and half of all people (50 percent) experiencing homelessness as members of families with children.
Approximately 61 percent of people experiencing homelessness identify as men (minorities are over represented) in this group. Homelessness among women has also been increasing, 12.1 percent in 2022 from 11.4 percent since 2015.
U.S. SUPREME COURT CASE: CITY OF GRANTS PASS V. JOHNSON
Homelessness is a very intractable challenge in the US with multiple angles that need redress such as mental disorders, financial problems that come with low or limited incomes, limited housing capacities, unemployment, etc, etc.
Local and states governments have had a hodgepodge of results from welfare programs to penalties notwithstanding the differences in state laws.
The U.S. Supreme case between the City of Grants Pass, Oregon vs. Gloria Johnson, who was a destitute and lived in her van. Together with John Logan who slept in his car at a truck stop were awarded class action status when they challenged Grants Pass city injunction that fined them anti-camping and parking exclusion leaving the anti-sleeping ordinance unchallenged in the Federal Nineth Court of Appeals.
They had contended that the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibited certain methods of punishment for a crime and that penalizing struggling people and hindering them from sleeping was cruel and unusual punishment.
This was at the heart of the matter with multiple jurisdictions especially in the Western States which also grappled with different court rulings rendering them unable to address this growing menace.
The recent U.S. Supreme Court case decision, 603 U.S. between City of Grants V. Johnson – July 15, 2024 held that local governments have greater leverage to enact and enforce criminal penalties for acts like public camping or sleeping — even in localities where local shelter space is limited and contributes to homelessness.
/Sylvia Goodman/
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has turned up the crackdown on clearing encampments statewide. The state has the highest homeless population which stands over 180,000, about 28% of the total population of the homeless in the entire country.
Gov. Newsom was quoted saying “No more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.” Where these people are going to go will prove to be easier said than done. Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, blasted Newsom for “criminalizing poverty” and “doubling down on failed policies.”
Janosko, now in a small East Oakland apartment, in the state fears the worst. “Every time you start to feel like you have a safety zone, it’s wiped out again,” he said. “Where are the people going? If they’re not in my neighborhood, then whose neighborhood are they going to?”
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