by National Coalition for the Homeless

The Criminalization of Homelessness takes many forms. To get a better understanding of what exactly it is, we have to look at the difference between those who have money and those who don’t . For instance if you have money, then you don’t need to sleep in a public place.

If you don’t have money then where else would you sleep? I guess on a bus bench would be more legal, correct? Rather than breaking the law and sleeping in someone’s back yard. You would think that is what the people want, however it is far from what the people really think. Come on, Mr. Mayor where does one sleep if they do not have a home? The report explains it like this:

“Enactment and enforcement of legislation that makes it illegal to sleep, sit, or store personal belongings in public spaces in cities where people are forced to live in public spaces.” And as you read below you will see the wide menu of other laws that directly target the homeless:
Selective enforcement of more neutral laws, such as loitering, jaywalking, or open container laws, against homeless persons.

• Sweeps of city areas in which homeless persons are living to drive them out of those areas, frequently resulting in the destruction of individuals’ personal property such as important personal documents and medication.
• Enactment and enforcement of laws that punish people for begging or panhandling in order to move poor or homeless persons out of a city or downtown area.
• Enactment and enforcement of laws that restrict groups sharing food with homeless persons in public spaces.
• Enforcement of a wide range of so-called “quality of life” ordinances related to public activities and hygiene (i.e. public urination) when no public facilities are available to people without housing.

Examples of Mean Cities

Since the beginning of 2007, among others documented in this report, measures taken in the following cities stand out as some of the worst examples of cities’ inhumane treatment of homeless and poor people:

1. Los Angeles, CA
2. St. Petersburg, FL
3. Orlando, FL
4. Atlanta, GA
5. Gainesville, FL
6. Kalamazoo, MI
7. San Francisco, CA
8. Honolulu, HI
9. Bradenton, FL
10. Berkeley, CA