{"id":11096,"date":"2023-07-03T11:42:30","date_gmt":"2023-07-03T11:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=11096"},"modified":"2023-07-03T11:42:30","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T11:42:30","slug":"the-little-noticed-court-decision-that-changed-homelessness-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=11096","title":{"rendered":"The little-noticed court decision that changed homelessness in America"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“Five years ago, a federal court issued a crucial ruling<\/a>. People experiencing homelessness, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals<\/a> said, can\u2019t be punished for sleeping outside on public property if there are no adequate alternatives available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2018 decision in Martin v. Boise<\/em> did not create the homelessness crisis, which researchers attribute primarily to the lack of affordable housing. The number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness \u2014 meaning those sleeping on the streets, in parks, in abandoned buildings or train stations, or anywhere not meant for humans to live \u2014 was rising before the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as the number of unsheltered homeless people continued to grow over the past half-decade, the Martin <\/em>decision has become a pivotal factor in shaping how cities respond to the very visible problem of tent encampments<\/a>, particularly on the West Coast.While the case never gained huge name recognition, it undergirds the policy and politics of homelessness in 2023. So much of the fight about how to addresshomelessness today is, at this point, a fight about Martin.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“<\/em>Martin\u2019s <\/em>impact can be seen most clearly out West. Just before Christmas 2022, for example, a district judge cited Martin <\/em>when she ruled that San Francisco can no longer enforce encampment sweeps<\/a> \u2014 meaning clear out homeless individuals and their property from an outdoor area \u2014 since the city lacks enough shelter beds for those experiencing homelessness to move into. San Francisco appealed the decision<\/a>, arguing it\u2019s \u201cunnecessarily broad and has put the City in an impossible situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Phoenix, Arizona, residents and business owners filed a lawsuit last summer against the city<\/a> for allowing a downtown homeless encampment to grow with nearly 1,000 people, but a federal judge \u2014 echoing Martin \u2014 <\/em>barred Phoenix<\/a> in December from conducting sweeps if there are more homeless people than shelter beds available. A competing decision issued in March<\/a> by a state judge ordered Phoenix officials to clean up the \u201cpublic nuisance\u201d at the encampment by July 10, arguing the city has \u201cerroneously\u201d applied Martin <\/em>to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Portland, Oregon, meanwhile, officials have scrambled to revise their local camping ordinance<\/a> to be a \u201cdaytime\u201d camping ban from 8 am to 8 pm instead, in recognition that any total camping ban is likely illegal under Martin.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporters of a more \u201cget tough\u201d approach to encampments say the social and political costs of allowing tent cities to proliferate are too high<\/a>, and that waiting for cities to build<\/a> enough new housing before acting is untenable, both morally and politically. Some think officials are getting complacent in relying on Martin<\/em> as an excuse<\/a>to maintain the status quo.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Unsheltered homelessness has risen sharply over the last seven years, and at a faster rate than homelessness overall. Unsheltered homeless people now account for 40 percent<\/a> of all homeless people in the country, up from 31 percent in 2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political pressure has mounted to respond to this growing problem<\/a> of people sleeping in alleys, parks, and train stations. While it\u2019s not clear this would be legal under Martin<\/em>, a number of cities have turned to the idea of so-called sanctioned encampments, or legalized campsites. These are effectively designated areas where unhoused individuals can live outside, and some come with varying degrees of public services, like bathrooms, power outlets, medical care, and on-site case management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Portland, Oregon, lawmakers voted in November to create several large sanctioned campsites for homeless individuals, and ban the more than 700<\/a> other encampments spread across the city. Austin, Texas, has operated one sanctioned encampment of so-called \u201ctiny homes\u201d<\/a> since 2019, on a seven-acre plot of asphalt near the airport. Denver, Colorado, is also moving to make its so-called \u201cmanaged campsites\u201d from the pandemic<\/a> a permanent homelessness response tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trade-off for legalized campsites, however, is that sleeping outside anywhere else in a city would then be illegal.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Some advocates have taken a firm stance against the idea; they see sanctioned encampments as a means to segregate and criminalize unhoused people and effectively kick the can down the road by not finding them permanent housing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“other cities with fewer available housing options say sanctioned encampments represent a decent interim solution, and maybe even better for unhoused residents compared to scattered campsites if cities can more effectively target social services to those corralled together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legalized campsites can also have a lower barrier to entry than many existing shelters, so supporters are framing them as a harm-reduction approach to homelessness.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vox.com\/23748522\/tent-encampments-martin-boise-homelessness-housing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Five years ago, a federal court issued a crucial ruling. People experiencing homelessness, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said, can\u2019t be punished for sleeping outside on public property if there are no adequate alternatives available.
\nThe 2018 decision in Martin v. Boise did not create the homelessness crisis, which researchers attribute primarily to the lack of affordable housing. The number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness \u2014 meaning those sleeping on the streets, in parks, in abandoned buildings or train stations, or anywhere not meant for humans to live \u2014 was rising before the decision.<\/p>\n

But as the number of unsheltered homeless people continued to grow over the past half-decade, the Martin decision has become a pivotal factor in shaping how cities respond to the very visible problem of tent encampments, particularly on the West Coast. While the case never gained huge name recognition, it undergirds the policy and politics of homelessness in 2023. So much of the fight about how to address homelessness today is, at this point, a fight about Martin.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“Martin\u2019s impact can be seen most clearly out West. Just before Christmas 2022, for example, a district judge cited Martin when she ruled that San Francisco can no longer enforce encampment sweeps \u2014 meaning clear out homeless individuals and their property from an outdoor area \u2014 since the city lacks enough shelter beds for those experiencing homelessness to move into. San Francisco appealed the decision, arguing it\u2019s \u201cunnecessarily broad and has put the City in an impossible situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Phoenix, Arizona, residents and business owners filed a lawsuit last summer against the city for allowing a downtown homeless encampment to grow with nearly 1,000 people, but a federal judge \u2014 echoing Martin \u2014 barred Phoenix in December from conducting sweeps if there are more homeless people than shelter beds available. A competing decision issued in March by a state judge ordered Phoenix officials to clean up the \u201cpublic nuisance\u201d at the encampment by July 10, arguing the city has \u201cerroneously\u201d applied Martin to date.<\/p>\n

In Portland, Oregon, meanwhile, officials have scrambled to revise their local camping ordinance to be a \u201cdaytime\u201d camping ban from 8 am to 8 pm instead, in recognition that any total camping ban is likely illegal under Martin.<\/p>\n

Supporters of a more \u201cget tough\u201d approach to encampments say the social and political costs of allowing tent cities to proliferate are too high, and that waiting for cities to build enough new housing before acting is untenable, both morally and politically. Some think officials are getting complacent in relying on Martin as an excuse to maintain the status quo.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“Unsheltered homelessness has risen sharply over the last seven years, and at a faster rate than homelessness overall. Unsheltered homeless people now account for 40 percent of all homeless people in the country, up from 31 percent in 2015.<\/p>\n

Political pressure has mounted to respond to this growing problem of people sleeping in alleys, parks, and train stations. While it\u2019s not clear this would be legal under Martin, a number of cities have turned to the idea of so-called sanctioned encampments, or legalized campsites. These are effectively designated areas where unhoused individuals can live outside, and some come with varying degrees of public services, like bathrooms, power outlets, medical care, and on-site case management.<\/p>\n

In Portland, Oregon, lawmakers voted in November to create several large sanctioned campsites for homeless individuals, and ban the more than 700 other encampments spread across the city. Austin, Texas, has operated one sanctioned encampment of so-called \u201ctiny homes\u201d since 2019, on a seven-acre plot of asphalt near the airport. Denver, Colorado, is also moving to make its so-called \u201cmanaged campsites\u201d from the pandemic a permanent homelessness response tool.<\/p>\n

The trade-off for legalized campsites, however, is that sleeping outside anywhere else in a city would then be illegal.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“Some advocates have taken a firm stance against the idea; they see sanctioned encampments as a means to segregate and criminalize unhoused people and effectively kick the can down the road by not finding them permanent housing.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“other cities with fewer available housing options say sanctioned encampments represent a decent interim solution, and maybe even better for unhoused residents compared to scattered campsites if cities can more effectively target social services to those corralled together.<\/p>\n

Legalized campsites can also have a lower barrier to entry than many existing shelters, so supporters are framing them as a harm-reduction approach to homelessness.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[790,558,557,1213],"class_list":["post-11096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article-share","tag-courts","tag-homeless","tag-homelessness","tag-judiciary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11097,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11096\/revisions\/11097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}