The Answer to the Question

Should Homelessness be criminalized?  Perhaps the question is stated wrongly...Why are the Homeless being treated as criminals? That may have been the better question.  The National Coalition for the Homeless reports that many cities across America have turned to the criminal justice system to "handle the Homeless problem” even as the economy has worsened and foreclosures were at an all time high. 

In a joint paper published by The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP)  (June 2009) reported that over the last 25 years cities have made it illegal for the Homeless to "perform life-sustaining activities in public".  Accordingly, the report states that the "Criminalization Measures" some cities have taken have come in many forms, such as;

• Legislation that makes it illegal to sleep, sit, or store personal belongings in public spaces
• Selective enforcement of neutral laws, such as loitering or  open container against the Homeless.
• Sweeps of city areas where the Homeless are living to drive them out of that area (resulting in the destruction of personal property and the loss of important papers and medication)
• Laws punishing people for begging or panhandling in order to move poor or Homeless persons out of a city or downtown area. 

(I have sat in a meeting of local Downtown Area business leaders and let me tell you, the pendulum does not swing toward compassion on the subject of the Homeless.  In Savannah, the look and smell of the Homeless irritates business to no end, especially in a city that derives a substantial part of its income from the tourist market.  They turned their collective eyes to law enforcement to mitigate the "problem' of the Homeless.)

Again, according to the report, "city ordinances frequently serve as a prominent tool to criminalize homelessness." of the 235 cities surveyed for this report;

• 33% prohibit "camping" in particular places in the city and 17% have city wide prohibitions on "camping" (That generally means a Homeless person sleeping where people MIGHT see them either with a tent and gear or not)
• 30% prohibit sitting/lying in certain public places
• 47% prohibit loitering in particular public areas and 19% prohibit loitering city wide.
• 47% prohibit begging in particular public places; 49% prohibit aggressive panhandling and 23% have citywide prohibitions on begging.

The report states that "the trend seems to be growing" to criminalize Homelessness.  Of the 224 cities surveyed for their report spotted this trend from 2006 to 2009;

• A 7% increase in laws prohibiting "camping" in particular public places
• An 11% increase in laws prohibiting loitering in particular public areas
• A 6% increase in laws prohibiting begging in particular public places, a 5% increase in laws prohibiting aggressive panhandling.

The organizations also spotted a disturbing trend in increased city efforts to limit providers who serve food to the Homeless by placing restrictions on these providers as an indirect attack on the Homeless.

And....drum roll...the MEANEST CITIES TO THE HOMELESS (The NCH & NLCHP states this as their criteria for determining these cites; "The top 10 Meanest Cities have been chosen based on the number of anti-homeless laws in a city has, the enforcement of those laws and severity of penalties related to them, as well as the general political climate toward homeless people, local advocate support for Meanest City designation, history of homeless criminalization measures, and the existence of pending or recently enacted criminalization legislation. Although several of the report’s top 10 Meanest Cities have made efforts to address homelessness in their communities, the punitive practices highlighted in the report impede progress toward solving the problem.")

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

Do You SEE who is at Number 6?  That is my home town...Kalamazoo, Michigan!!!!!!  I have never been least proud of my birthplace...EVER!

(This report is available at; http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/criminalization.html )

So why are the Homeless being treated as criminals?  Economic strain on resources, undesirable presence that brings down profits, or perhaps ....they look and smell bad and they make our whole city look and smell bad? ! ???  Anyone?  Is this why you treat your brother so disrespectfully, so coldly without the compassion that you would treat a stray dog?  "But dogs can't help it, people need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, stop begging and start contributing to society!"  Wow...that almost sounds like a valid point...you say it all forceful like that..."Own BOOTSTRAPS harrumph, harrumph!"   
(Please, read this article when you think that way http://www.squidoo.com/why-homeless-people-dont-just-get-a-job  (and we will dive into this subject at a later date.) )

Can a person pay the rent, feed the kids, get transportation and save for the unexpected on a dishwasher's salary...salary, lol...let's just say pay.  A parolee just coming out of prison my be able to get a job as a dishwasher.  Let's say ...$7.50 an hour...and say 38 hours a week (you know he will not get any overtime)  less taxes...that makes take home, oh roughly $250.00 a week - $500.00 every pay period...1 bedroom in Savannah, average $600.00 a month...ok so there goes all the cash for two and 1/2 weeks...then 4 kids, a wife, food, clothing, bus (because let's face it there is no car here) and even if the wife is working (same amount) what happens next if the little ones get the flu and need to stay home a week...or someone loses their job, or the business folds or endless possibilities that we have seen played out on live T.V the last two years, what happens then?  Does this family decide "well we can't pay the rent so let's all put on our domino masks ‘cause being homeless makes us criminals”? 

So what say you to the Answer?

Ex 23:3, Ex 23:6, Lev 19:15, Psalms 72:4 - consequences   Thanks Fay for the scriptures!