Courts have upheld some bans but struck down others. Some cities and at least one state have considered restricting panhandling in traffic medians due to safety reasons.
A study by Rand Corp. found that homeless encampment cleanups across Los Angeles saw immediate reductions but within a month or two, the numbers went back to the former level.
The court’s recent ruling prompted concern in some quarters that police could become the primary face of homeless response. But some chiefs worry they’re caught in the middle of societal problems they aren’t equipped to handle.
The Court found that there is no constitutional right to sleep outdoors or in cars. In dissent, liberal justices argued that sleep is a necessity that's effectively being criminalized.
The City Council has approved a plan to move individuals now living along waterways to sites throughout the city over the coming year. The idea is encountering pushback from community members.
More than 200 children live on Skid Row, a majority of which stay in the only homeless shelter in the neighborhood that allows families. Advocates are urging the city to do more to help.
Proposed legislation would allow for up to one-quarter of the state’s spending on homeless housing, assistance and prevention programs to go toward sober living environments. The bill would reverse a 2016 funding ban.
Lacey Beaty came into office as mayor of Beaverton, Ore., with less power than her predecessor. That hasn't stopped her from taking on the city's biggest issue.
The movement to build tiny houses has gotten a lot of attention, but it hasn’t gained much traction in the market. Still, there may be some applications for homes of just a few hundred square feet.
Proposed legislation would allow homeless people displaying mental health issues to be taken to a behavioral center against their will for assessment.
The numbers don’t seem to support the need for new state laws cracking down on illegal occupancy. There are better things policymakers could do to deal with the larger issues around housing.
The California governor presented his spending plan for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. It would strip $260 million from the state’s major homelessness program. Some lawmakers want to restore that funding.
A new city office focused on homeless services has given a boost to programs to help the unhoused in New Orleans.
An independent study found that more than 62,000 people received temporary housing under the program that moved medically vulnerable people from the streets and congregant shelters to empty hotel and motel rooms.
Inside Winnie’s Wagon is a mobile classroom with learning tools, games and books all designed to provide the state’s homeless children, whose number has dramatically increased since the pandemic, with individualized academic support.
The court is considering whether criminal penalties for sleeping in public places amount to cruel and unusual punishment. But no ruling on the issues before the high court will change the nature or scope of the problem.
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