Feds: Alternatives to Criminalization of Homelessness

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness held a conference and wrote a report on the alternatives to criminalizing the homeless (like the mayor’s bench ordinance). Here’s the cliff notes.

In December 2010, USICH and the Access to Justice Initiative of the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ), with support from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), held a summit on the development of constructive alternatives to the criminalization of homelessness, titled Searching for Balance: Civic Engagement in Communities Responding to Homelessness.

The Searching for Balance Summit engaged a variety of community stakeholders, including city and county government officials, police officers, business improvement district leaders, court officials, health providers, Continuum of Care
representatives, national advocates, federal partners, and men and women who have experienced homelessness. The day-long forum resulted in several recommended alternatives to criminalization, characterized by three overarching themes:
I. Creation of Comprehensive and Seamless Systems of Care
II. Collaboration among Law Enforcement and Behavioral Health and Social Service Providers
III. Alternative Justice System Strategies

The concluded:

The alternatives to criminalization policies identified in this report have been effective in reducing and preventing homelessness in several cities around the country. These solutions can be relatively inexpensive to implement, result in overall cost-savings, and have a lasting positive impact on the quality of life for individuals experiencing
homelessness and the larger community.

Here’s their solutions – but you might want to read further – its a 55 page report.

Solution I: The creation of comprehensive and seamless systems of care that combine housing with behavioral health and social service supports have been shown to prevent and end homelessness.
Potential solutions include:
– Develop and implement communitywide plans to end homelessness that bring together a variety of stakeholders such as consumers, businesses, law enforcement, mayors and other city/town officials, schools, philanthropy, and community members to create collaborative and innovative solutions
– Develop “Housing First” permanent supportive housing to provide persons experiencing chronic homelessness immediate options, directly reducing the number of people living in public spaces
– Ensure 24-hour access to shelters and/or services that offer alternatives to living in public spaces and access to services that meet the basic needs of individuals experiencing homelessness in order to reduce visible street homelessness and contribute to reductions in homelessness
– Create street outreach teams and provide safe havens to help chronically homeless individuals exit the streets
– Employ communitywide collaboration through education, volunteerism and donations to provide solutions to homelessness
– Coordinate food sharing activities and set uniform standards for the preparation and distribution of food that promote access to food.
– Improve access to mainstream benefit programs (SNAP, Medicaid, SSI/SSDI) by ensuring all those eligible receive benefits through streamlining application processes for multiple benefit programs and enhanced outreach by service providers

Solution II: Collaboration between law enforcement and behavioral health and social service providers results in tailored interventions that connect people with housing, services, and treatment and meet the community’s goal of reducing the number of people inhabiting public spaces.
Potential solutions include the following:
– Outreach and engagement involving police and service provider collaboration to link people with supportive housing and avoid their arrest
– Cross-training of police officers and service providers to facilitate information sharing and promote ongoing coordination
– Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) with specially trained police officers working with behavioral health professionals to respond to crises involving people with mental illness

Solution III: Implementation of alternative justice system strategies can reduce homeless involvement with the criminal justice system, decrease recidivism, and facilitate connection with other systems of care.
Potential solutions include the following:
– Problem-solving courts, including homeless courts, mental health courts, drug courts and Veterans courts, that focus on the underlying causes of illegal activities with the intention of reducing recidivism and encouraging reintegration into society
– Citation dismissal programs that allow individuals who are homeless with low-level infractions to participate in service or diversion programs or link them with appropriate services in lieu of paying a fine
– Create holistic public defender offices, enabling them to provide a range of social services in addition to standard legal services for populations with special needs
– Volunteer legal projects and pro bono attorneys that provide essential legal services for homeless populations and for the agencies serving them
– Reentry or transition planning to prepare people in prison or jails to return to the community by linking them to housing and needed services and treatment
– Reentry housing, specialized housing with support services tailored to the needs of ex-offenders, designed to help them make a successful transition from incarceration back to the community
– Reentry employment, transitional work and supportive employment services to individuals shortly after their release from jail/prison.

And for the record, I have to just have to repeat this from the report.

Criminalization Undermines Real Solutions
Reflecting the frustration of business owners, community residents, and civic leaders who feel that street homelessness infringes on the safety, attractiveness and livability of their cities, some communities around the country are using, or considering using, the criminal justice system to minimize the visibility of people experiencing homelessness. In these instances, formal and informal law enforcement policies are adopted to limit where individuals who experience homelessness can congregate, and punish those who engage in life-sustaining or natural human activities in public spaces. Examples of such criminalization strategies include the following:
– Legislation that makes it illegal to sleep, sit, or store personal belongings in public spaces
– Ordinances that punish people for begging or panhandling in order to move people who are poor or homeless out of a city or downtown area
– Local measures which ban or limit food distribution in public places in an attempt to curb the congregation of individuals who are homeless
– Sweeps of areas in which people who are homeless are living in order to drive them out of those areas
– Selective enforcement of neutral laws such as jaywalking, loitering, and open container laws against people who are homeless
– Public health ordinances related to public activities and hygiene (e.g. public urination) regardless of whether public facilities are available

These law enforcement measures do not solve the underlying causes of the problem. These measures punish people who currently live on the street and do nothing to reduce the factors contributing to homelessness. Rather than helping people to regain housing, obtain employment, or access needed treatment and services, criminalization creates a costly revolving door that circulates individuals experiencing homelessness from the street to the criminal justice system and back.6 Sweeps can also result in the destruction of the personal property of people experiencing homelessness, including identification documents and medication. It can be much more difficult to secure employment, benefits, and housing with a criminal record. Many of these measures include criminal penalties for their violation; therefore, they actually exacerbate the problem by adding additional obstacles to overcoming homelessness. In addition, these measures are costly, using critical public resources for law enforcement activities.