For most Americans, their home is their sanctuary. A home is a place to unwind and to feel safe. It can be a place to recuperate from illness and to engage in fundamental human needs, such as eating, sleeping, and washing. Home is a place to socialize with family, friends, and neighbors. “Home” represents warmth, security, and love.
Regional Housing Legal Services (RHLS) and the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project (PULP) believe all people deserve housing that is healthy, safe, and affordable in a community of choice where they can thrive. We are proud of the work we do to advance solutions to end homelessness and housing insecurity in Pennsylvania. In collaboration with local partners, our attorneys and advocates are working every day to advance laws, improve policies, and expand programs that provide safe and affordable housing and utility services for individuals and families across the Commonwealth.
Unfortunately, despite the tireless efforts of local, state, and national groups working to end homelessness and housing insecurity, over 650,000 of our neighbors throughout the United States have no place to call home[1], including more than 12,500 in Pennsylvania. [2]
Homelessness has many causes, but few of them are voluntary on the part of the individuals living without shelter. Homelessness in America is higher than in many decades due, in part, to housing policies and laws that are grounded in racial and economic segregation. This history of housing policy is currently exacerbated by the now decades-long affordable housing shortage, as high interest rates, rising utility costs, and the costs of construction have continually outpaced wages.
The lack of adequate funding for affordable homes, utilities, food, health care, and other supportive services leaves hundreds of thousands of Americans struggling to make ends meet. Something as simple as a needed car repair or an illness can result in lost wages, the inability to pay the next month’s rent, eviction, then homelessness.
Americans who are members of racial or ethnic populations that have historically been discriminated against and redlined out of homeownership, housing stability, and access to quality rental housing are much more likely to experience homelessness than their white counterparts. According to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):
- People who identify as Black make up just 13 percent of the total U.S. population and 21 percent of the U.S. population living in poverty but comprise 37 percent of all people experiencing homelessness and 50 percent of people experiencing homelessness as members of families with children.
- Between 2022 and 2023, there was a 40 percent increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness who identify as Asian and Asian American (3,313 more people).
- The largest numerical increase in people experiencing homelessness was among people who identify as Hispanic or Latin(a)(o)(x), increasing by 28 percent or 39,106 people between 2022 and 2023.[1]
How do we end homelessness in America? With homes!
Nevertheless, some communities believe they can end homelessness within their borders by jailing people who sleep outside. Some towns, like Grants Pass, Oregon, make the policy decision to spend tax dollars on jailing people with no place to go rather than investing in shelter or providing housing. This approach only makes things worse by adding criminal records to the many other hurdles people face when they try to find a place to live, and it risks further worsening racial inequities in outcomes for unhoused individuals.
We call on the U. S. Supreme Court to make it clear that living without a home is not a crime. We call on Congress to fund affordable housing and to legislate a living wage. We believe it is the responsibility of all levels of government to uphold and promote the dignity of all people and not to punish people for being unable to afford what we all need as a fundamental human right– a home.
To learn more about the case, visit https://johnsonvgrantspass.com/.
To learn more about efforts to end the criminalization of homelessness, visit https://housingnothandcuffs.org/.
[1] “The 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress”, Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2023-AHAR-Part-1.pdf.
[2] Ibid.
[3] 2023 AHAR