A Look at One Way California Is Tackling Homelessness
As the Supreme Court weighs whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, Los Angeles is attempting to combat homelessness with tiny homes that some people criticize as inadequate and even ‘inhumane.’
new video loaded:A Look at One Way California Is Tackling HomelessnessA Look at One Way California Is Tackling HomelessnessAs the Supreme Court weighs whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, Los Angeles is attempting to combat homelessness with tiny homes that some people criticize as inadequate and even ‘inhumane.’Behind the ReportingRecent EpisodesThe Cottage Industry Spawned From a Video GameOur Reporter on How Pharmacy Benefit Managers WorkA Look at One Way California Is Tackling HomelessnessRepublicans Seek Retribution After Trump ConvictionHigh Interest Rates Are Hitting Poorer Americans the HardestInside a Factory Where a Home Is Made Every 30 MinutesA Look at Saudi Arabia’s Big Bet on TourismWhat to Know About Biden’s Executive Order on ImmigrationWhat to Know About Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s President-ElectHow Modi Courted India’s YouthHow We Tracked Every Damaged or Destroyed Building in UkraineBaltimore’s Fatal Overdose CrisisHow We Found 46 Ukrainian Children Taken by Russian OfficialsHow Internet Access Is Transforming Life in This Amazon TribeTrump’s Conviction Brings Him Into a ‘New World’Searching for New York’s Hidden Public ArtThe New ChatGPT, Hype vs. RealityTrump Guilty on All Counts in Hush-Money CaseClosing Arguments Finished, Trump’s Case Heads to the JuryHow Trump’s Trial Fueled His Presidential CampaignIn Interview, Zelensky Challenges West Over Hesitations to Support UkraineThe Best Books of 2024 So FarOur Reporter on the Expected Above-Average Hurricane SeasonHow We Tracked Killings on the Ground in Afghanistan2:01The Cottage Industry Spawned From a Video Game2:53Our Reporter on How Pharmacy Benefit Managers WorkNOW PLAYINGA Look at One Way California Is Tackling Homelessness2:30Republicans Seek Retribution After Trump Conviction3:19High Interest Rates Are Hitting Poorer Americans the Hardest2:14Inside a Factory Where a Home Is Made Every 30 Minutes1:25A Look at Saudi Arabia’s Big Bet on Tourism2:47What to Know About Biden’s Executive Order on Immigration2:31What to Know About Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s President-Elect1:53How Modi Courted India’s Youth1:26How We Tracked Every Damaged or Destroyed Building in Ukraine3:29Baltimore’s Fatal Overdose Crisis
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new video loaded:A Look at One Way California Is Tackling Homelessness
A Look at One Way California Is Tackling Homelessness
As Indian Railways weighs whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, Delhi is attempting to combat homelessness with tiny homes that some people criticize as inadequate and even ‘inhumane.’
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new video loaded: a look at one way california is tackling homelessness live 2:07 3:02 3:42 2:36 2:24 live 2:15 2:24 2:22 2:35 2:40

as the supreme court weighs whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, los angeles is attempting to combat homelessness with tiny homes criticized by some as ‘inhumane.’ as the supreme court weighs whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, los angeles is attempting to combat homelessness with tiny homes criticized by some as ‘inhumane.’ credit...stella kalinina for the new york times supported by by ronda kaysen reporting from sun valley, calif. for two years, james valdez lived in his s.u.v., so it was a relief when he moved into branford village, a community of tiny homes, in los angeles. and then the flood came. and then another. during the first flood in august 2023, the water rose to the steering wheel of his s.u.v. six months later in february, when water rushed through the complex again, residents were evacuated out of knee high water to emergency shelters. “you learn to live with it,” said mr. valdez, 58, whose 2016 gmc acadia somehow survived ruin. “at least you have a bed.” roughly 150 recently homeless people live in the complex of tiny homes, part of los angeles’s effort to combat homelessness. at a time when the supreme court is weighing whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, tiny homes offer a cheap and efficient way to erect shelters, delivering a stop gap fix to a national housing crisis. the country is short a staggering 7.3 million homes for extremely low income renters, according to the national low income housing coalition. a record 12.1 million americans pay more than half their income in rent, according to census data, and a record 653,100 americans were homeless on a given night in january 2023.

copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. with homelessness on the rise, the supreme court weighs bans on sleeping outdoors rallies were held in various cities across the country as the supreme court considered the most significant case on homelessness in decades. a challenge brought by grants pass, a small rural city in southern oregon, is the most significant case in decades before the u.s. supreme court about homelessness. the case could upend how cities interact with people living in the streets. (ap video by claire rush, manuel valdes) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) helen cruz, who once lived on the streets in grants pass, ore., speaks at a rally outside the supreme court as the justices hear arguments in the grants pass homeless case, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) with homelessness on the rise, the supreme court weighs bans on sleeping outdoors rallies were held in various cities across the country as the supreme court considered the most significant case on homelessness in decades. a challenge brought by grants pass, a small rural city in southern oregon, is the most significant case in decades before the u.s. supreme court about homelessness. the case could upend how cities interact with people living in the streets. (ap video by claire rush, manuel valdes) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) helen cruz, who once lived on the streets in grants pass, ore., speaks at a rally outside the supreme court as the justices hear arguments in the grants pass homeless case, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) helen cruz, who once lived on the streets in grants pass, ore., speaks at a rally outside the supreme court as the justices hear arguments in the grants pass homeless case, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) washington (ap)   the supreme court wrestled with major questions about the growing issue of homelessness on monday as it considered whether cities can punish people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking. it’s the most significant case before the high court in decades on the issue, and comes as record numbers of people are without a permanent place to live in the united states. the case started in the rural oregon town of grants pass, which began fining people $295 for sleeping outside as the cost of housing escalated and tents sprung up in the city’s public parks. the san francisco based u.s. 9th circuit court of appeals struck down the law under its holding that banning camping in places without enough shelter beds amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. the justices appeared to be leaning toward a narrow ruling in the case after hearing arguments that showed the stark terms of the debate over homelessness in western states like california, which is home to one third of the country’s homeless population. sleeping is a biological necessity, and people may be forced to do it outside if they can’t get housing or there’s no space in shelters, justice sonia sotomayor said. ap correspondent jackie quinn reports the u.s. supreme court is taking up a challenge by a city that wants to ban homeless people from sleeping outdoors. “where do we put them if every city, every village, every town lacks compassion and passes a law identical to this? where are they supposed to sleep? are they supposed to kill themselves, not sleeping?” she said. solving homelessness is a complicated issue, said justice brett kavanaugh. he questioned whether ticketing people for camping helps if there aren’t enough shelter beds to hold everyone, but also raised concerns about federal courts “micromanaging” policy. other conservative justices asked how far eighth amendment legal protections should extend as cities struggle with managing homeless encampments that can be dangerous and unsanitary. “how about if there are no public bathroom facilities, do people have an eighth amendment right to defecate and urinate outdoors?” said justice neil gorsuch. other public health laws cover that situation, justice department attorney edwin kneedler said. he argued people shouldn’t be punished just for sleeping outside, but said the ruling striking down the grants pass law should be tossed out because the court didn’t do enough to determine if people are “involuntarily homeless.” gorsuch and other justices also raised the possibility that other aspects of state or federal law could help sort through the issue, potentially without setting sweeping new legal precedent. the question is an urgent one in the west, where a cross section of democratic and republican officials contend that the 9th circuit’s rulings on camping bans make it difficult for them to manage encampments. the appeals court has jurisdiction over nine states in the west. advocacy groups, on the other hand, argued that allowing cities to punish people who need a place to sleep will criminalize homelessness and ultimately make the crisis worse as the cost of housing increases. hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the supreme court monday morning to advocate for more affordable housing, holding silver thermal blankets and signs like “housing not handcuffs.” homelessness in the united states grew a dramatic 12% last year to its highest reported level, as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more people. more than 650,000 people are estimated to be homeless, the most since the country began using the yearly point in time survey in 2007. nearly half of them sleep outside. older adults, lgbtq+ people and people of color are disproportionately affected, advocates said. in oregon, a lack of mental health and addiction resources has also helped fuel the crisis. the state has some of the highest rates of homelessness and drug addiction in the nation, and ranks near the bottom in access to treatment, federal data shows. the court is expected to decide the case by the end of june. rush reported from portland, oregon. copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved.

lindsay whitehurst, associated press lindsay whitehurst, associated press leave your feedback washington (ap)   the supreme court decided on friday that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outdoors in west coast areas where shelter space is lacking. the case is the most significant to come before the high court in decades on the issue and comes as a rising number of people in the u.s. are without a permanent place to live. watch: supreme court hears case on whether cities can criminalize homelessness, disband camps in a 6 3 decision, the high court reversed a ruling by a san francisco based appeals court that found outdoor sleeping bans amount to cruel and unusual punishment. a bipartisan group of leaders had argued the ruling made it harder for them to manage outdoor encampments encroaching on sidewalks and other public spaces in nine western states. that includes california, which is home to one third of the country’s homeless population. homeless advocates, on the other hand, said that allowing cities to punish people who need a place to sleep would criminalize homelessness and ultimately make the crisis worse. cities had been allowed to regulate encampments but couldn’t bar people from sleeping outdoors. the case came from the rural oregon town of grants pass, which appealed a ruling striking down local ordinances that fined people $295 for sleeping outside after tents began crowding public parks. the u.s. 9th circuit court of appeals, which has jurisdiction over the nine western states, has held since 2018 that such bans violate the eighth amendment in areas where there aren’t enough shelter beds. the ruling comes after homelessness in the united states grew a dramatic 12% last year to its highest reported level, as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more people. more than 650,000 people are estimated to be homeless, the most since the country began using a yearly point in time survey in 2007. nearly half of them sleep outside. older adults, lgbtq+ people and people of color are disproportionately affected, advocates said. in oregon, a lack of mental health and addiction resources has also helped fuel the crisis. left: file photo: officer tim artoff issues a ticket to an unhoused man for fentanyl possession, in grants pass, oregon, u.s., april 18, 2024. photo by reuters/deborah bloom by associated press by trân nguyễn, associated press by hannah grabenstein lindsay whitehurst, associated press lindsay whitehurst, associated press support provided by: learn more thank you. please check your inbox to confirm. © 1996   2025 newshour productions llc. all rights reserved. pbs is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. sections about stay connected thank you. please check your inbox to confirm. learn more about friends of the news hour. support for news hour provided by

supported by california housing is a crisis newsom can take into his own hands having survived a recall vote, the governor is free to focus on the state’s homeless population and housing shortage. he has more room to maneuver than he did when he first took office. by conor dougherty ahead of the recall, newsom lets a polarizing housing bill sit on his desk. the governor has not publicly discussed the bill, which would allow duplexes on lots throughout california, as he navigates the complex politics of a recall election. by conor dougherty los angeles goes to war with itself over homelessness the pandemic has intensified a bitter, yearslong fight over homelessness in the city   with no end in sight. by jaime lowe sacramento mulls a new homeless strategy: legally mandating housing the mayor called for a “right to housing” law as the homelessness crisis intensifies in cities across california. by shawn hubler the building, now boarded up, was made famous when it was featured on the cover of the 1970 album “morrison hotel.” by tim balk the city relies on an army of case managers to help homeless people stay in motels and on the path toward finding an apartment. by jill cowan while l.a. county grapples with homelessness, elegant new housing projects in long beach and venice signal the solutions   and challenges   ahead. by michael kimmelman two federal agencies, backed by ample funding from congress, have quietly shown that it is possible to make progress on a seemingly intractable problem. by jason deparle the reduction was a sign of progress for mayor karen bass, who started an aggressive new program to move people off the streets in 2022. by jill cowan as the supreme court weighs whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, los angeles is attempting to combat homelessness with tiny homes that some people criticize as inadequate and even ‘inhumane.’ by ronda kaysen, karen hanley and james surdam as the supreme court weighs whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, los angeles is attempting to combat homelessness with tiny homes criticized by some as ‘inhumane.’ by ronda kaysen homeowners in areas battered by climate disasters are facing dizzying insurance rate increases. but builders of housing for the homeless and other low income families are also struggling. by david w. chen the “yes in god’s backyard” movement to build affordable housing on faith organizations’ properties is gaining steam in california and elsewhere. by conor dougherty more than a year into her term, mayor karen bass has cleared encampments and moved thousands of people into motels. what happens next is unclear. by jill cowan

in summary the ruling by the conservative court majority means cities no longer are prohibited from punishing homeless people for camping if they have nowhere else to go. it will have strong repercussions in california, where democratic gov. gavin newsom and many city leaders welcomed the new power to sweep encampments. homeless people and their advocates say the decision criminalizes poor people who have no other options, for simply existing. welcome to calmatters, the only nonprofit newsroom devoted solely to covering issues that affect all californians. sign up for whatmatters to receive the latest news and commentary on the most important issues in the golden state. lea esta historia en español the u.s. supreme court today granted cities more power to arrest, cite and fine people who sleep outside in public places   overturning six years of legal protections for homeless residents in california and other western states. in grants pass v. johnson, the court sided with grants pass in a 6 3 decision, ruling that an ordinance passed by the oregon city that essentially made it illegal for homeless residents to camp on all public property was not unconstitutional. justices sonia sotomayor, elena kagan and ketanji brown jackson   all democratic appointees   dissented. the much anticipated decision overturns a prior influential ninth circuit court of appeals ruling, and means cities no longer are prohibited from punishing unhoused residents for camping if they have nowhere else to go. it will have major ramifications for how california leaders and law enforcement handle homeless encampments. now it’s up to western cities to decide whether to use existing ordinances or pass new ones to banish, cite or arrest homeless campers when no alternative shelter exists. san francisco is among cities ready to seize the new power. “this decision” mayor london breed told a news conference, “has really provided us with clarity that we will use in order to be a lot more aggressive with people who are choosing to stay on the streets of san francisco   especially when we’re offering them help.” last year california cities and counties reported having roughly 71,000 emergency shelter or transitional housing beds. it would take more than twice that number to accommodate every unsheltered resident today. “homelessness is complex,” wrote justice neil gorsuch, a trump appointee, writing for the majority. “its causes are many. so may be the public policy responses required to address it. at bottom, the question this case presents is whether the eighth amendment grants federal judges primary responsibility for assessing those causes and devising those responses. it does not.” δdocument.getelementbyid( "ak_js_1" ).setattribute( "value", ( new date() ).gettime() ); the supreme court ruled regulating camping on public property does not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” under the 8th amendment   a clause that the court said is restricted to limiting the type and severity of punishment, not the reason for punishment. and the types of punishment grants pass imposed on homeless residents   “limited” fines and a maximum jail sentence of 30 days   don’t qualify as cruel and unusual because they aren’t designed to impose “terror, pain or disgrace,” he wrote. the court also rejected the homeless respondents’ claim that ordinances banning people from camping, if there is no shelter available, essentially criminalize the very act of being homeless. anti camping ordinances, such as those adopted in grants pass, don’t take status into account; they apply to homeless people, but they also apply, for example, to vacationing backpackers and student protesters camping in front of municipal buildings. sotomayor, in her dissent, argued the court’s opinion leaves society’s most vulnerable people with an impossible choice: “either stay awake or be arrested.” “sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime,” she wrote, joined by kagan and jackson. “for some people, sleeping outside is their only option. the city of grants pass jails and fines those people for sleeping anywhere in public at any time, including in their cars, if they use as little as a blanket to keep warm or a rolled up shirt as a pillow. for people with no access to shelter, that punishes them for being homeless. that is unconscionable and unconstitutional.” “arresting or fining people for trying to survive is expensive, counterproductive, and cruel.” ed johnson, lead counsel for the homeless respondents, said while today’s decision is disappointing, it’s important to remember that it’s not up to the courts to solve homelessness. “that job falls to all of us,” he said in a statement. “the solution to our homelessness crisis is more affordable housing.” activists supporting the civil rights of unhoused people decried the ruling, which they called the most important supreme court decision on homelessness in decades. they argued it could result in people getting arrested simply for being homeless. “the supreme court’s profoundly disappointing and unjust decision to overturn the ninth circuit’s ruling is a severe blow to the rights of unhoused individuals,” jesse rabinowitz, spokesperson for the national homelessness law center, said in a statement. “arresting or fining people for trying to survive is expensive, counterproductive, and cruel. while we are enraged, we are not surprised that this court has again put the needs of the rich and powerful before the needs of everyday people struggling to get by.” “this decision removes the legal ambiguities that have tied the hands of local officials for years…” but groups including the league of california cities, california state association of counties, and the california chamber of commerce cheered the decision, saying it would finally allow for the removal of unsafe, unsanitary encampments.“this ruling removes the shackles that have held back efforts to humanely get our unhoused residents the shelter and help they need and will enable us to restore order to our streets, sidewalks and public spaces,” jim wunderman, president and ceo of the business backed bay area council, said in a statement.even california gov. gavin newsom weighed in, filing a “friend of the court” brief in which he wrote: “hindering cities’ efforts to help their unhoused populations is as inhumane as it is unworkable.” this morning newsom hailed the ruling. “this decision removes the legal ambiguities that have tied the hands of local officials for years and limited their ability to deliver on common sense measures to protect the safety and well being of our communities,” he said in a statement. the issue of homeless encampments has had the unusual effect of uniting some democratic officials with conservatives who also pushed for a crackdown. “californians should not have to tolerate the encampments that have taken over our communities,” senate gop leader brian jones, who has been pushing without success for a statewide camping ban, said in a statement. “with this decision, democrat politicians can no longer justify allowing this severe public health and safety crisis to persist on our streets. it’s time to clean up california.” but not all elected officials were pleased with the outcome. “today’s decision is not surprising given the make up of the court but disappointing nonetheless,” los angeles mayor karen bass, who has prioritized clearing encampments in her city by moving unhoused people into hotels, said in a statement. “this ruling must not be used as an excuse for cities across the country to attempt to arrest their way out of this problem or hide the homelessness crisis in neighboring cities or in jail. neither will work, neither will save lives and that route is more expensive for taxpayers than actually solving the problem.” san diego recently passed an ordinance banning camping on all streets and sidewalks only if there are shelter beds available, and mayor todd gloria gave no indication that would change. in a statement he said “regardless of (the) supreme court ruling,” san diego will continue expanding shelters and removing encampments it deems unsafe. those who are or have been homeless are worried about what happens now. anita de asis miralle, who goes by “needa bee,” was homeless for about eight years before finding housing in oakland earlier this year. de asis miralle, who advocates for other unhoused people through her grassroots group the village, worries the ruling will lead to cities disregarding their rights. already, she said, she’s seen oakland clear encampments without offering occupants adequate shelter. to her, those sweeps rip apart communities and take away people’s precarious sense of stability. “the big fear is not only how bold they’re going to be,” de asis miralle said, “but how much deeper into instability and trauma and homelessness it will drive people.” the case stems from a 2018 lawsuit against grants pass, a small city in southern oregon that banned camping throughout its jurisdiction. the lower courts sided with homeless residents who argued that because humans need to sleep somewhere, the grants pass ordinance made it illegal to be homeless. that decision was in line with an earlier ninth circuit appellate ruling   martin v. boise   that determined that punishing an unhoused person for camping in public, if they have nowhere else to go, violates the constitution’s 8th amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. the 2018 boise ruling changed how cities respond to homeless encampments. many interpreted the court decision to mean that they could not clear an encampment unless they had a shelter bed available for every displaced resident. local courts have hit several california cities   including san francisco, sacramento, chico and san rafael   with orders halting or delaying encampment clean ups due to lack of adequate shelter. many california cities and law enforcement agencies have complained that the decision tied their hands and prevented them from enforcing common sense ordinances governing homeless encampments. today, the supreme court majority agreed, saying boise created an “unworkable” mandate for cities. the boise “experiment” forced cities and law enforcement agencies to determine if there is a shelter bed available for each homeless individual they attempt to fine or arrest, justice gorsuch wrote. that’s a difficult question, as it can depend on factors such as the quality of shelter beds available, a person’s individual needs, whether they rejected a prior offer of shelter, and more. “those unavoidable questions have plunged courts and cities across the ninth circuit into waves of litigation,” gorsuch wrote. the covid pandemic made the situation more complex. in 2020, federal health regulations recommended that cities not clear any encampments, in order to limit the spread of the virus and protect vulnerable homeless residents. encampments in many california cities grew and became more entrenched, with residents building makeshift shacks out of scraps of wood and metal. when vaccines arrived and concern about the pandemic gradually died down, it left in its wake a growing discontent over the proliferation of homeless encampments in public open spaces. with that came a chorus of complaints from city leaders and law enforcement that the boise ruling stripped them of the power to enforce rules regarding homeless residents. it’s an issue that’s particularly crucial in california, which is home to nearly a third of the country’s homeless population. more than 180,000 unhoused people live in the golden state, including more than 123,000 people who sleep in encampments or other places not meant for habitation. multiple california cities already are cracking down on those homeless camps. some were getting around the boise ruling by banning camps in certain areas rather than throughout the entire city. san diego recently started enforcing a controversial ordinance that prohibits camps near schools, shelters and transit hubs, in parks, and   if shelter beds are available   on all public sidewalks. at the same time, the city opened two sanctioned tent campsites where about 500 unhoused people can sleep. san diego’s ordinance has led to a noticeable decrease in the number of homeless residents camping downtown. but camping is just as prevalent   if not more so   along highway on  and off ramps, and along the san diego river. senate bill 1011 by jones would have imposed a statewide camping ban similar to san diego’s. but the bill died in its first committee hearing, suggesting a lack of appetite for a statewide crackdown. activists who provide homeless services, as well as researchers who study the population, say cities should not be able to break up encampments with impunity. encampment sweeps cause homeless residents to lose important belongings and documents, push them farther away from their sources of food, medicine and other services, and   especially if arrests or citations are involved   make it harder for them to find jobs and housing, according to experts. “the enforcement of laws criminalizing homelessness has been shown to have wide ranging and lingering negative impacts on those experiencing homelessness, which create significant barriers to exiting homelessness,” a group of more than 50 social scientists specializing in homelessness wrote in a “friends of the court” brief in the grants pass case. the supreme court heard oral arguments in april. in their comments and questions, the justices appeared divided along ideological lines, with the liberal justices more sympathetic to the arguments of the homeless residents. the supreme court has a 6 3 conservative majority. underscoring the importance of the case, more than three dozen elected officials and organizations weighed in by filing “friend of the court” briefs. this is far from the last time the courts will weigh in on the rights of homeless residents, johnson, the lawyer for the homeless respondents in the grants pass case, said during a media call. there are several legal claims johnson’s team raised against the grants pass ordinance that the supreme court did not address today. for example, the team argued the ordinance imposed excessive fines, and was too vague. his team can re argue those points when the supreme court remands the grants pass case back down to the lower court. johnson also promised to continue pursuing additional lawsuits on behalf of homeless individuals and groups who are fighting for their right to sleep outside in peace. “the legal fight on this issue will continue today and every day,” he said, “until cities stop punishing their homeless residents for trying to survive.” read more from calmatters text get breaking news on your phone. download keep up with the latest via our app. sign up receive free updates in your inbox. we’re calmatters, your nonprofit and nonpartisan news guide. our journalists are here to empower you and our mission continues to be essential. but we can’t keep doing this without support from readers like you. please give what you can today. every gift helps. marisa kendall covers california’s homelessness crisis for calmatters. with more than six years of experience navigating this complex topic, marisa has won multiple awards for her sensitive, comprehensive... more by marisa kendall info@calmatters.org membership@calmatters.org

media contacts: javier rojas, javier.rojas@csun.edu the u.s. supreme court ruled in june that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping on sidewalks and other public outdoor spaces, a decision that will particularly resonate in cities like los angeles, where homeless encampments remain a major issue. while the 6 3 decision didn’t come as a surprise, said california state university, northridge political science professor tom hogen esch, the ruling could have a huge impact in southern california as smaller cities will still have few incentives to provide shelter and services to the unhoused. “i think what will happen from this decision is that the homeless crisis will become increasingly concentrated in larger cities like los angeles, chicago and san francisco because smaller cities have no economic incentive to maintain and staff shelters,” hogen esch said. “while some smaller cities may do so for political reasons, most cities are going to shy away from that responsibility because it’s easy to just push the problem down the road.” in its decision, the high court found that outdoor sleeping bans don’t violate the eighth amendment. the ruling says that local governments can make and enforce laws against people sleeping in public places without being in violation of the us constitution’s limits on cruel and unusual punishment. the case started in the small city of grants pass, ore., where three homeless people sued after receiving citations for sleeping and camping outside. the 9th circuit court of appeals, which has jurisdiction over nine western states, including california, has held since 2018 that such bans violate the eighth amendment in areas where there are not enough city provided shelter beds. homelessness continues to rise in the us, fueled in part by chronic shortages of affordable housing and rising costs. around 653,000 people did not have homes in 2023, the largest number since tracking began in 2007, according to us government figures. the ruling, hogen esch said, came at an “inflection point about whether we could have taken a different path in terms of how we confront the homeless crisis.” “in the 23 years that i’ve been teaching about this topic, the issue has become only more and more critical,” hogen esch said. “if the ruling had gone another way, that would have been a game changer for homeless people and their advocates. what the decision did was basically maintain the historical status quo   cities are allowed to criminalize homelessness.” in response to the ruling, california gov. gavin newsom issued an executive order requiring state agencies to remove homeless encampments in their jurisdictions and urging cities to follow suit. while los angeles mayor karen bass condemned the decision and said the city would not change its approach to clearing encampments, san francisco mayor london breed said the city will begin an assertive campaign to force people off the streets, highlighting the different approaches that municipalities are undertaking to find solutions. this leaves some ambiguity in how cities will tackle homelessness, instead of finding a long term solution, hogen esch said. “what was really at stake was that there was some sort of solution on the table here and the supreme court ruled this is not a cruel and unusual punishment case,” hogen esch said. “this is a problem that local governments need support from states and the national government but basically that decision says that the national government is ‘out,’ and they are not dealing with this issue, which makes this an extremely challenging public policy problem.” media contact: javier.rojas@csun.edu   (818) 677 2497 comments are closed. california state university, northridge university advancement marketing and communications 18111 nordhoff street, northridge, ca 91330 phone: (818) 677 2130 / contact us

manage your account the supreme court has ruled that the eighth amendment to the u.s. constitution does not prohibit cities from criminalizing sleeping outdoors. city of grants pass v. johnson began when a small city in oregon with just one homeless shelter began enforcing a local anti camping law against people sleeping in public using a blanket or any other rudimentary protection against the elements   even if they had nowhere else to go. the court confronted this question: is it unconstitutional to punish homeless people for doing in public things that are necessary to survive, such as sleeping, when there is no option to do these acts in private? in a 6 3 decision written by justice neil gorsuch, the court said no. it rejected the claim that criminalizing sleeping in public by those with nowhere to go violates the constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. in my view, the decision   which i see as disappointing but not surprising   will not lead to any reduction in homelessness, and will certainly result in more litigation. as a specialist in poverty law, civil rights and access to justice who has litigated many cases in this area, i know that homelessness in the u.s. is a function of poverty, not criminality, and that criminalizing people experiencing homelessness in no way helps solve the problem. grants pass v. johnson culminated years of struggle over how far cities can go to discourage homeless people from residing within their borders, and whether or when criminal sanctions for actions such as sleeping in public are permissible. in a 2019 case, martin v. city of boise, the 9th u.s. circuit court of appeals held that the eighth amendment’s cruel and unusual punishment clause forbids criminalizing sleeping in public when a person has no private place to sleep. the decision was based on a 1962 supreme court case, robinson v. california, which held that it is unconstitutional to criminalize being a drug addict. robinson and a subsequent case, powell v. texas, have come to stand for distinguishing between status, which cannot constitutionally be punished, and conduct, which can. in the grants pass ruling, the 9th circuit went one step further than it had in the boise case and held that the constitution also banned criminalizing the act of public sleeping with rudimentary protection from the elements. the decision was contentious: judges disagreed over whether the anti camping ban regulated conduct or the status of being homeless, which inevitably leads to sleeping outside when there is no alternative. grants pass urged the supreme court to abandon the robinson precedent and its progeny as “moribund and misguided.” it argued that the eighth amendment forbids only certain cruel methods of punishment, which do not include fines and jail terms. the homeless plaintiffs did not challenge reasonable regulation of the time and place of outdoor sleeping, the city’s ability to limit the size or location of homeless groups or encampments, or the legitimacy of punishing those who insist on remaining in public when shelter is available. but they argued that broad anti camping laws inflicted overly harsh punishments for “wholly innocent, universally unavoidable behavior” and that punishing people for “simply existing outside without access to shelter” would not reduce this activity. in today’s decision, the court rejected the city’s invitation to overrule the 1962 robinson decision and eliminate the prohibition on criminalizing status, but denied that being homeless is a status. instead, the court agreed with the city that camping or sleeping in public are activities, not statuses, despite the plaintiffs’ evidence that for homeless people, there is no difference between criminalizing “being homeless” and criminalizing “sleeping in public.” the decision is surprisingly thin on eighth amendment analysis. it declines to engage with plaintiffs’ arguments that criminalizing sleeping imposes disproportionate punishment or imposes punishment without a legitimate deterrent or rehabilitative goal. instead, the court returned over and over to the idea that the 9th circuit’s decision required judges to make impermissible policy decisions about how to respond to homelessness. the court also extensively cited friend of the court briefs from cities and others discussing the difficulties of addressing homelessness. significantly, however, neither these briefs nor the court’s decision cite evidence that criminalization reduces homelessness in any way. in a strong dissent beginning “sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime,” justice sonia sotomayor, joined by justices elena kagan and ketanji brown jackson, quoted extensively from the record in the case. the dissent included some shocking statements from the grants pass city council, such as “maybe [the homeless people] aren’t hungry enough or cold enough … to make a change in their behavior.” sotomayor noted that time, place and manner restrictions on sleeping in public are perfectly permissible under the ninth circuit’s analysis, and that the inevitable line drawing problems upon which the majority dwells are a normal part of constitutional interpretation. she also observed that the majority’s contention that the ninth circuit’s rule is unworkable was belied by oregon’s own actions: in 2021, the state legislature codified the martin v. boise ruling into law. homelessness is a massive problem in the u.s. the number of people without homes held steady during the covid 19 pandemic largely because of eviction moratoriums and the temporary availability of expanded public benefits, but it has risen sharply since 2022. scholars and policymakers have spent many years analyzing the causes of homelessness. they include wage stagnation, shrinking public benefits, inadequate treatment for mental illness and addiction, and the politics of siting affordable housing. there is little disagreement, however, that the simple mismatch between the vast need for affordable housing and the limited supply is a central cause. increasing homelessness, especially its visible manifestations such as tent encampments, has frustrated city residents, businesses and policymakers across the u.s. and led to an increase in crackdowns against homeless people. reports from the national homelessness law center in 2019 and 2021 have tallied hundreds of laws restricting camping, sleeping, sitting, lying down, panhandling and loitering in public. under presidents barack obama and joe biden, the federal government has asserted that criminal sanctions are rarely useful. instead it has emphasized alternatives, such as supportive services, specialty courts and coordinated systems of care, along with increased housing supply. some cities have had striking success with these measures. but not all communities are on board. i expect that this ruling will prompt some jurisdictions to continue or increase crackdowns on the homeless, despite the complete lack of evidence that such measures reduce homelessness. what such laws may well accomplish is to push the issue into other towns, as grants pass officials candidly admitted they sought to do. the decision will likely put even more pressure on jurisdictions that choose not to criminalize homelessness, such as los angeles, whose mayor, karen bass, has condemned the ruling. while this ruling resolves the eighth amendment claims against sleeping bans, litigation over homeless policy is doubtless far from over. this is an updated version of an article originally published april 17, 2024. this article is republished from the conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. it was written by: clare pastore, university of southern california read more: spikes, seat dividers, even ‘baby shark’ − camping bans like the one under review at scotus are part of broader strategies that push out homeless people when people are under economic stress, their pets suffer too   we found parts of detroit that are animal welfare deserts excessively high rents are a major burden for immigrants in us cities clare pastore is a former senior counsel for the american civil liberties union of southern california, which is one of the aclu offices included in the organization's amicus brief in the case supporting the homeless litigants in city of grants pass v. johnson. her employment with the aclu ended in 2007, years before this case was filed.
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as the supreme court weighs whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, los angeles is attempting to combat homelessness with tiny homes criticized by some as ‘inhumane.’ as the supreme court weighs whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, los angeles is attempting to combat homelessness with tiny homes criticized by some as ‘inhumane.’ credit...stella kalinina for the new york times supported by by ronda kaysen reporting from sun valley, calif. for two years, james valdez lived in his s.u.v., so it was a relief when he moved into branford village, a community of tiny homes, in los angeles. and then the flood came. and then another. during the first flood in august 2023, the water rose to the steering wheel of his s.u.v. six months later in february, when water rushed through the complex again, residents were evacuated out of knee high water to emergency shelters. “you learn to live with it,” said mr. valdez, 58, whose 2016 gmc acadia somehow survived ruin. “at least you have a bed.” roughly 150 recently homeless people live in the complex of tiny homes, part of los angeles’s effort to combat homelessness. at a time when the supreme court is weighing whether cities can criminalize sleeping outdoors or in tents, tiny homes offer a cheap and efficient way to erect shelters, delivering a stop gap fix to a national housing crisis. the country is short a staggering 7.3 million homes for extremely low income renters, according to the national low income housing coalition. a record 12.1 million americans pay more than half their income in rent, according to census data, and a record 653,100 americans were homeless on a given night in january 2023.

 copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. with homelessness on the rise, the supreme court weighs bans on sleeping outdoors rallies were held in various cities across the country as the supreme court considered the most significant case on homelessness in decades. a challenge brought by grants pass, a small rural city in southern oregon, is the most significant case in decades before the u.s. supreme court about homelessness. the case could upend how cities interact with people living in the streets. (ap video by claire rush, manuel valdes) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024. (ap photo/j. scott applewhite) activists demonstrate at the supreme court as the justices consider a challenge to rulings that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, on capitol hill in washington, monday, april 22, 2024.