Homeless outreach organizations and activists in Northeast Ohio are disappointed by a recent U-S Supreme Court decision allowing municipalities to criminalize sleeping outside in public places – even when adequate shelter isn’t available.
In a 6-3 decision last month, the Supreme Court ruled that cities can fine, ticket and even arrest people for simply sleeping or camping outside.
“Criminalizing folks in one of their biggest struggles of their life and adding trauma to an already trauma-ridden situation – we think it’s just inhumane,” said Lerryn Campbell, executive director of the Homeless Charity & Village in Akron.
Campbell operates a nonprofit where individuals experiencing homelessness can receive food, clothing and other necessities. Akron’s unsheltered population is growing – up 56% this year, Campbell added.
Chris Knestrick at the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, an organization that works with unhoused individuals in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, is also disappointed.
“Practices like ticketing or arresting are never going to solve homelessness, but will further exasperate the problem,” Knestrick said.
Homelessness does not occur because someone committed a crime or “did something wrong,” Knestrick added. Many times, it’s because affordable housing is “unreachable,” he said.
However, both Knestrick and Campbell said they are not that concerned about Cleveland or Akron adopting any bans or ordinances criminalizing sleeping outside.
Cleveland officials seem committed to a different approach to homelessness, Knestrick said.
“It’s very housing-focused. It’s about housing. It understands that criminalization and punitive measures don’t work,” he said.
Statewide organizations are monitoring the decision, too. Amy Riegel leads the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio said in general, her group is not worried about urban areas adopting new measures – but suburbs and rural areas might, she said.
“We are more concerned about those smaller communities that will take this ineffective and cost-inefficient approach to addressing homelessness,” Riegel said.
At least one Ohio city has removed unhoused individuals from a property in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, Riegel said.
Earlier this week, the city of Chillicothe commenced the eviction of individuals who were staying in encampments at a city park.
“They have taken this case as a sign that they can advance criminalization efforts there, so we do see that it’s already taking hold in the state,” Riegel said.
Campbell shares this concern about Akron’s suburbs.
“We do have communities that already have ordinances in place that are similar to this, and it does not stop homelessness from happening in their city. In fact, it further ostracizes those folks,” Campbell said.
Bans often encourage individuals to take shelter in wooded or isolated areas where there is less access to resources that can help them get housing and medical care, Campbell added.
Cities must prioritize building more affordable housing to address the growing problem of homelessness, Riegel said.
Riegel, Knestrick and Campbell gave remarks in a conversation on “The Sound of Ideas” Thursday.
