Co-authored by: Bill Bedrossian, President + CEO, Covenant House
International and Dan Freed, Co-founder + CEO, Former resident of
Covenant House New York
For a former homeless youth, it seems barely conceivable.
This week, the Johnson v. Grants Pass case will address a
critical issue: whether laws that punish homeless individuals for
sleeping outdoors with basic protections such as a pillow or
blanket—when no safe and accessible shelter options are
available—violate the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,
which protects against excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual
punishment.
My co-author, Dan Freed, understands how a law like this could
hinder a person’s ability to achieve a life of stability and
self-reliance. “As someone who was homeless as a teenager, I can
say first-hand how difficult it is to get back on your feet.
Creating criminal penalties to address homelessness will only
worsen the issue and prevent the opportunity for those to get
ahead. Instead of eliminating homelessness, these penalties
exacerbate the struggles homeless populations face, making it
harder for them to overcome their circumstances.”
What’s more, these measures disproportionately affect young
people, who are already at higher risk due to factors like family
issues, abuse, aging out of foster care, and economic hardship.
Criminalizing homelessness disrupts young people's stability
continuing into adulthood, increasing their vulnerability to mental
health issues, and creating barriers to education, employment, and
housing—all of which make finding a path out of homelessness even
more difficult. Homeless youth don’t need more hurdles or a
criminal record to marginalize them further. Instead, society,
including local governments, needs to create supportive resources,
effective outreach programs, and legitimate safety nets.
“It is very clear that Johnson v. Grants Pass is, in fact, a
penalty for homelessness itself,” says Dan. “It’s a tax on homeless
people that there is no conceivable way they could pay. As a
volunteer for Covenant House, I’ve met countless teens who become
homeless due to circumstances outside of their control, like after
the death of a parent. I’ve met young women who have no choice but
to face the uncertainties of the street to escape domestic
violence. I’ve met people whose parents were struggling with
addiction who sleep outside because it feels safer than their own
home. These people––human beings––have no choice but to expose
themselves to the elements and the risks of the street. Should
these young people also have to fear waking up to police
handcuffing and arresting them?”
Welcome to the unjust world proposed by Johnson v. Grants
Pass.
Currently, more than 600,000 people in America experience
homelessness on any given night, with nearly
half––250,000––sleeping outside. And every year, 4.2 million young
people experience a form of homelessness in this country. At
Covenant House, 'The Journey Home' initiative is our roadmap for
addressing this issue. Our job, and indeed society’s job, should be
to redirect these young people away from a life of homelessness.
This new law does the opposite––it forces them down a dead-end
street and further increases the burden they already struggle to
bear.
I can shout this from the rooftop, but it will never have the
same impact as hearing from someone like my co-author Dan and other
individuals who have experienced homelessness and are on their own
journey to wholeness and independence. “Nonprofit organizations
like Covenant House play a crucial role in helping youth overcome
homelessness by providing essential services and support. I know
because I’m a former Covenant House resident. I would not be in the
position I’m in today if it wasn’t for the kindness and generosity
of the Covenant House, its volunteers, and their community, who
provided me with the opportunity to have reliable housing so I
could forge a new path for myself. Thanks to their programs like
emergency intervention and a transitional housing program, I was
able to find stability, a safe place to rest and physically recover
from living on the street, and a comprehensive support system to
take small, manageable steps toward self-sufficiency. Today, I’m
the founder of a growing company that employs 40+ people. And I
devote my time and resources to giving back to Covenant House and
to my community so that I can empower others just as I was.”
This is what we need—real, solid, reliable services—not simply a
law penalizing people for a lack of support from institutions. We
must rally as a caring and compassionate community to support
others, especially our homeless youth, to achieve their potential.
Instead of providing adequate services to begin solving the
situation, the objective appears to be to further reduce the status
and situation of the poorest people in this country at the most
difficult time of their lives by penalizing them for having nowhere
to live. Punching them down when we should be building them
up.
Adds Dan: “It’s exceedingly difficult for advocates of young
homeless people and the organizations that serve them to see who
exactly would benefit from this law. I support Covenant House’s
stance of people experiencing homelessness to be treated with
dignity rather than being criminalized.”
Together, with the Covenant House community, we believe that, as
a society, we are better than this.
And we believe that all unhoused people living in our
communities deserve far better than this punitive action that will
set a worrisome precedent for how homeless people are treated
individually and the setbacks they’ll face as a result.
We can’t allow Johnson v. Grants Pass to serve as a new standard
for how policy is set. A ruling that makes it easier to ticket or
arrest homeless people for sleeping outside will make homelessness
worse, not to mention how it will negatively impact their inclusion
socially and culturally in their own cities and towns.
Join us in standing against this cruel and unusual punishment
and urge an end to the criminalization of homelessness.
-Bill Bedrossian & Dan Freed
ABOUT COVENANT HOUSECovenant House is the largest, primarily
privately funded charity in North and Central America providing
immediate and long-term support for young people facing
homelessness and survivors of trafficking through unconditional
love, absolute respect, and relentless support. Covenant House
doors are open 24/7 in 34 cities across the United States, Canada,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico to all young people who need
housing and help, regardless of their race, religion, sexual
orientation, or gender identity or expression, and all services and
programs are available at no cost. Our North Star is ending youth
homelessness. covenanthouse.org
Pam Sandonato
Covenant House
609-280-9264
psandonato@covenanthouse.org