Mental Health America Statement on Grants Pass v. Johnson Ruling
28 Junio 2024 - 12:05PM
The U.S. Supreme Court decision issued today in the case of Grants
Pass v. Johnson will have a devastating effect on people who
experience homelessness, especially those with mental health
conditions.
This decision makes needing a place to sleep and not being able
to access it a crime. It punishes poverty and financial insecurity
in a country where housing costs are increasingly out of reach for
many. Being unhoused is overwhelmingly about an inability to access
housing. Punishing poverty instead of working to lift people out of
poverty is only the beginning of criminalizing the human
condition.
While most unhoused people do not have serious mental health
conditions, sleeping in public places increases the likelihood of
depression, suicidal thoughts, violence and victimization, trauma,
substance misuse, and traumatic brain injuries[1]. Targeting these
individuals criminalizes living with a mental health condition.
Because people experiencing mental health challenges are more
likely to be poor[2] and to struggle to find housing because
of discrimination[3], they face housing insecurity and
homelessness. And with the Grants Pass decision, they will face
escalating fines they can ill afford or face incarceration.
We live in a country where accessing affordable housing and the
community supports and care that could actually prevent
homelessness is challenging at best, impossible at worst. Blaming
people for the results of this failure is cruel and unusual
punishment.
Criminalizing poverty, homelessness, and mental illness is not a
solution. Providing supportive housing, peer support services, and
mental healthcare are evidence-based interventions that will
prevent and end homelessness for those with mental health
conditions. Leading with a criminal justice response has had
dangerous and deadly consequences, with roughly a quarter of deaths
from police encounters involving a person with a mental health
condition.[4] Jailing these individuals does not solve the
problem of homelessness as incarceration is destabilizing. It
alienates people from supportive community and family connections,
mental health treatment, and employment opportunities. It leaves
them with a criminal record that will make it even more difficult
to find employment and housing. Incarceration only further
exacerbates the existing problems that cause housing insecurity and
homelessness and makes them more intractable.
This decision will result in more individuals with mental health
conditions being incarcerated and more communities enacting hostile
responses to the human need for safe dwelling, including a place to
sleep. It is cruel punishment and reflective of the anger that is
misdirected toward people, instead of toward policies that fail to
provide people with the basic conditions necessary for human
health, mental health, and safety.
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About Mental Health America
Mental Health America is the nation’s leading community-driven
nonprofit dedicated to promoting mental health and well-being,
resilience, recovery, and closing the mental health equity gap.
Mental Health America’s work is driven by its commitment to promote
mental health as a critical part of whole person health, including
prevention services for all; early identification and intervention
for those at risk; and integrated care, services and supports for
those who need them. Learn more at MHAnational.org.
[1] Padgett, D. K. (2020, October). Homelessness, housing
instability and Mental Health: Making The Connections. BJPsych
bulletin. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7525583/
[2] Knifton, L., & Inglis, G. (2020, October). Poverty and
mental health: Policy, practice and research implications. BJPsych
bulletin. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7525587/
[3] Rental housing discrimination on the basis of mental ...
(n.d.).
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/mentaldisabilities-finalpaper.pdf
[4] DeGue, S., Fowler, K. A., & Calkins , C. (2016). Deaths
Due to Use of Lethal Force by Law Enforcement. American Journal of
Preventative Medicine, 51(5).
Kara Rowland
Mental Health America
krowland@mhanational.org