We will continue to fight for humane solutions to homelessness despite SCOTUS ruling
June 28, 2024 - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a profoundly disappointing opinion in Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, holding that the Constitution’s 8th Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment does not prevent cities from arresting unsheltered individuals who have no choice but to sleep outside. The decision ignores the inhumanity of jailing and fining community members who lack access to shelter and cannot avoid the biological necessity of sleep.
Criminalizing life-sustaining conduct does not solve the underlying problem, and cities cannot arrest their way out of homelessness. Instead, governments must focus efforts on proven policy solutions, such as increasing the inventory of affordable and supported housing, making rental assistance available to the lowest-income households, and strengthening programs to prevent eviction and homelessness.
We are proud to have been one of the more than 1,000 organizations and public leaders who filed amicus briefs to urge the Court to recognize the cruelty in arresting and fining homeless individuals for sleeping outside. We are on the right side of this issue. We echo Justice Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion: punishing a person for being homeless is unconscionable.
The 8th Amendment is only one of the many tools in our toolbox to protect the rights and dignity of our unhoused neighbors. We will continue to fight! Join us by pledging a monthly donation which will enable us to continue to seek solutions for homelessness in Florida.