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Learn More About Criminalization of Homelessness
Why the criminalization of homelessness creates barriers to solutions and how this plays out in Nashville
BY JUDITH TACKETT
The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued a statement in late August to express its strong concerns at the increasing number of state and local laws that criminalize homelessness “at the disproportionately high number of persons belonging to racial and ethnic minorities affected by homelessness.”
The press release pointed to Tennessee as the first state in America to make it a felony to camp on public lands despite a lack of adequate affordable housing. The Tennessee law went into effect on July 1, 2022, and could lead to a Class E felony conviction that carries up to six years in jail, a $3,000 fine and the loss of voting rights.
The reason this topic remains relevant is that across the nation including in Nashville, we have seen an increase in outdoor homelessness. We all agree that something needs to be done, but criminalizing homelessness is actually making homelessness worse rather than contributing to any solutions.
Nashville’s Mayor John Cooper has brought a proposal before Metro Council, which is on the agenda for Oct.4, to consider using $50 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to address outdoor and chronic homelessness. The draft proposal that has been published so far clearly shows that the focus of the $50 million proposal is to dismantle large encampments by creating options for people to move indoors quickly and work on permanent supportive housing following a Housing First approach.
Going the route of focusing on housing as solutions is the right way. Criminalizing homelessness will create increasing barriers to housing making it nearly impossible for many people to access housing quickly even if they have obtained sufficient income and assistance.
What is more, city and state leaders that support the criminalization of homelessness without building sufficient housing opportunities for all people, including the poorest and most vulnerable residents, should be aware of the potential impact such laws eventually could have on federal funding streams designated to implement actual solutions.
The U.N. Committee stated it very clearly when it urged the United States to, “abolish laws and policies that criminalize homelessness; implement strong financial and legal incentives to decriminalize homelessness, including by conditioning or withdrawing funding from state and local authorities that criminalize homelessness and encourage them to redirect funding from criminal justice responses to adequate housing and shelter programs, in particular for persons belonging to racial and ethnic minorities most affected by homelessness.”
Criminalization already affects funding. For one, arresting and jailing people is costly. Second, nonprofits and local governments are increasingly creating incentive programs for landlords to (pretty much) beg them to house people with felonies and even with misdemeanors. Therefore, more service dollars are being redirected to open the doors to an apartment.
Were the federal government to reduce its homelessness grants to Tennessee, on top of what’s already happening in response to counteract the increase in criminalizing homelessness, even fewer people could be served with housing. Therefore, increasing outdoor homelessness.
In addition, according to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, the federal government has for years taken a clear stance against criminalization of homelessness and promoted instead:
• The creation of comprehensive and seamless systems of care;
• Collaboration between law enforcement, behavioral health, and social services providers; and
• Alternative justice system strategies.
Please pay attention. We know that systems need to change to truly address homelessness. Our continuation of waiting until people are pushed to live in encampments and outdoors and then criminalizing them because our healthcare, criminal justice and social services systems have failed them all along. None of this is new, for years, we have been working on improving systems approaches in Nashville and have done so with minimal funding, while fighting for additional dollars.
Now, with the $50 million in ARP funds, there is a real opportunity to change the tide and also address the racial equity aspect that the issue of homelessness includes.
In Nashville, about 42 percent of people experiencing literal homelessness (meaning they live in shelters, on the streets, in cars, and other places not meant for human habitation) identify as African American compared to 27 percent of the general population. Discrimination is real for every single person forced to live outdoors. Criminalizing them on top of that is just simply cruel and does nothing to reduce encampments.
Let me be clear, $50 million will not end all homelessness in Nashville. But it will save a lot of lives of people who would otherwise perish in encampments and on Nashville streets — in 2021, Nashville counted a record 200 people who had experienced homelessness and passed away that year. And it will create new opportunities for some of our most vulnerable neighbors to get back on their feet. Investing dollars in homelessness solutions benefits each Nashville neighborhood, reduces expensive costs to the criminal justice system and other systems that are designed to manage rather than end homelessness for people.
The $50 million will hopefully be just a start, and I urge Metro Council to ensure the entire amount remains dedicated to serving people experiencing homelessness AND I call on Mayor John Cooper and Metro Council to include funds in next year’s Metro budget to supplement this one-time, two-year ARP funding and ensure continuity in systems building.
