Why Decriminalizing Homelessness Is the Key to Saving Lives and Tax Dollars
We are living through a historic crisis as the number of people sleeping on the streets continues to rise.
Children are being forced into the foster care system simply because their parents can’t afford the skyrocketing Wall Street-driven rents. Senior homelessness is surging, and families are doubling up, opening their doors to neighbors, cousins, and friends seeking refuge on couches amid an unrelenting economic squeeze.
Helplessly, we watch as dilapidated office buildings become neighborhood eyesores that fall into a perpetual state of disrepair, and the multi-million shortage of affordable housing stock is just stuck.
The haves in their luxury apartments enjoy rooftop swimming pools. The have-nots on the streets beneath these luxury condos attempt to evade robberies and arrests while sleeping on spiked ventilation systems intentionally designed to be uncomfortable.
Are we living in limbo? Have we entered the Twilight Zone? Is this some alternate universe that was meant to be confined inside an episode of Black Mirror? Nobody knows.
The streets are inundated with more tents and makeshift shelters. Vehicular homelessness is a parking lot away. And the city leaders arrive, pointing petulant fingers at one another, proclaiming that the other guy is the most evil whilst they are equally ineffective at solving the homeless crisis. Wars rage on worldwide. Hunger persists on our planet of plentitude.
And when it is time to finally react to the onslaught of harrowing homelessness unfolding at the seams, government officials arrive with their handcuffs on hand, their trash trucks in tow, and their books of citations open like the nearby prison cells.
All the studies show that criminalizing homelessness is the most expensive and least effective approach to the problem. Yet, when advocates contest the punitive nature when we call it out for being wasteful, unproductive, and cruel, the response we get is: What is the answer, then? How do we solve the homeless crisis if not with these handcuffs and unjust laws?
We tell them the answer is simple. It’s housing. And they say, “Well, friends, housing isn’t simple. Complexes are complex, delicate things.” And then, perhaps we suggest things like paying livable wages, solving the affordability crisis, and rectifying the wealth gap. “Nah,” they tell us. “Those tasks are impossible to complete.”
Okay, so how about this? What if, instead of criminalizing homelessness, we decriminalize it?
This was an innovative suggestion Next City’s housing correspondent Roshan Abraham presented at a Webinar attended by Invisible People reporters.
Here at IP, we believe it is a genius tactic that could reverse decades of wasting millions of taxpayer dollars and finally free funding for the people who need it most – those enduring homelessness or vulnerable to it.
Next City Journalist Roshan Abraham Says Decriminalizing Homelessness Could Solve the Issue
And we avidly agree with that statement.
Imagine a world where we don’t spend millions of dollars shuffling homeless people around and placing all of their prized possessions in landfills, a world where we recognize that the criminal is the person who’s been artificially inflating rental rates rather than the person who was forced to sleep outside as a result.
If we could wrap our heads around the simple idea that everyone deserves a home and that nobody should go to prison simply because they don’t have access to or cannot afford one, we might find ourselves in a far more perfect world.
“I think it’s okay to some extent to let many flowers bloom on solutions,” said the insightful Next City writer. “And decriminalizing houselessness is one solution.”
Sometimes, in life, the most straightforward answer is also the best. If we truly decriminalized homelessness, we would have at our disposal a surplus of $30,000 – $50,000 per chronic homeless person per year. This is not to mention the millions of dollars per city per year we could save on dismantling homeless encampments, you know the ones that spring right back up on the adjacent street corner in a matter of days?
In addition, our prisons would be less crowded and less likely to be brimming with non-violent offenders while cold-hearted killers and vigilantes like Daniel Penny roam free.
Consider, for just a moment, the number of affordable homes we could construct if we had access to all of these millions we’re throwing away on ineffective, punitive measures. Think about all of the services, all of the savings, all of the safety nets this could amount to. Then, call your local legislators and ask them how they intend to move forward with this plan.
Contact Your Representatives and Ask Them What They’re Doing to Decriminalize Homelessness and Make Housing a Human Right for All.
A lot of the bind we are in is the result of decades of harmful anti-homeless legislation being drafted and enforced across the country. Tell your local legislators you would like them to reverse these errors and to work diligently toward decriminalizing homelessness today.
