National Coalition for the Homeless

A Dream Denied:
The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities

Constructive Alternatives to Criminalization

While many cities engage in practices that exacerbate the problem of homelessness by pursuing criminalization measures, more constructive approaches do exist in some cities around the country. The following examples can serve as more constructive approaches to homelessness.

I. Broward County, Florida - Outreach Teams

The Taskforce for Ending Homelessness, Inc., a not-for-profit agency that provides outreach, education, and advocacy services for the homeless population in Broward County, has partnered with the Ft. Lauderdale police department to help homeless persons get off the street. The partnership formed the Homeless Outreach Team, which was incorporated in 2003 to provide direct outreach services to homeless people. In 2005, the team consisted of two full-time Fort Lauderdale Police officers, two part-time officers, and a civilian partner who is formerly homeless. The team informs chronically homeless individuals of social services available in the community and encourages them to access those services. Repeated visits are often necessary to build rapport, trust, and confidence between the workers and homeless individuals.

In addition, the outreach team has partnered with local shelters to ensure access to beds and services. Those accepting shelter assistance receive priority, entering the program if a bed is open. They are also provided with dinner, breakfast, a hot shower, laundry facilities, and a safe night’s sleep. In its five years of operation, the Homeless Outreach Team has had over 23,000 contacts with homeless individuals and has placed 11,384 people in shelters. Estimates suggest that there are at least 2,400 fewer arrests each year as a result of the Homeless Outreach Team.

The Taskforce for Ending Homelessness also has partnered with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department to develop a 2-hour course entitled “Homelessness 101.” The course is designed to raise police officers’ awareness of the reality of homelessness, its causes, and the most effective ways to address this prevalent social problem. The Taskforce also has successfully lobbied the state for a detoxification program specifically for homeless individuals. For more information, contact the Fort Lauderdale Police Department at (954) 828-5700.

II. Pasadena, California - Outreach Team

The Pasadena Police Department and the Los Angeles Department of Health have partnered to form the Homeless Outreach Psychiatric Evaluation (HOPE) Team. The program created three teams of mental health and law enforcement officials to provide compassionate assistance to persons in need of mental health assessment and services. The HOPE Team’s roles include: diffusing potentially volatile situations through learned crisis intervention techniques with less confrontational means, providing department-wide training on dealing with mentally ill individuals, helping patrol officers assess a person’s need for mental health care, and identifying chronic or acute disturbances or individuals that could be served best through non-arrest solutions.

The program prevents unnecessary incarceration or hospitalization of people with psychiatric disabilities, frees up patrol officers to handle other calls, and protects the individuals themselves and the community at large from possible dangers resulting from mental illness. For more information, contact the Pasadena Police Department by phone at (626) 744-4501 or visit their website at: http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/police/Div_FieldOps/hopeTeam.asp

III. Ohio – Outreach Programs

A vital component of building a trusting relationship with homeless people is the provision of outreach services in the early morning and evening hours to the populations that are resistant to shelter. In Ohio, the three largest cities, Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, fund teams of trained workers to go out under the bridges and visit the encampments near the rivers to assist those outside the service system.

Columbus has an outreach team with close contacts to the homeless service providers funded and directed by the Downtown Business Improvement District. In light of the closing of the Open Shelter in Columbus, the staff of this facility now provides an outreach function serving the needs of those who choose not to utilize the shelters. Cleveland has three non-profit organizations divide up the time and each send a team out to assure that no one is dying in the extreme weather of the north coast. After Cincinnati enacted its anti-panhandling ordinance, but did not provide outreach services for homeless persons, Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. hired a part-time outreach worker. Even while city and law enforcement officials supported restrictions on panhandling, the Cincinnati outreach worker has helped frequently arrested panhandlers receive services, such as job placement, mental health counseling, or government benefits. Each of these services is funded by the public sector in partnership with religious and corporate assistance.

The critical component to the success of these programs is that they do not put a lot of restrictions on the assistance that they are offering and offer help at non-traditional hours when other services are closed. While the outcome of these services is hard to quantify, they provide a vital link between mainstream services and a population that resists congregate living or those who have a chronic health condition that leaves them isolated and lonely.

IV. District of Columbia – Day Center

Faced with an increasing number of people forced to live on the streets, the downtown business community in Washington, D.C., decided to create a day center for homeless people who may not have anywhere to go during the day when shelters are closed. Through the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District, business owners started and continue to fund a day center that can serve up to 260 people per day, with indoor seating, laundry, showers, and a morning meal. The center also has partnerships with local service providers who come on site once or twice a week to provide medical, psychiatric, legal, and employment services, as well as housing counseling, substance abuse treatment, and case management. Business owners in D.C. finance the day shelter through a 1-cent tax for each square foot of property owned by a business. For more information, contact the Downtown D.C. Improvement District at (202) 638-3232.

V. San Diego, California - Homeless Court Program (HCP)

The City of San Diego historically has targeted homeless people through enforcement of loitering and illegal lodging laws, including a recent campaign of harassment that led to a lawsuit filed in 2004 against the city for such practices. While the city itself has not taken a very constructive approach to homelessness, a public defender from San Diego, Steve Binder, created the nation’s first Homeless Court Program (HCP) in 1989, to improve homeless peoples’ access to the judicial system. The HCP is a special monthly Superior Court session held at local shelters for homeless defendants to resolve outstanding misdemeanor criminal cases. Homeless people are routinely issued citations for offenses such as illegal lodging, jaywalking, and drinking in public. Caught up in the daily struggle for food, clothing, and shelter, a homeless person typically has few resources to draw upon in order to respond properly to the criminal justice system. Consequently, misdemeanor citations and infractions are often not dealt with, compounding the problem, as warrants are issued and additional fines assessed. These cases often preclude homeless people from accessing desperately needed services such as public benefits and mental health and/or substance abuse treatment, as well as employment and housing.

To counteract the effect of criminal cases pushing homeless defendants further outside society, the HCP combines a progressive plea bargain system, an alternative sentencing structure, assurance of “no custody,” and proof of shelter program activities to address a range of misdemeanor offenses. Homeless participants voluntarily sign up for the HCP. The HCP homeless participant is entitled to all protections afforded by due process of law. Homeless courts expand access to the judicial system and assist homeless defendants by addressing outstanding warrants and criminal offenses to remove barriers to benefits, treatment, housing, and employment.

The continued large numbers of homeless people participating in the Homeless Court Program has fostered the program’s expansion in San Diego and across the nation. The HCP is replicated in 20 courts across the country and numerous “Stand Down” events. Currently, 15 communities are working to implement a HCP.

While homeless courts benefit homeless people by performing an outreach function, providing legal representation, and educating the judicial system about homelessness, to be truly constructive, certain cautions should be taken with respect to homeless courts.

First, homeless courts should be aware of the nature of the "offenses" with which homeless defendants are typically charged. Often homeless people have been charged with violations of "quality of life" ordinances that punish conduct, such as sleeping in public, related to their status of being homeless. In such cases, homeless people should not be blamed or seen as having been at fault.

Second, while some homeless people do suffer from disease, and need treatment, some are simply extremely poor and cannot afford housing. Homeless courts do not address these underlying causes of homelessness, such as the extreme shortage of affordable housing and work that pays enough to cover housing costs. These realities should be addressed, otherwise, the hardships of homelessness are minimized and homeless people themselves patronized.
Third, some specialized court systems - such as drug courts or community courts - set aside treatment or program slots for their participants. This can result in services being made contingent on submission to the court process. Homeless courts should be careful to avoid replicating that model - otherwise they will simply further exacerbate the shortage of such services.
Finally, homeless courts are best used to deal with misdemeanor offenses and not felonies; as homeless courts may not be the ideal venue to deal with the complexities of felony charges.
For more information about San Diego’s Homeless Court Program, please contact Steve Binder at (619) 338 4708 or steve.binder@sdcounty.ca.gov or the American Bar Association Commission on Homelessness & Poverty at (202) 662-1693 or homeless@abanet.org.

VI. Nationwide- Know Your Rights Pamphlets

Advocacy groups across the country are publishing civil rights guides for people experiencing homelessness. The guides contain information on rights related to search and seizure, trespass, loitering, vagrancy, panhandling, as well as other local laws that may apply to homeless people. The guides also include information on how to interact with police officers. These legal guides are a tremendous resource, as well as an empowerment tool. The guides teach people not only to know their rights, but also to know when their rights are being violated. Some organizations send lawyers to shelters to distribute the guides and answer questions, while others hold more formal “know-your-rights” seminars. See page 147 for an example of a “know your rights” card produced and distributed by the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless located in Washington, D.C.