Housing Advocates weigh in on Supreme Court homelessness case

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — For hundreds of people in Rhode Island, a cold night is more than an inconvenience.

With a lack of shelter beds or not feeling comfortable in shelters, people can find themselves living on the streets.

“And we’ve seen, you know by estimates from the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, a 370% increase in unsheltered homeless. And again, it all goes back to chronic underinvestment in housing.” said Michelle Wilcox with Crossroads Rhode Island.

Grants Pass Versus Johnson is coming out of Oregon, where the town has tried to enforce local encampment bans with penalties ranging from fines up to jail time.

But representatives say they’re unable to put these penalties into place as advocates cite the Eighth Amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment on a community with no other options.

“So Grants Pass essentially wants the ability to do this kind of thing, and say, well it’s illegal for you to be on public property, certainly on private property but also on public property.” says Eric Hirsch with the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project.

“It’s a not-in-my-backyard-ism that is so important here in Rhode Island. Where people say the same thing, ‘Well you know it’s really just too bad that people are homeless, but this is not where they should be.” Hirsch continued.

It’s unlikely we’ll hear any ruling for a few months, but Hirsch says they’re already working on expanding Rhode Island’s Homeless Bill of Rights, which provides some protections for the homeless community.

“That’s state law, which says you can’t do many of these things.” says Hirsch.

“It would make police raids where they’re violating the private property rights of homeless people or they’re violating the privacy rights. Where they’re arresting or harassing people without a warrant. That those would all be made illegal, and it would be clear under the homeless bill of rights that you can’t do those things.” Hirsch continued.

Wilcox says regardless of a ruling on this case, there is a solution.

If you want to get rid of homelessness, you need housing.