MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The Supreme Court voted 6 to 3 to allow cities to enforce a ban on homeless people sleeping outside.
“This says the local government can set restrictions up, put a stiff arm up, and if you don’t follow my rules, you’re going to jail,” said Ron Book, head of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust.
The ruling overturns a lower court’s finding that the ban would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.”
“I don’t think it goes to that extreme. I think when you talk about basic necessities, the case avoided basic necessity arguments,” said Book.
Book criticized the decision for steering away from addressing affordable housing and resources, instead criminalizing unhoused people.
“I think anytime you believe you can arrest your way out of homelessness, you are fooling yourself,” Book added. “I don’t believe in the tooth fairy, I don’t believe in pixie dust, and I don’t believe in ludicrous things that you can solve this problem by putting people in jail.”
Friday’s ruling comes after homelessness in the United States grew a dramatic 12% last year to its highest reported level, as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more people.
More than 650,000 people are estimated to be homeless, the most since the country began using a yearly point-in-time survey in 2007. A lack of access to mental health and addiction resources can contribute to the crisis. Older adults, LGBTQ+ people and people of color are disproportionately affected by homelessness, advocates said.
Nearly half of people without housing sleep outside, federal data shows.
Local law enforcement’s response to how this ban will take effect in South Florida is awaited, and details on policy implementation are expected soon.
Click here for more information on the bill.