California legislature talking about homelessness

The California legislature kicked off 2016 with the announcement of several initiatives focused on addressing homelessness and its consequences.  Early in January, Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León announced a plan to fund new housing for homeless people with mental illness, called “No Place Like Home“.  Later that month, Senator Carol Liu introduced SB 876, a bill that would end police citations and arrests of homeless people for engaging in  innocent actions like sitting, lying down, and sleeping in public space.  These two approaches – the provision of housing and ending criminalization – are essential components to plans to successfully address homelessness in our communities.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress shows that on a single night in January 2015, California had the largest homeless population of any state in the nation.  “Point in time” homeless count data show that 115,000 Californians were homeless on that date, representing 21% of the homeless population nationwide.  California is home to 12% of the US population, so its homeless population is disproportionate to its size.  The report also showed that California has the worst rate of unsheltered homelessness in the nation, with 63.7% of California’s homeless population (73,700 people) on the streets.

The Federal government, through the US Department of Justice, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development have made it clear that ending the criminalization of homeless people for innocent actions like sitting, lying down, or sleeping in public space must be part of comprehensive strategies to end homelessness in communities across the country.  As the US Department of Justice stated this summer, in a Statement of Interest from a case concerning anti-camping laws in Boise, Idaho:

Once an individual becomes homeless, by virtue of this status certain life necessities (such as sleeping) that would otherwise be performed in private must now be performed in public… Therefore, sleeping in public is precisely the type of “universal and unavoidable” conduct that is necessary for human survival for homeless individuals who lack access to shelter space… [W]hen adequate shelter space does not exist, there is no meaningful distinction between the status of being homeless and the conduct of sleeping in public. Sleeping is a life-sustaining activity—i.e., it must occur at some time in some place. If a person literally has nowhere else to go, then enforcement of the anti-camping ordinance against that person criminalizes her for being homeless.

SB 876, the bill that will end criminalization of homeless Californians for sitting, sleeping, and resting in public space, is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee, though a hearing date has not yet been set.  The legislature and Governor will decide how to enact the “No Place Like Home” plan through the state budget process, happening now through June.

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