California & Laws Against Homeless People

[mrsbright]

This came up in my Facebook newsfeed, shared by the group Invisible People (an initiative to show people the real human face of homelessness rather than have us ignore them and then misunderstand or misjudge them, mostly)

This sort of laws made a lot of noise, particularly every time that some citizens tried to organize projects to feed the homeless or to help them out. It seems that this behaviour is badly perceived because they would rather hide the problem though harrassing homeless people than to allow people to help them and to treat them like the human beings they are.

After homelessness began skyrocketing in the 1980s, cities responded with laws that criminalize basic life activities conducted in public like standing, sitting, resting or sleeping, and even sharing food with homeless people. As the crisis worsened in California — 22% of America's homeless population now lives in the state — cities have piled on more and more vagrancy laws.

Vagrancy arrests increased 77% in California from 2000 to 2012, while arrests for "drunkenness" and "disorderly conduct" declined by 16% and 48% respectively. In other words, vagrancy laws increasingly are being used to punish people's status — being homeless — rather than their behavior.

the study's analysis of enforcement patterns in San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego shows that these laws are selectively enforced against homeless people.

California is rife with laws used to harass homeless people - LA Times


I think that this "punish rather than go for the root of the problem" is a very problematic way of dealing with social issues.

 

[stevesxs9]

That is a very interesting and factional study. The state needs to realize these people are not on the streets because they choose to be. So instead of making up laws to hurt them, lets think of more effective ways of helping them and getting them off the streets if possible.

 

[jeremy2]

I think those laws are pretty draconian and need to be reviewed as a matter of urgency. Laws should be formulated with the plight of the poor being taken into consideration. Nobody chooses to live on the streets or beg for food for that matter. The most vulnerable in society should be well taken care of by the state.

 

[missbishi]

So there are basically laws against being homeless in California? This is outrageous. What are they realistically expected to do, especially when efforts to help them are generally thwarted. If they are going to enforce laws against homelessness they at the very least, they need to work hard on providing a solution to it.

 

[PriscillaKing]

What, y'mean all the homeless people in California did not move to Washington, D.C.? Sounds as if Californians need to grow backbones. Washingtonians pay for shelters, learn to walk past the ones who don't go into the shelters, and offer G.E.D. and job training courses to the ones who can profit from the courses.