We shouldn't treat the homeless like criminals

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/25/we-shouldnt-treat-the-homeless-like-criminals

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The captions below the pictures of homeless New Yorkers are blunt and derisive: “disgusting,” says one; “bed and breakfast” mocks another. The subjects have not asked to be photographed, and many of them look visibly upset and agitated by the intrusion.

No, this isn’t a throwback to the days of ‘bumfights’, where homeless people were filmed in dangerous and humiliating situations in the name of entertainment. This is a new initiative from the union that represents NYPD sergeants. Called Peek-a-Boo, we see you, it asks “concerned citizens of New York” to “help make the city great again” by taking pictures of homeless people, panhandlers and other quality-of-life offenses, and sharing them online.

Union representatives have insisted the project is simply meant to draw political attention to the increase in homelessness, and is in no way intended to demean or humiliate homeless people. Others aren’t buying that argument. City council members have condemned the project as “irresponsible,” “appalling” and “dehumanizing.” Unfortunately, it’s just another example of a country-wide trend: the growing criminalization of homelessness.

Homeless people are some of the most vulnerable members of society – 28% of homeless adults are severely mentally ill, 22% are physically disabled, 15% have suffered domestic violence and 3% are HIV positive. But instead of recognizing them as victims who deserve our support and compassion, a growing number of cities are treating them as criminals who need to be punished.

In a recent report, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty found that between 2011 and 2014, city-wide bans on camping in public increased by 60%, loitering, loafing and vagrancy laws by 35% and bans on sleeping in vehicles by 119%. Some cities are even preventing people from sharing food with the hungry. And as we saw last November, when police in Fort Lauderdale arrested a 90-year-old man for feeding the homeless, local authorities are serious about enforcing these laws.

It’s no coincidence that while we are seeing an increase in laws that demonize the homeless, we are also witnessing an alarming number of attacks targeting people living on the streets: between 2012 and 2013, there was a 23% increase in violent crimes against the homeless. When law enforcement officers and policymakers – those who should be setting our collective moral compass – treat society’s most vulnerable with such contempt, is it any wonder that some people set out to rid the world of “the most foul vagrants,” as one New Yorker described homeless people on the Peek-a-Boo website?

But even those who don’t think we have a collective duty to help homeless people should be worried by this trend. Study after study shows that the criminalization of homelessness is not only morally questionable – it is an expensive and ineffective way of dealing with the issue.

Research from Rethinking Homeless found that chronically homeless people cost tax payers $31,065 a year in incarceration, emergency room and hospitalization charges. Providing those same people with permanent supportive housing costs on average $10,051 per year. By adopting this type of “housing first” policy, the state of Utah has managed to reduce chronic homelessness by an incredible 72% since 2005, with important cost-savings for the community. The same targeted strategies have helped reduce veteran homelessness across the country by 33% since 2009.

Criminalization not only costs more – it actually exacerbates the problem, creating a “revolving door” situation where homeless people go from the streets to prison, and then back again. The criminal records and fines they come back with make it more difficult for them to get the housing and employment they need to escape their situation and become self-efficient, reinforcing their marginalization.

If we’re serious about ending homelessness, we need to take a good look at the policies we’re putting in place to deal with it. With state and local budgets already stretched, it makes economic sense to spend money on practices that work. Punishing the homeless – whether through public shaming or legal measures – does nothing to tackle the underlying causes of the problem. It is not a crime to be homeless, but the outrageous tactics we’re using against some of society’s most vulnerable people should be.