Diane Yentel’s Post

Orange County advocates argue that enforcement alone won't solve the homelessness crisis, even after a Supreme Court decision allows for more aggressive measures. The focus remains on housing and services as key solutions. 📊 Key Points: Supreme Court ruling supports clearing encampments. Advocates emphasize housing and services over enforcement. The governor's order encourages municipal action on homelessness. #HomelessnessCrisis #orangecountyrealestate #AffordableHousing #communitysupport #RealEstateNews

According to Opportunity Port program data, the second-most cited reason for folks applying to seal/expunge criminal convictions is housing. Are you a landlord? Property Manager? Property Owner? Real estate investor? Realtor? Do you have biases against people with criminal records? Have you ever considered the possibility that your bias is perpetuating harm? In addition to the importance of legal mechanisms to lessen the extra-legal/collateral consequences of a criminal record, we need a culture shift and to shift our mindsets about PEOPLE with criminal records. People deserve to be housed. People cannot thrive without a safe place to live. People with criminal records are PEOPLE.

Today, June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court's ruling permits municipalities to criminalize homelessness by prohibiting outdoor sleeping, even with basic items like pillows and blankets. This decision poses a significant setback for the individuals we serve, potentially enabling local laws that further marginalize unhoused populations. ISBH vehemently opposes such measures. At ISBH, we firmly believe that housing is healthcare and homelessness is not a crime. Despite the disappointing implications of this ruling, we remain committed to advocating for policies that prioritize housing solutions and uphold the dignity and rights of individuals experiencing homelessness. #HousingIsHealthcare #Dignity

The Fountain House community is deeply disappointed by the announcement of today’s Supreme Court’s decision regarding the constitutionality of clearing homeless encampments. The decision is a profound setback to the rights of people experiencing homelessness. At Fountain House, nearly 40 percent of our members — all of whom live with serious mental illness — have a history of homelessness. Fountain House is a pioneer in housing individuals living with mental illness, and the oldest provider of supported housing for people living with serious mental illness in New York City. We’ve believed and made it possible for members to live in and contribute to their communities, and ensure that every member has a stable living environment, whether in Fountain House residences, independent apartments or with family and friends. “It is unfair, unjust and inhumane to penalize individuals for having no place to live. We need to create and resource a variety of community-based solutions to support people,” said Beth Stubenbord, senior director of programming and housing at Fountain House. "There needs to be a variety of responses [such as] respite and emergency housing, rapid access to clinical supports for behavioral and physical well-being, and more fluid housing opportunities for individuals. We have to create and enhance intentional communities, so that people can feel a sense of belonging, connection and dignity.” Criminalizing and penalizing people experiencing homelessness is not a path to recovery and cannot be the default resort for an individual in crisis. Read more thoughts and reactions from our community on the Supreme Court debate on homelessness on our blog: https://lnkd.in/et2wse75 #scotusruling #scotus2024

This article suggests that Clare O'Neil has been made the new Federal minister for housing and homelessness because it is a portfolio that needed a stronger communicator at a time when anger about housing is at record highs. What homeless and people in housing stress need is more worthwhile action, not a strong communicator who will just spin the Government's inadequate housing policies. https://cstu.io/0995dais #LessTalkMoreAction #HousingIsAHumanRight #AffordableHousing

To fix child homelessness and provide the security of social homes for more families, we need a long-term #PlanForHousing. Ahead of the General Election 2024, we join National Housing Federation in calling on the next government to help us build the #AffordableHomes the country needs and solve the #HousingCrisis for good

Another repost from my friend and colleague Dr. Margot Kushel MD, Director of the the UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative (BHHI) at the University of California, San Francisco on the Supreme Court’s decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson: Housing solves homelessness—fines and jails do not. These punitive measures exacerbate the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness. America is experiencing the most profound housing crisis it has had in decades, which has left too many people without the safety and security of home. Federal and state policymakers must make the difficult choices necessary to solve our housing crisis. By increasing access to affordable housing for extremely low-income households, expanding targeted homelessness prevention, providing support to match the behavioral health needs of the population, and increasing household incomes, we could ensure that everyone has the safety and security of home and no one is forced to sleep outside. We know that the American people want the homelessness crisis solved and we know that only access to affordable housing for everyone will do that. Today, the Supreme Court has moved us toward a future where people can be arrested for sleeping. 💔 #housingnothandcuffs #supportdontpunish

Criminalizing poverty solves nothing. It never has and it never will. Aside from exacerbating an already challenging and deeply nuanced sociopolitical and economic situation, enacting and enforcing such laws is fundamentally cruel, unfair, and dehumanizing. Ultimately, it functions as a mechanism of oppression making it impossible to escape, let alone excel. We need to come together as human beings, embrace diversity of thought, and harness the deep and powerful knowledge that comes from lived experience to envision a new way forward built on a foundation of inclusivity, equity and fairness.

The Supreme Court will soon reach a decision in the #JohnsonVGrantsPass case, which will answer the pivotal question of whether all people in America are truly protected by the Constitution. This case holds profound implications for the rights and dignity of our most vulnerable citizens, particularly those experiencing homelessness. We cannot treat the most vulnerable among us as disposable. It is imperative that we recognize and uphold the humanity and rights of every individual. The only proven solutions to homelessness are providing people with housing and services. Criminalizing homelessness only exacerbates the issue and undermines the fabric of our communities. We stand firmly in support of #HousingNotHandcuffs. We believe in creating compassionate, sustainable solutions that address the root causes of homelessness and provide real opportunities for stability and growth. Let's advocate for justice, dignity, and housing for all. Together, we can build a society that values and protects every person. #AffordableHousing #SupremeCourt #ConstitutionalRights #HomelessnessSolutions #CommunityFirst #JusticeForAll

People living outside risk fines, criminal charges, and jail in communities where police enforce so-called camping bans that make it a crime to sleep in public. Approaches that impose criminal penalties for no other reason than simply experiencing unsheltered homelessness cost three times more than providing housing and services. These approaches can lead to unintended, harmful, and even deadly consequences. And bluntly, they do not solve homelessness in the short- or long-term.    The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) has offered a better approach. “19 Strategies for Communities to Address Encampments Humanely and Effectively” provides guidance for how communities can balance the safety, dignity, and well-being of people living outside with other community needs. Learn more at usich.gov/encampments #homelessness #encampments #usich #minnesota #endhomelessness