Written by Norm Stamper, Ph.D., Seattle Chief of Police (Ret) To achieve public safety, social justice, and an equitable society, we must disentangle issues of crime from issues of homelessness. Preventing crime, detecting and apprehending those who commit it, and […]
Category: Criminalization
Services Not Sweeps: Ending the Criminalization and Forced Displacement of Unhoused People
Written by Becky Dennison, Executive Director of Venice Community Housing My organization, Venice Community Housing (VCH), is a nonprofit affordable and supportive housing provider operating in communities on the westside of Los Angeles, CA. VCH has been active for decades […]
We Can’t End Homelessness Without a National Response
One reason why Congress has been willing to provide greater assistance is the increased visibility of homelessness during this same period. Encampments have spread to new places. Many downtown districts have less traffic and fewer workers, making people who are […]
Alternatives to Criminalization
As described in part one of this series, unsheltered homelessness presents a unique aspect of danger: the criminalization of homelessness puts those living outdoors at constant risk of potentially dangerous interactions with police. Shifting the response to unsheltered homelessness from […]
Is Being Homeless a Crime?
Living on the streets means constantly being vulnerable – to the elements, to illness and hunger, and to the very group who should be there to protect you: law enforcement. Far-reaching efforts to criminalize homelessness make the already-precarious state of […]