You guys, this is terrifying. I’m freaked out that nobody seems to be talking about this except for people who are actually homeless.
“In April, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a major case that could reshape how cities manage homelessness. The legal issue is whether they can fine or arrest people for sleeping outside if there's no shelter available. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has deemed this cruel and unusual punishment, and this case is a pivotal challenge to that ruling.”
https://www.nhpr.org/national/2024-02-20/how-far-can-cities-go-to-clear-homeless-camps-the-u-s-supreme-court-will-decide
I hope y’all realize that this could happen to anyone. I never thought I would end up homeless I started working at 14 & I worked multiple jobs at a time most years, I had careers, I went to college and got a degree, I had savings. Then I became disabled in an accident I didn’t cause. It kicked in MECFS too. I didn’t have three years worth of savings, which is how long it took for the SSA to approve disability for me. Three years. So of course I ended up homeless.
But even once I started getting disability payments, and even with a large lump sum from all the backpay they owed me, it was still a struggle to get housing because my disability check wasn’t 3 1/2 times any rent anywhere. I also had a part-time job so my averaging income was four dollars more than the minimum wage here but it still wasn’t enough to qualify to even apply for an $825 one bedroom apartment.
The only reason I’m not homeless anymore is because I finally got to the top of the section 8 waitlist, it took five years. I moved up quicker because I was homeless and because I had a job in the city I was applying in, but it still took five years.
#housing #homeless #CriminalizingPoverty
#WorkCampsAreComing