Paul Flatau’s Post

Check out this article on safe and humane homelessness solutions from @BrookingsInst. It's widely recognized that increasing affordable housing supply is key to tackling homelessness. This research brief dives into evidence-based approaches, the link between housing and public safety, and offers practical recommendations for state and local governments. Explore short-, medium-, and long-term strategies to ensure a safe public realm in today's dynamic legal and political landscape. #Homelessness #AffordableHousing #Kansas #PolicySolutions https://1l.ink/CHPPQGZ

The Supreme Court overturned the case of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson. The ruling makes it easier to fine, ticket, or arrest people for sleeping outdoors, even if elected officials have failed to produce sufficient shelter or housing for everyone in the community who needs it. In the wake of this decision, the Alliance continues to publish resources and guidance 👇 https://lnkd.in/grz9bDX6. Advocacy at the local level is important now more than ever, as local elected officials will have the most impact on how a locality responds to homelessness. We must ensure they know that tickets and arrests are costly and counterproductive, and that the most effective way to end a person’s homelessness is connecting them to permanent housing and supportive services. How you can help 👇 https://lnkd.in/g3gcDCBh #NAEH2024 #EndHomelessness #BeLikeMike #Prevention #Diversion #FlexFunding #SCOTUS #JohnsonVGrantsPass #HousingFirst #HousingIsHealthcare

"A strong body of evidence shows that when people are housed stably, they commit fewer survival crimes like theft, robbery, trespassing, loitering, and prostitution. Increasing access to rental housing in low-income neighborhoods has also been found to significantly reduce violent crime, and providing permanent housing subsidies is correlated with reduced rates of intimate partner violence." Check out this insightful piece from The Brookings Institution on creating safe places and safe sleeping for people experiencing homelessness. In light of the recent Grants Pass decision, the article highlights the importance of cost-effective and humane solutions to address homelessness without resorting to criminalization. https://hubs.la/Q02HR0cR0

Last week, the US and California Supreme Courts issued two opinions on key cases that will impact homeless encampment management and financing for housing and homelessness solutions. The US Supreme Court ruled that an anti-camping ordinance passed by the City of Grants Pass, Oregon, v. Johnson - which enabled the city to clear homeless encampments - was not unconstitutional. This enables California cities to enact more ordinances to sweep homeless encampments and further criminalize homelessness. The last several issues of our monthly email newsletter have provided an ongoing analysis of the possible outcomes of a SCOTUS decision. Our latest article continues that analysis and identifies an additional California Supreme Court decision impacting housing and homelessness solutions funding. #housingcrisis #homelesscrisis #affordablehousing #SCOTUS

The solution to #homelessness is to build more permanent housing, so that those experiencing homelessness have somewhere to live. Let’s invest in #housing instead of encampment sweeps. #psh #affordablehousing #housingfirst

A very important read about the false promises of laws that would criminalize homelessness. In practice, these laws aren't reducing homelessness at all. In fact, they're creating chaos and making the work to rehouse people even harder. The reason is simple: because they are written by people who don't understand the issue at all, but do understand the political advantages of demonizing vulnerable populations. https://lnkd.in/ea2UCe2V

Helping those who have fallen between the cracks: is this not the high road? Beefing the police force to explicitly clamp down on a generation segment that is "lost" amounts to a step that is criminalization of the homeless? A short term knee jerk response by politicians to pacify the comfortable voter, yet long term, the article below advocates it is an expensive outcome. By the way, all those new police on staff draw very large pay, are union entitled, have large public service pensions. Overstaffing police could create a long term cost/tax burden problem (politician and taxpayer accountabilities become inflexible costs) even as they "solve" the short term problem by keeping the homeless on a leash. Life is bigger than that? We should have compassion on those who have lost their way, in my view, as a priority above excessive "law and order", and aim better for a balance that takes the wasted social potential of the homeless and gives them a second chance.

At Abode, we are concerned that Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order today regarding the removal of #homeless encampments will fail to reach its goals and yield negative results for those who simply need a home. We believe today’s announcement is a call to action for our state and local leaders to redouble our efforts to end homelessness. Our stance on the issue of sweeping #encampments is clear: • #Homelessness is not a crime, it is a crisis – one that is a result of systemic failures that have produced fewer than 24 affordable units for every 100 people who need them. • In the Bay Area, some would have to earn as much as $78 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment. (For low-wage workers, that would mean working up to five full-time minimum-wage jobs.) • We believe this nation’s laws should protect the most vulnerable people in our community – not threaten them. • Criminalizing homelessness is wrong. It is cruel, ineffective, and costly. • It worsens cycles of homelessness and makes it more difficult to find real #solutions. That is why we condemned the June 28 Supreme Court ruling on Grants Pass v. Johnson, which makes it easier for authorities to punish people for experiencing homelessness, even when there is no adequate shelter. Instead of punishing those in need, we would like to use today’s announcement as an opportunity for a call to action. Newsom himself called on local governments to house people and provide services. It is our hope that state officials and local governments will do just that – find and fund #sustainable housing solutions. As a region, we long ago moved away from the tepid goal of merely “managing homelessness.” Instead, we must keep taking steps to actually end the problem. We must urge leaders – nationally and locally – to accept the idea that just moving people around isn’t going to solve #homelessness. Sweeping an #encampment is no solution, if the individuals living there have nowhere to go. The solution to homelessness is #housing. Today, we call on local leaders to continue to work on that real solution, so that someone experiencing homelessness today will soon have a dignified place to live. #SustainableSolutions #HousingFirst #HousingEndsHomelessness

queuing up this article to read today.

🚨 A small Oregon town’s homeless crisis is front and center in a landmark Supreme Court case. The ruling, set for April 22, could reshape how cities across the U.S. handle homelessness. This isn’t just a legal debate—it’s about protecting the constitutional rights of those without shelter. Pathways to Housing PA and 36 other organizations have signed onto an amicus brief filed by CSH, the Source for Housing Solutions, supporting the Ninth Circuit's decision to uphold the U.S. Constitution by prohibiting communities from fining or arresting people for merely sleeping outside when they have no access to shelter. The decision will have ripple effects nationwide, impacting thousands who struggle with homelessness. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/eunfNesp