Criminalization of homelessness exploded after the 2024 Supreme Court Grants Pass ruling — over 300 cities and states (including Louisiana’s new “Streets to Success Act”) now fine or jail people for sleeping in public.

These policies are cruel and ineffective — they create criminal records, destroy belongings, and make housing harder to get, while ignoring the real cause: lack of affordable housing.

Real solution is Housing First — permanent housing without preconditions, plus social housing and tenant protections, not punishment or forced treatment

Two years ago this summer, the Supreme Court paved the way for more states and cities to fine or jail people for the “crime” of not having a roof over their head.

In their June 28, 2024 Grants Pass v. Johnson decision, the court ruled that an Oregon city’s ordinance barring people from sleeping in public, even when shelter is unavailable, was not “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Since then, more than 300 cities have passed bills criminalizing unhoused people. Statehouses have also followed suit. In April, Indiana’s governor signed a statewide prohibition on sleeping in public spaces punishable by up to $500 in fines and 60 days in jail.

Louisiana, which has the nation’s........

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