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Two years ago this week, in the landmark Johnson v. Grants Pass decision, the Supreme Court gave cities and states the green light to make it a crime to sleep outside, even when there is nowhere else for people to go. To be clear, laws that make it a crime to experience homelessness are as old as this country, but the Supreme Court’s ruling and Trump’s war on our unhoused neighbors poured gasoline on an already destructive fire.

As a homeless street-outreach worker in Washington, D.C., I saw firsthand that treating homelessness as a crime actively makes homelessness worse. When my clients were displaced, they had treasured photos of deceased loved ones destroyed, lifesaving medication thrown away, and bikes and uniforms needed for work tossed into trash trucks. These evictions crushed their belongings and their humanity. But I also saw that housing can and does solve homelessness. When the fortunate few clients who received a prized housing voucher were able to successfully move from homelessness into housing, they could reconnect with their families, get healthier, and live with the dignity we all want and need.

Grants Pass, the Oregon town behind the Supreme Court ruling, said they could not solve homelessness because their hands were tied with unrealistic burdens, like not arresting people for using a blanket in the........

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