Washington, DC — Today at 3:30 PM EST, Congress members Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Maxwell Frost (D-FL), along with national and local homelessness advocates, will introduce the Housing Not Handcuffs Act at a press conference in room 215 of the Capitol Visitors Center.
This act prohibits federal agencies from arresting, ticketing, or otherwise criminalizing homelessness. The Housing Not Handcuffs Act is the first bill solely aimed at stopping federal agencies from treating homelessness as a crime.
A livestream is available via YouTube.
This introduction coincides with the first anniversary of the Johnson vs. Grants Pass Supreme Court Case. In the year following this decision, at least 320 laws that make it a crime to be homeless have been introduced across the country. More Americans are homeless than ever before, and half of renters pay more than they can afford in rent. Yet instead of investing in real solutions to homelessness, like housing and supports, politicians are reverting to failed, expensive, and counterproductive policies and budget cuts that make homelessness worse.
The Housing not Handcuffs Act has been co-sponsored by Representatives Ansasri (AZ), Garcia (TX), Johnson, GA), Lee (PA), McGovern (MA), Holmes Norton (DC), Ramirez (IL), Schakowsky (IL), Thanedar (MI), Tlaib (MI), and Valazquez (NY).
This bill is supported by nearly 50 organizations, including the National Homelessness Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Speakers, below, will be available for scheduled media interviews
- Congressperson Pramila Jayapal
- Congressperson Maxwell Frost
- Cynthia W. Roseberry, Director of Policy and Government Affairs, Justice Division, American Civil Liberties Union
- Arthur Ago, Director of Strategic Litigation and Advocacy, Southern Poverty Law Center
- Ann Oliva, CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness
- Antonia Fasanelli, Executive Director, National Homelessness Law Center
- Wesley Thomas, Advocacy Fellow, Miriam’s Kitchen
- Jesse Rabinowitz, Director, Housing not Handcuffs Campaign at National Homelessness Law Center
Event Logistics
Date and time: 3:30 pm on Thursday, July 26th
Location: Capitol Visitors’ Center, room HCV-215 (NOTE LOCATION CHANGE)
Visuals: Crowd holding signs that read “Housing not Handcuffs”
“The Grants Pass decision has unleashed deep suffering as states in the Deep South and across the country take a sharp turn toward punitive responses to homelessness. We can’t talk about these responses without naming what’s behind them: a goal of taking us back to the founding of this country, when only white male property owners had rights,” said Margaret Huang, President and CEO of Southern Poverty Law Center. “The arguments driving these anti-camping laws and litigation are rooted in the same justifications once used to legitimize vagrancy laws, which are historically intertwined with economic and racial subordination and rely on the false idea that poverty is synonymous with criminality. We desperately need to address this national emergency in a way that recognizes housing as a fundamental human right. That’s why we applaud the leadership of Reps. Jayapal and Frost and are proud to champion this legislation that strives to ensure safe and stable housing for people across America.”
“Every single person in the richest country in the world should be able to have a roof over their head and a safe place to sleep, it’s that simple,” said Jayapal. “There is nowhere in this country where you can pay rent on a minimum wage salary. By criminalizing aspects of homelessness, cities and states across this country are only creating greater barriers for people to access housing — something that is already far too scarce. Fining people who already can’t afford to live makes no sense and will only result in longer-term homelessness.”
“Since the Grants Pass decision, cities across the country have passed nearly 220 bills to criminalize homelessness, including in my own district. These policies don’t solve homelessness instead they dehumanize our unhoused, saddle them with criminal records, and make it even harder for them to find stable housing. It’s a vicious cycle that the Housing Not Handcuffs Act seeks to end,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost. “At a time when the cost of living is at an all-time high and Trump’s Big Ugly Bill will only help the rich get richer and the working poor get poorer— we’re fighting to make sure everyone has access to safe, decent, and affordable housing, not handcuffs.”
“The Supreme Court ruling makes it even harder to be homeless in Grants Pass,” said Helen Cruz, an advocate from Grants Pass with lived experience of homelessness, who hosted an event in Grants Pass. “It gave our city council the ability to abuse their power and make it a complete nightmare for the homeless community here. We still have no low-barrier shelter, and the city council here has made little attempt to make anything better. If Grants Pass would just start building affordable housing instead of dehumanizing homeless people, things might take a turn for the better.”
“Everybody needs a safe place to live,” said Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center. “The Housing Not Handcuffs Act is a vital step in restoring the rights gutted by the right-wing Supreme Court and will refocus the conversation on homelessness away from backwards laws that make homelessness worse and back on real solutions like housing and support. This bill is a crucial first step in redirecting resources away from systems of harm and towards systems of housing care. We need housing and services, not tax cuts for the rich and handcuffs for the Poor. Congress must pass this bill while also securing the funding needed so that every person has the housing and support they need to thrive.”
“No one should be punished because they don’t have a safe place to sleep, yet that is exactly what we are seeing happen across the country,” said Cynthia W. Roseberry, director of policy and government affairs at the ACLU’s Justice Division. “Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass last year, nearly 220 cities have passed laws criminalizing homelessness. These laws are cruel, counterproductive, and costly. It’s past time for a new path forward that prioritizes housing solutions that are grounded in compassion, dignity, and evidence, and that starts today with the Housing not Handcuffs Act.”
“At a time when homelessness is on the rise, there is no excuse for lawmakers to cut funding for federal homelessness programs,” said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “Yet, that is exactly what the president’s budget proposal calls for. Our lawmakers need to be focused on getting our communities the resources they need to rehouse people, people in red and blue states alike. This is not the time for elected leaders to allow themselves to be distracted by the false promises of criminalization.”
“While I was homeless, I was maced, viciously awakened from sleep, and verbally abused by US Park Police,” said Wesley Thomas, Advocacy Fellow at Miriam’s Kitchen. “It’s more dangerous on the streets than it’s ever been, and it’s getting worse. As someone who lived on the streets of DC for 29 years, I fully support this bill that will prevent the criminalization of homelessness and protect my friends and neighbors.”
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About the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.