Support Housing Not Handcuffs Act - Homelessness Isn’t A Crime!

Today I take pen in hand to write you and urge your support for The Housing Not Handcuffs Act, recently introduced. It’s unacceptable that in the wealthiest country in the world, inequity has led to 770,000 individuals experiencing homelessness due to a severe lack of affordable housing and shelter space. Since the disastrous and incorrect ruling Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling, cities have passed nearly 220 laws criminalizing homelessness, punishing vulnerable individuals for having nowhere to go. Criminalization of the homeless is not a solution. Homelessness is not a crime, it is a side effect of non-investment in programs that can help. With the current administration cutting health care, food assistance, and Housing and Urban Development programs used by communities in every state, the situation will only get worse. It will simply divert police resources needed to combat real crimes. We agree with the bill’s authors and sponsors that this vicious cycle must stop. The Act would prohibit punishing homeless persons on public lands when no safe shelter is available. It prevents fines and criminal records that create further barriers to obtaining housing and employment. Criminalizing life-sustaining actions like sleeping, asking for donations, or storing belongings dehumanizes and marginalizes an already struggling population. This is cruel and counterproductive. With rents rising faster than wages and Trump's policies favoring the wealthy, housing insecurity will only worsen without intervention. But as we’ve seen civil rights mean nothing to these cruel and despotic people. Instead, the Housing Not Handcuffs Act is a moral and pragmatic step to uplift our unhoused neighbors with compassion instead of criminalization. I urge you to co-sponsor this crucial legislation towards ensuring every American has access to safe, affordable housing and is treated with dignity. Thank you for your attention to this matter.