{"id":21308,"date":"2023-05-24T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2023-05-24T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=21308"},"modified":"2023-05-15T19:02:05","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T23:02:05","slug":"successful-solutions-that-do-not-criminalize-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/successful-solutions-that-do-not-criminalize-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"Successful Solutions that Do Not Criminalize Homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Homeless Sweeps on the Rise Part 3<\/h2>\n

In parts one<\/a> and two<\/a> of this in-depth series on sweeps, we explained the rise of <\/span>homeless criminalization<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and that homeless encampment cleanups, also known as sweeps, are incentivized by billion-dollar organizations with shady motives.<\/span><\/p>\n

We spoke on the horrors of involuntary displacement and the struggle to educate voters on the actual costs of\u00a0<\/span>criminalizing homelessness<\/span><\/a>. Be sure to read the first two parts of this series to fully understand these subjects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Politicians have shifted their legislation away from the\u00a0<\/span>housing first model<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(a proven model with a positive track record of reducing homelessness) and toward homeless criminalization.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not a coincidence or an innovative new approach to homelessness. It is a sneaky move to try and sway voters into supporting what Decriminalization Director for the National Homelessness Law Center Will Knight called “poverty profiteering.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the guise of cleaning up the streets, politicians force unsheltered homeless people into inhumane for-profit internment camps that punish the people they pretend to help.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this third and final section of the series, we will discuss successful alternatives to homeless criminalization and models that have worked thus far.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dilemma: Unsheltered Homelessness is Increasing, and Tent Cities Line the Streets of Our Nation<\/h3>\n

In an eloquent quote published by the\u00a0<\/span>United States Interagency Council on Homelessness<\/span><\/a>, one unnamed city leader concisely explained the situation:<\/span><\/p>\n

“Mayors are caught between two opposing viewpoints. On the one hand are people who want us to criminalize homelessness and the other, that want us to say that anything goes. Neither of these viewpoints is the right solution.”<\/span><\/p>\n

In an ideal world, not a single soul would be forced to live in a roadside tent, barely scraping by. While evicting people from homeless encampments and forcibly relocating them to prison cells or the recently constructed pallet shelter internment camps is expensive and unfathomably cruel, leaving them to rot in isolation and misery is equally heartless.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, a few strategies featuring non-punitive approaches could serve as alternatives to sweeps and criminalization<\/a>. Better still, these strategies are already in motion and producing excellent results in some popular cities. Here’s a brief overview of some of those successful models.<\/span><\/p>\n

Boston Clears an Encampment in Just Two Months without Enlisting Bulldozers or Police<\/h3>\n

Advocates familiar with encampment clearings associate them with noisy construction equipment and armed police officers. A chaotic scene unfolds. Homeless encampment residents scatter as their few remaining worldly possessions are tossed into massive garbage receptacles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Housing advocates clash with law enforcement officials. Tear gas peppers the sidewalks of the city. Arrests are made. Stragglers are hauled off in handcuffs. Days later, a new variation of the dismantled encampment emerges a few blocks down.<\/span><\/p>\n

The vicious cycle begins again, costing millions of dollars of funding to exercise the futility. This is the embodiment of a lose-lose situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But what if we told you it doesn’t have to happen this way?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In Boston, Massachusetts, a notorious homeless encampment was cleared in under two months, and virtually all residents left voluntarily. As it turns out, Mayor Michelle Wu successfully cleared the encampment by merely offering permanent supportive housing and other services. Some encampment residents had to wait to be placed into permanent housing situations. They did so in short-term accommodations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout the two-month process, public health experts and homeless outreach professionals frequented the encampment, passing out food, clothing, and other necessities and extending offers of healthcare and other services.<\/span><\/p>\n

Boston implemented a “whole-person approach to treatment” by establishing trust between encampment residents and outreach workers.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Permanent supportive housing was made available to some encampment residents. City leaders achieved this by making use of all the following funding options:<\/span><\/p>\n