“For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:35 – 36
The city of Grants Pass Oregon is trying to pass legislation to make it criminal to sleep outside within the city limits. It is called a no camping ordinance. It targets the homeless or houseless population. It makes it a criminal offense to even pull a blanket around you if you find yourself with nowhere to sleep at night. The fines begin at $295.00 and can reach as high as $1250.00 per offense with jail time. It has failed in the lower courts as a violation of the 8th amendment. Arguments were heard by the Supreme Court in April and a ruling is expected sometime this month. This law does violate the 8th amendment.
In case you don’t know what the 8th amendment does, it protects the population from cruel and unusual punishments. It imposes a limitation on unduly harsh or criminal defendants both before and after a conviction. The Grants Pass law is both harsh and unreasonable.
Here is the thing: people who find themselves homeless are usually homeless because of a set of circumstances that tapped them of any resources they had, and they were unable to pay their rents or mortgages. They are typically people in entry or low-income jobs, but they don’t have to be, and they were one emergency away from being homeless. A major car repair, a significant illness or hospitalization and they and their families are on the streets. In the area where I live, we have over 1000 students who are living in tents and cars with their families in our parks and the school system now sends buses to pick their children up from school. (don’t get me started on that soap box!) The city of Grants Pass, Oregon wants to make this criminal. And I don’t know about any of you but if I were homeless and was fined 295.00, I would not have the 295.00 to pay the fine which means the fine escalates into that 1250.00 fine with jail time. All because I don’t have a home due to circumstances that spiraled out of control. This should outrage all of us!
Fortunately, the lower courts and just about anyone with common sense in Grants Pass and the surrounding area have been speaking out against this outrageous law. In reading about this situation, I am reminded how so many times, we throw money or laws at the wrong end of the problem. If they are having an issue with people sleeping in the city, maybe they should look into finding ways they could build affordable housing. Just a thought. Or maybe they could find ways to help these families find new jobs in the area so they could afford housing. Just a thought. Or maybe they could look into ways to get them new, more employable job skills for jobs that paid more than entry level. Just a thought. People who are so down on their luck they are homeless do not need to be criminalized. They need help to better their job skills and we need to wake up to getting our elected officials across the country (because the issue is not just in Grants Pass, Oregon) to find ways that will encourage developers to build affordable housing communities.
You might think the lack of affordable housing doesn’t impact you…it does. I am sure you know someone who is living with their parents. I am sure you know someone who is couch surfing, maybe you know someone who is barely scraping by, and they are one emergency away from disaster and homelessness. Where I live, the median household income is 87,000 or 42 dollars per hour. Yes, you read that correctly. Cost of living is geared to that income level. The only reason I can afford to live here is because I bought my house in 1994 when prices were sane. I could not afford to buy my house if I were buying it today. I could not afford to live here if I moved here today. I make a decent income and I would not be able to live here. It is a significant number to know because we have a high tourist industry, which means we have a lot of people whose jobs begin at around 20 to 25 thousand per year. They can’t afford to live here and yet we need the services they offer.
And then there is the simple fact that the cost of homelessness is very high on municipalities and taxpayers as we foot the bill for hospitalizations, medical treatment, incarcerations, police interventions, emergency shelter costs and so much more. Ironically, it would be far less expensive to put our money toward interventions and solutions. Our communities are only as strong as our weakest members. We should want to ensure we all have access to all our basic necessities. But then, we tend to throw our money at the wrong end of the problem.
Criminalizing the issue, however, is definitely NOT the answer.
Peace,
Pastor Beth
BTW: If you would like to get involved in this justice issue, please consider joining BRIGHT our local justice ministry that is working to get our elected officials to see how important the issue of affordable housing is for our community.
Beth's Blog 