When encampments are removed, people lose more than their belongings or shelter, they lose stability and trust in their community. Service providers are frustrated because encampment removals disrupt efforts to engage and build trust among their clients experiencing homelessness. And legal advocates decry the violations of constitutional rights that protect people from unlawful seizure of property, as well as cruel and unusual punishment.
that criminalization “perpetuates homelessness” by “systematically [limiting] homeless people’s access to services, housing and jobs, while damaging their health, safety and well-being.” This is not a sustainable cycle. If we wish to end encampments, we must offer a real alternative: permanent, safe and supportive homes that give people privacy and dignity.
Communities across the country are already rethinking their approach to encampments and finding more humane, supportive solutions that provide resources to people experiencing homelessness and offer a roadmap for how we ensure no one is without a home.encampment site in El Cajon, San Diego County’s Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities coordinated a multi-sector response that included engaging directly with the individuals living there and addressing their immediate needs.
An approach combining collaboration, outreach, shelter, supportive services and permanent housing is exactly the approach recommended by
Criminalizing is important. Enforcing even more so.
No one seems to care we've tried everything we have a 2600 a month income and still nobody will give us a time of day almost two and a half years now