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The Supreme Court's recent decision in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, allowing communities to enforce laws prohibiting camping on public property, elicited strong reactions. Some affordable housing advocates expressed "extreme disappointment" with the decision, calling it a "dangerous precedent" that will criminalize homelessness. Many local government officials vehemently disagree, arguing that any restraint on their ability to remove public encampments potentially threatens public security.
Empowered by the court ruling, officials are taking more forceful actions to address these concerns, as shown by California Governor Gavin Newsom's recent executive order directing state agencies to clear homeless encampments on state land.
Despite the divergent sentiments resulting from the Grants Pass decision,there is widespreadrecognition that the problem of homelessness is severe and growing. Today, a record number of individuals, some 650,000, are experiencing homelessness on any given night in our country. For all of us, the big post-Grants Pass question should be: How can we effectively respond to this national tragedy?
The problem of homelessness is a front-and-center concern for Americans. Recent polling by Morning Consult showed that over half of adults (52 percent) report an increase in homelessness in their community over the past year. A striking 80 percent of those polled indicated it was important for both major presidential candidates to release plans to significantly reduce homelessness, while 72 percent supported expanded funding for a range of homelessness prevention and support programs. It's clear that a strong majority of Americans across the political spectrum are looking to their leaders for solutions.
Homelessness is a multifaceted issue that often intersects with mental illness and substance abuse. However, it is also deeply tied to the availability and affordability of housing. Estimates for the national shortage of affordable rental homes range in the millions, particularly impacting extremely low-income households and leaving many at significant risk of falling into homelessness.
Studies consistently show a strong correlation between high housing costs and high rates of homelessness. As rents continue to outpace wages, more Americans are finding themselves unable to secure stable housing.
To address homelessness effectively, we must learn from successful models. The HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program has successfully reduced veterans' homelessness by half through a model that integrates supportive housing with comprehensive services. Cities like Houston, Texas, and Chattanooga, Tenn. , have made impressive strides in reducing homelessness by enhancing coordination among service providers, providing robust housing support, and implementing innovative strategies tailored to local needs.
These efforts should be seen as part of a broader set of actions to address high housing costs nationwide. As these costs reach historic highs, policymakers across the ideological spectrum are coming together to pursue an agenda of housing abundance. Bipartisan support for zoning reform is growing, with states like Montana, Oregon, Utah, and California making strides in passing legislation to allow for greater housing density. At the federal level, enactment of the bipartisan Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would help support some 2 million new affordable rental homes.
With so many households at risk of falling into homelessness, prevention efforts will be key to solving the problem. During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program was essential for keeping families housed. Many communities have built on this success by maintaining their own programs to assist families facing eviction, helping them stay in their homes during financial crises, and reducing the risk of homelessness by providing timely support. Likewise, faith-based organizations across the country continue to provide crisis services that have kept thousands of people at risk of homelessness from falling through the cracks.
The debate on how to balance the needs of homeless people with ensuring security in public spaces will no doubt continue in the wake of the Grants Pass decision. However, we must not lose sight of the strong connection between homelessness and the broader challenge of affordable housing. By supporting bipartisan efforts to expand the supply of affordable homes and implementing practical, evidence-based solutions for addressing and preventing homelessness, we can make significant strides toward ensuring that every American has a place to call home.
Dennis Shea is the executive director of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Francis Torres is an associate director on the Bipartisan Policy Center's housing and infrastructure teams.
The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
