The high court’s ruling is already having a ripple effect on cities across the country, which have been emboldened to take harsher measures to clear out homeless camps that have grown in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Many US cities have been wrestling with how to combat the growing crisis. The issue has been at the heart of recent election cycles on the West Coast, where officials have poured record amounts of money into creating shelters and building affordable housing.

Leaders face mounting pressure as long-term solutions - from housing and shelters to voluntary treatment services and eviction help - take time.

“It’s not easy and it will take a time to put into place solutions that work, so there’s a little bit of political theatre going on here," Scout Katovich, an attorney who focuses on these issues for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told the BBC.

"Politicians want to be able to say they’re doing something,”

    • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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      4 months ago

      “My heart goes out to the homeless, but I don’t want to see or be reminded of them”

      –Those same NIMBY’s, probably

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      The irony here is that housing-first strategies are the best way to do that. They’re also the one these asshats are against.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        The best way that isn’t cruel. But since homeless people supposedly deserve it… you have to punish the poor for being poor after all. Sure, they can’t afford the bootstraps, but that’s not excuse not to pull themselves up by them.

        • Match!!@pawb.social
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          4 months ago

          they’ll happily spend $150,000 a head to make sure those homeless people are housed in a prison instead of near their community