Millions of Americans have lost their jobs or suffered a sharp decline in earnings. Families are forced to make tough financial decisions such as cutting back on spending purchases, downsizing to a different homes, or being at risk of slipping permanently into poverty. “Nationally, homelessness has now reached crisis proportions not seen since the Great Depression,” says Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. Check out the full New York Times article here.

On Tuesday, April 21, a letter submitted to the City Council by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty lead to a mayoral veto of an aggressive panhandling law that would have posed major constitutional and human rights concerns for homeless people in Seattle. The new ordinance would have violated First Amendment rights by restricting free speech without an adequate justification for doing so. Vague language in the ordinance would have also allowed for problems of arbitrary enforcement - increasing the likelihood of criminalizing homelessness.

Though the council did pass the ordinance on a 5-4 vote, the mayoral veto stopped its enactment. As the letter explained, instead of pursuing measures that can lead to civil rights violations and consequent costly and burdensome litigation, Seattle should dedicate more time and resources to developing jobs at a living wage, promoting affordable housing, ensuring increased access to health care for low-income persons, and other solutions to homelessness. 

The letter is consistent with previous advocacy by the LawCenter, with an emphasis on constructive alternatives to laws like this one, which penalize people experiencing homelessness instead of working to improve their situations. It offered examples of communities, like Madison, Wis., and Ft.Lauderdale,Fla., where outreach teams have successfully reduced solicitation by connecting homeless people with resources and housing, rather than arresting or ticketing them. To read the full letter, click here.  To learn more about laws criminalizing homelessness, and constructive alternatives, check out our 2009 Homes Not Handcuffsreport.