In the near future, we intend to introduce legislation to require that municipalities provide adequate indoor spaces for people experiencing homelessness before the municipality can enforce any ordinance that would criminalize living outside. 

 

Our Commonwealth, like much of our country, faces an unprecedented housing crisis. Stagnant wages, high costs of living, and skyrocketing housing costs have stretched unprecedented numbers of households dangerously thin. Nearly a quarter of U.S. homeowners and half of U.S. renters are cost-burdened, often placing them one commonplace emergency away from disaster, including the singular hardship of living outside. People who are unsheltered are at increased risk for chronic disease, mental illness, substance use issues, and early death. The hardships experienced by people who are unsheltered, including increased incidence of chronic homelessness, are compounded when the only response of their governments is via criminal and civil penalties.  When we consider how to prevent any of our neighbors from experiencing homelessness, we find that the most compassionate solutions are also the simplest and the most effective: Shelter First. 

 

This legislation clarifies that threatening or imposing civil or criminal punishments on people experiencing homelessness for undertaking life-sustaining activities in the absence of adequate alternative indoor spaces violates Article I, Section 13 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, which protects people from excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel punishments. Before imposing any penalties, municipalities must first provide adequate shelter. Proper indoor shelter spaces are the best way to keep our public spaces available to the community and prevent undo burdens on our justice system with issues it is not equipped to address. Most importantly, the provision of adequate indoor shelter allows individuals and families to regain crucial stability in their lives and seek permanent housing. 

 

This bill upholds the dignity and rights of all Pennsylvanians and clearly affirms that our communities are made stronger when everyone has a safe place to sleep. 

 

Please join us in cosponsoring this important piece of legislation.