Did you know that homelessness rates are going up by 18% year over year? This isn’t a constant (even though in that case it would still be repugnant) – it’s a problem that’s growing as our economy dives and our federal administration pulls aid. A huge factor to this distressing development is the continued criminalization of homelessness. New laws in places like Louisiana criminalize people just for being homeless, even if there is no housing available. The Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, Donald Whitehead, told me that it costs more for states to put homeless people through the legal system than to simply house them. This is supported by New Orleans Councilmember Lesli Harris, who stated that “we house an individual for roughly $21,844 per year. By comparison, jailing that same person costs an average of $51,000—and failing to act at all can cost up to $55,000 in emergency room visits and crisis rehousing.” Our already congested legal system and prisons are being taken up by homeless people whose only crime was being too poor. We are losing by not housing them. However, politicians would rather be able to say that they are cleaning up the streets with tough love than actually fix the underlying problem that makes them ‘dirty.’

Learn about the laws in your area regarding homelessness – can homeless people in your area find housing? Are they facing criminalization? If so, reach out to your local politicians!