The United States Supreme Court made a decision Friday to allow cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outdoors on the same day data from the 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count will be revealed.
The Supreme Court decision greatly affects cities on the West Coast where shelter space is short in supply and when the number of homeless people in the country is rising.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority conducted a survey in the area from Jan. 24-26. Results from the 2023 homeless count showed there were 75,518 people experiencing homelessness in the county, and 46,260 in the city of Los Angeles. Those numbers represented increases from the 2022 count, which showed 69,144 homeless people in the county and 41,980 in the city.
The results from the 2024 survey are expected to be lower than the 2023 results.
The Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision reversed a ruling by a San Francisco-based appeals court that found outdoor sleeping bans amount to cruel and unusual punishment. The ruling of the majority found the 8th Amendment does not apply to outdoor sleeping bans.
“Homelessness is complex. Its causes are many. So may be the public policy responses required to address it,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority. “A handful of federal judges cannot begin to `match’ the collective wisdom the American people possess in deciding `how best to handle’ a pressing social question like homelessness.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the decision is not surprising, but disappointing.
“This ruling must not be used as an excuse for cities across the country to attempt to arrest their way out of this problem or hide the homelessness crisis in neighboring cities or in jail,” she said. “Neither will work, neither will save lives and that route is more expensive for taxpayers than actually solving the problem.”
L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn said at the time of the release of the results of the 2023 homeless survey they were “disappointing.”
“It is frustrating to have more people fall into homelessness even as we are investing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and resources into efforts to bring people inside,” Hahn said.
“I appreciate the cities that have stepped up and supported solutions, but these numbers prove that solutions-oriented cities are too few and far between.”
L.A. county and city officials have committed to a collaborative approach to reducing homelessness and bringing unhoused individuals into temporary and permanent housing, such as shelter sites, motels, apartments, among other sites.
“The only way to address this crisis is to bring people indoors with housing and supportive services,” Bass said. “In the city of Los Angeles, we will continue leading with this approach, which helped move thousands more Angelenos inside last year than the year before. We cannot go backwards — we must continue innovating and moving with intention and urgency until every person experiencing homelessness is able to access housing, services and support.”
About a third of the homeless population in the United States is in California.
The case originated in the rural Oregon town of Grants Pass, which appealed a ruling striking down local ordinances that fined people $295 for sleeping outside after tents began crowding public parks. Such bans violate the 8th Amendment of those who are in areas where there are not enough shelter beds, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over the nine Western states, determined in 2018.
National data show the homeless population in the United States grew 12% last, its highest reported level. Rising rents and declining coronavirus pandemic relief assistance have made it more difficult for some to find adequate housing and shelter.