Homes Not Handcuffs: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities A Report by The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and The National Coalition for the Homeless July 2009 ABOUT THE NATIONAL LAW CENTER ON HOMELESSNESS & POVERTY The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC and founded in 1989 to serve as the legal arm of the national movement to end and prevent homelessness. To carry out this mission, the Law Center focuses on the root causes of homelessness and poverty and seeks to meet both the immediate and long-term needs of homeless and poor people. The Law Center addresses the multifaceted nature of homelessness by: identifying effective model laws and policies, supporting state and local efforts to promote such policies, and helping grassroots groups and service providers use, enforce and improve existing laws to protect homeless people’s rights and prevent even more vulnerable families, children, and adults from losing their homes. By providing outreach, training, and legal and technical support, the Law Center enhances the capacity of local groups to become more effective in their work. The Law Center’s new Homelessness Wiki website also provides an interactive space for advocates, attorneys, and homeless people across the country to access and contribute materials, resources, and expertise about issues affecting homeless and low- income families and individuals. You are invited to join the network of attorneys, students, advocates, activists, and committed individuals who make up NLCHP’s membership network. Our network provides a forum for individuals, non-profits, and corporations to participate and learn more about using the law to advocate for solutions to homelessness. For more information about our organization, membership, and access to publications such as this report, please visit our website at www.nlchp.org. 2 Board of Directors William Breakey, Greek Orthodox M.D., Chair Bruce J. Casino Archdiocese Johns Hopkins Katten Muchin University Rosenman LLP Pamela Malester Community Volunteer Vasiliki Tsaganos, Roderick DeArment Vice-Chair Covington & Burling Tashena Middleton Fried, Frank, Harris, Moore Shriver & Jacobson LLP Howard Godnick Jones Day Schulte Roth & Zabel Edward McNicholas, LLP Margaret Pfeiffer Secretary Sullivan & Cromwell Sidley Austin LLP Kirsten Johnson-Obey Porterfield & Lowenthal Jeffrey Simes Michael Allen, LLC Goodwin Procter LLP Treasurer Microsoft Corporation Father Alexander Mona Touma Karloutsos Goldman, Sachs & Co *Affiliations for identification purposes only LEAP Members Honorary Chairperson Covington & Burling Jenner & Block LLP John Grisham, Author LLP Thomas Perrelli Roderick DeArment Chair Jones Day Goodwin Procter LLP Dechert LLP Donald Ayer Jeffrey Simes Suzanne Turner Thomas Mikula Latham & Watkins LLP DLA Piper Roger Goldman Members Elizabeth Dewey Akin, Gump, Strauss, Roberta Ritvo Katten, Muchin, Hauer, & Feld LLP Rosenman LLP Steven Schulman Fried, Frank, Harris, John Muir Shriver & Jacobson LLP Blank Rome, LLP Vasiliki Tsaganos Morrison & Foerster Michael Cioffi Foundation Greenberg Traurig LLP W. Stephen Smith Bruce Rosenblum Harold Iselin The Carlyle Group* O’Melveny & Myers Hogan & Hartson LLP LLP Patricia Brannan John Beisner 3 Schulte Roth & Zabel Simpson Thacher & WilmerHale LLP Bartlett LLP Chris Herrling Daniel Greenberg Peter Thomas Sidley Austin LLP Sullivan & Cromwell Carter Phillips LLP Margaret Pfeiffer Staff of NLCHP Catherine Bendor Legal Director Jessica Gustin Jordan Railsback Human Rights Fellow Development & Vibha Bhatia Communications Director of Operations Steffi Jose Manager Development & Katherine Bittner Communications Intern Jennifer Rodrigue Grant Writer/ Legal Intern Communications Jessica Libbey Assistant Development Assistant Eric Tars Human Rights Director/ Jamison Brewer Marion Manheimer Children & Youth Legal Intern Volunteer Attorney Maria Foscarinis Raquel Oriol Laurel Weir Executive Director Congressional Hunger Policy Director Fellow Cecelia Friedman Levin Tulin Ozdeger Domestic Violence Staff Civil Rights Program Attorney Director 4 ABOUT THE NATIONAL COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS Founded in 1982, the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) is a private, non-profit, national advocacy organization that exists to educate all levels of society in order to identify and put to an end the social and economic causes of homelessness. NCH is the nation’s oldest and largest national homelessness advocacy organization, comprised of activists, service providers, and persons who are, or have been, homeless and are striving toward a single goal – to end homelessness. It is the mission of NCH to create the systemic and attitudinal changes necessary to prevent and end homelessness, while concurrently working to increase the capacity of local supportive housing and service providers to better meet the urgent needs of those families and individuals now homeless in their communities. NCH focuses its work on four policy areas: civil rights of those who are without homes, housing that is affordable to those with the lowest incomes, accessible/comprehensive health care and other needed support services, and livable incomes that make it possible to afford the basic necessities of life. The strategies we use to implement our mission are: litigation, lobbying, policy analysis, public education, community organizing, research, and providing technical assistance. For more information about our organization, membership, and access to publications such as this report, please see the form at the end of this report or visit our website at www.nationalhomeless.org 2 Board of Directors Barbara Anderson, EC Memphis, TN Denver, CO Board Secretary Haven House Service Bob Erlenbusch, EC Glorin Ruiz Pastush Jeffersonville, IN Sacramento, CA La Fondita de Jesus San Juan, PR Anita Beaty, EC Diana V. Figueroa Executive Director, Metro Primavera Foundation Sue Watlov Phillips Atlanta Task Force for the Tucson, AZ Board Treasurer Homeless Elim Transitional Housing, Atlanta, GA Hugh Grogan Inc. Minnehaha County Minneapolis, MN Ed Bell Department of Human Operation Get Down Services David Pirtle Detroit, MI Sioux Falls, SD Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau Ben Burton, EC Jeremy Haile Washington, DC Executive Director, Miami Lawyer Coalition for the Homeless Washington, DC Greg Sileo Miami, FL Baltimore Homeless Services Laura Hansen Baltimore, MD Michael Chesser, EC C.E.O., Coalition to End Development Committee Homelessness Louisa Stark Chair Fort Lauderdale, FL Honorary Board Member Executive Director, Upstate Phoenix Consortium for the Homeless Coalition of South Rey Lopez Homeless Carolina President, The King’s Phoenix, AZ Greenville, SC Outreach Michael Dahl Cabot, AR Sandy Swank Public Policy Director Inter-Faith Ministries Homeline Patrick Markee Wichita, KS Minneapolis, MN Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. Richard Troxell, EC Brian Davis, EC New York, New York President, House the Board Vice President Homeless, Inc. Northeast Ohio Coalition for Phoebe Nelson Austin, TX the Homeless Executive Director, Women’s Cleveland, OH Resource Center of North Matias J. Vega Central Washington Albuquerque Health Care for Sherrie Downing, EC Wenatchee, WA the Homeless Montana Council on Albuquerque, NM Homelessness Gordon Packard Helena, MT Honorary Board Member Dana Woolfolk Primavera Foundation Faces of Homelessness Grace Dryness Tucson, AZ Speakers’ Bureau Interim Director Washington, DC LA Coalition to End Hunger Phillip Pappas, EC and Homelessness Pittsburgh, PA John Zirker Los Angeles, CA Nashville Homeless Power John Parvensky, EC Project Bill Duncan Board President Nashville, TN VP of Marketing and Sales, Colorado Coalition for the Homewood Suites by Hilton Homeless *Affiliations for identification purposes only 3 Staff of NCH Kara Bane Allison Estes JacobReiter AmeriCorps*VISTA AmeriCorps*VISTA AmeriCorps*VISTA (Daytona Beach, FL) (Orlando, FL) (Talahassee, FL) Phillip Banze Linda Gaines Emily Richburg AmeriCorps*VISTA (Macon, AmeriCorps*VISTA AmeriCorps*VISTA (Miami, GA) (Bradenton, FL) FL) Tiffany Barclay Amanda Gunn R. Dawn Riley AmeriCorps*VISTA AmeriCorps*VISTA AmeriCorps*VISTA (Atlanta, GA) (Gainesville, FL) (Atlanta, GA) Jonathan Bell Megan Hustings G.W. Rolle Homeless Challenge Director Development Director AmeriCorps*VISTA (Pinellas Park, FL) Annie Bittick Travis Kass AmeriCorps*VISTA (Macon, AmeriCorps*VISTA Taloria Rush GA) (Pensacola, FL) Administrative Assistant Charles Bontrager Steve Kever Michael Stoops Policy Advocate AmeriCorps*VISTA (Ft. Executive Director Lauderdale, FL) Joshua Castro Crystell Sullivan AmeriCorps*VISTA Caitlin Kilgallin AmeriCorps*VISTA (Ft. (Jacksonville, FL) AmeriCorps*VISTA Lauderdale, FL) (Daytona Beach, FL) Tracey Crocker Christina Swanson AmeriCorps*VISTA (Tampa, Michelle Lee AmeriCorps*VISTA FL) Webmaster/ Graphic (Sarasota, FL) Designer Joan Davis Christina Tudhope Administrative Assistant Daniel “Kevin” May AmeriCorps*VISTA AmeriCorps*VISTA (Key (Oviedo, FL) Margaret Djekovic West, FL) AmeriCorps*VISTA (Tampa, John Wages FL) Ronald “Preston” Montes AmeriCorps*VISTA (Ft. AmeriCorps*VISTA (Naples, Meyers, FL) Carolyn Douglas FL) AmeriCorps*VISTA (Ocala, Samuel Waite FL) Michael O’Neill AmeriCorps*VISTA (DC) Director, Faces of Jacqueline Dowd Homelessness Speakers’ Stephany Whitaker AmeriCorps*VISTA Bureau Congressional Hunger Fellow (Orlando, FL) Jessica Randolph Janis Wilson Hugo Esquival AmeriCorps*VISTA AmeriCorps*VISTA AmeriCorps*VISTA