The Cicero Institute, a well-funded think tank, is behind a coordinated policy effort that has led to 22 states considering or enacting laws that increase penalties on people experiencing homelessness, while California is pursuing alternative approaches that prioritize access to services.
The US needs to take a U-turn in its management of homelessness and addiction, as the number one cause of homelessness is poverty, not mental illness or addiction, and the US and the Philippines are the only countries that require cash bail.
Commissioner Joseph Dane sentenced several individuals to serve time for unlawful camping, while studies show that criminalizing homelessness is costly to taxpayers and fails to address the underlying causes of homelessness.
President Trump’s Executive Order targeting unhoused individuals has been met with strong criticism from legal and public health advocates, who argue that it promotes a false and discriminatory narrative, fails to address the root causes of homelessness, and threatens to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions that do not comply with its punitive measures.