(MintPress) — An estimated 3 million Americans will be homeless during any given year, a silent problem left unaddressed by city councils adopting austerity measures and cutting critical social programs. Rather than addressing the problem head on through aggressive policy, a growing number of cities are passing legislation to criminalize homelessness rather than working to solve it.
Angela Prattis, a Philadelphia resident, is now facing a $600 per day fine for distributing food to homeless people in public parks. Around 30 cities across the U.S. have enacted similar bans on food distribution in addition to a range of other punitive laws designed to restrict aid to homeless populations.
Tracking and delivering aid to homeless populations has always been a challenge for city and state authorities. The number of homeless has grown in recent years, commensurate with declines in the economy and increases in substance abuse nationwide.
Cities crack down
During the summers, Prattis turns her driveway into an outdoor food kitchen, providing meals to 60 people, mostly children desperately in need of a food. Her program is funded by the State Department of Education and is administered by the archdiocese of Philadelphia.
However, the 41-year-old mother was informed this week that she would need to purchase a $1,000 special zoning permit in order to continue feeding homeless people in her community. Officials also vowed to fine her $600 per day for the days she did not have the permit
Prattis has long operated this charitable program in her community without incident until a new city law was introduced March banning the distribution of food in public spaces.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced the new legislation prohibiting the distribution of food to homeless people in public spaces, receiving a mostly negative public response. While the law has come under intense scrutiny, Nutter believes that the law will help ensure that homeless people have dignity saying in a recent press conference:
“I believe that people, regardless of their station in life, should be able to actually sit down, at a table, to a meal inside, away from the heat and the cold, the rain and the snow, the vehicle exhaust and all the other distractions of everyday city life.”
However, Philadelphia officials while attempting to restore dignity to food distribution have not taken the proper steps to open new shelters and increase the scope of public programs serving the homeless population.
Those working for non-profit organizations serving the homeless, including Angela Prattis, have been mostly critical of laws limiting their ability to help the most vulnerable people in U.S. society.
Neil Donovan, the director of the National Coalition for the Homeless commented on the new legislation in a July National Public Radio (NPR) interview saying:
“We do feel that communities are really, really frustrated with repeated efforts to end homelessness that have been quite unsuccessful. But we push back and say, you know, that doesn’t mean that you simply throw your hands in the air and make criminals out of homeless people.”
There is also a growing number of laws targeting the homeless by cracking down on loitering, panhandling and camping, all non-violent crimes.
“These laws don’t just marginalize the homeless, they really takes the focus off of solutions and puts it much more on restrictions,” Donovan added.
Although there have been a number of laws restricting food distribution, other states have enacted legislation aimed at helping the homeless.
In June, Rhode Island became the first U.S. state to pass a, “Homeless Bill of Rights.” The Bill won broad bipartisan support in the State Senate and was supported by Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.
Although the homeless are protected by current laws, the Bill of Rights is designed to cut down on discrimination by ensuring that homeless have “the right to use public sidewalks, parks and transportation as well as public buildings, like anyone else, without discrimination on the basis of his or her housing status.”
Neil Donovan, among others, praised this effort but believes that the Bill of Rights is an anomaly, bucking a national trend criminalizing homelessness. In a recent statement, Donovan comments, “It’s important as a standalone piece of legislation but also as it’s juxtaposed with other communities that are in the process of criminalizing homelessness.”
Because of the difficulty in delivering aid to homeless populations, there is no definitive count as to the number of homeless people in the U.S. However, independent studies including those presented at national social policy conferences, including the Conference of Mayors, show that the problem is acute and growing.
Homelessness in the US, a growing problem
According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP), approximately 3 million Americans will experience homelessness during any given year. Of this number, an estimated 1.3 million are children.
Because Americans frequently transition into and out of homelessness depending upon economic circumstances, groups dedicated to helping the homeless, including the NLCHP, admit that these statistics can vary widely depending upon a variety of factors, including the economy, the housing market, cuts to public health programs and new city laws.
According to information presented at the 2008 Conference of Mayors, the average length of stay in an emergency shelter was 69 days for single men, 51 days for single women, and 70 days for families.
For those staying in transitional housing, the average stay for single men was 175 days, 196 days for single women, and 223 days for families.
Most alarming to city officials were the inadequate facilities given the number of homeless in their respective cities. The NLCHP reports that in a survey of 50 cities across the U.S., the number of homeless shelters and services for the urban poor were always inadequate and underfunded compared to the numbers living on the streets.
Private charities step in
Charities have attempted to fill this gap by addressing the problem through aggressive, new initiatives, some more successful than others.
In New York City for example, the Doe Fund attempts to provide training, education and jobs for the city’s homeless population. According to its mission statement, the Doe Fund aims to:
“Develop and implement cost-effective, holistic programs that meet the needs of a diverse population working to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism. All of The Doe Fund’s programs and innovative business ventures ultimately strive to help homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals achieve permanent self-sufficiency.”
Launched in 1985, the non-profit initiative provides transitional jobs while participants receive further education and counseling. This includes access to alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs for those individuals suffering from substance abuse problems.
Additionally, the program has provided legal counsel to recent parolees and job placement for veterans returning from combat. These vulnerable groups, groups at risk of homeless, poverty and drug addiction have access to classes where they can earn GEDs, attend adult literacy classes and learn essential computer skills.
While the program has been relatively successful, expanding its operations in the New York in Philadelphia areas, non-profit efforts like these are seen by many as a stop gap-measure for failed social policies that in some cases criminalizes homelessness rather than addressing it as a serious problem.