ASAN is deeply troubled by the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson. On Friday, June 28, the Supreme Court ruled that enforcing a camping ban on public lands against unhoused people is not cruel and unusual punishment as long as the camping law applies to everyone, including housed people. The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court’s decision means that people who cannot afford housing can be fined or jailed for sleeping outdoors, even if there are not enough secular shelter beds for all unhoused people in a particular community. We know that equal enforcement of unjust laws does not mean fair enforcement of the law. Today’s decision allows anti-camping laws to be enforced even against people who have no choice but to sleep outdoors. This makes life harder for homeless people and criminalizes homelessness. This decision paves the way for other jurisdictions to enact similar laws.
This decision will disproportionately harm people experiencing homelessness, especially those with disabilities who are unhoused. Disabled people are more likely to lose their housing or experience housing insecurity than non-disabled people. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that nearly one-third of people experiencing homelessness in 2023 will be chronically homeless and have a disability.
Many factors contribute to the rise in homelessness among people with disabilities. Disabled renters report having less success paying their rent than the general population. This is often because rents continue to rise beyond what low-income families can afford. Many disabled people are also subject to SSI asset limits and subminimum wage restrictions, which legally allow employers to pay disabled people less than the minimum wage. These programs keep people in poverty, making it impossible in many areas to afford even rent for a small apartment. Housing requires a steady source of income. Disabled people are much less likely to have jobs than able-bodied people, and disabled people face wage disparities in the workplace. Homelessness is not a moral failure. Homelessness is directly tied to housing costs and rent-to-income ratios.
Housing costs are high, and many factors make it more difficult for people with disabilities to save. Being disabled is expensive. Families with work-limited adults with disabilities need, on average, more than $17,000 more per year to maintain the same standard of living as people without disabilities. Many people with disabilities require features in their housing that are considered “luxuries” and therefore more expensive. For example, a physically disabled person may need to live in an apartment with a doorman or receptionist who can help them carry their luggage to their apartment. A person with Tourette’s syndrome, who makes loud and unpredictable noises 24 hours a day because of their tics, may need to live in a detached house with thin walls so they don’t disturb neighbors. Many homes are not barrier-free. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that only 5% of housing be accessible to the mobility impaired and 2% to the blind and hearing impaired, yet the prevalence rates are 12% for the mobility impaired, 5% for the blind, and 6% for the hearing impaired. Disabled people who are able to buy housing often face discrimination. The 2023 Fair Housing Trends Report notes that more than half (53.26%) of complaints filed with Fair Housing Enforcement Offices (FHOs), HUD, and the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) are due to disability-based discrimination. All of these factors can cause people with disabilities to lose their housing.
We cannot allow homeless people to be criminalized because they lack resources and community supports. Our nation must prioritize community-based resources and recognize homeless people as part of our communities. Options like supportive housing and employment, peer support services, and other community-based services have been shown to be more effective and far less harmful to our communities than criminal prosecution and incarceration.
ASAN is calling on Congress and state legislatures to protect unhoused people by increasing funding for homelessness and housing services and enacting laws to prevent the criminalization of homeless people for camping in public spaces. It also calls on HUD to reissue its proposed “Affirmatively Promoting Fair Housing” rule for 2023, which would require state and local governments that receive HUD funding to eliminate racial segregation and other discriminatory practices in housing that disproportionately impact people with disabilities, people of color, and other marginalized groups.
Every person has the right to live independently in the community of their choice. Criminalizing or institutionalizing people experiencing homelessness is not the answer. We must end the housing crisis and ensure everyone has access to safe and adequate housing. ASAN will continue to fight for all people with disabilities to have the right to live in their community. Governments must do the same.
The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement regarding autism. ASAN believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world where autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. We strive to empower autistic people around the world to take control of their lives and the future of our shared community, and to organize the autistic community to ensure our voices are heard in the national conversation about us. It can’t be about us without us!