People experiencing homelessness in the United States—already at heightened risk and with fewer resources due to the pandemic—now face even greater challenges as a result of the both the violence sweeping many city streets and the curfews many are imposing in an effort to control.
While people take to the streets across the country to protest police brutality and the killings of unarmed Black Americans, we urge lawmakers, police units, and neighbors to do more to provide people experiencing homelessness with shelter and safety.
Unfortunately, curfews have created further challenges, as unsheltered people, already subject to laws criminalizing acts such as sleeping in public, are at risk of arrest for yet another “crime”—violating an order to stay inside after curfew when they have nowhere inside to go.
People experiencing homelessness are disproportionately people of color in the United States—40% are Black, despite being only 12% of the national population—and thus are already at greater risk of being targeted by police.
“We call on cities across the country to follow the CDC guidance by housing people experiencing homelessness immediately—and to protect them from arrest, violence, and further trauma,” said Maria Foscarinis, Founder & Executive Director of the Law Center.
