NCJ Number
238777
Date Published
2012
Length
55 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on the themes developed at the Searching for Balance Summit, held in December 2010, which engaged a variety of community stakeholders in a day-long forum that produced recommended alternatives to criminalizing homelessness.
Abstract
In recent years, local communities throughout the United States have enacted "acts of living" laws that prohibit sleeping, eating, sitting, or panhandling in public spaces. These serve to criminalize the survival functions of homeless people so as to reduce their visibility. These local ordinances not only deny the homeless the same dignity, compassion, and support provided to residents in need but also serve to further marginalize the homeless. The Summit proceeded under the concept that those who are homeless are better served by solutions that do not marginalize and handicap them further, but which address the basic causes of homelessness and the needs that accompany it. The Federal Government addressed this issue by enacting the 2009 HEARTH Act, which charged the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) with developing alternatives to laws and policies that criminalize homeless people. As part of this effort, USICH and associated Federal agencies sponsored the Searching for Balance Summit. This forum resulted in several recommended alternatives to criminalizing homelessness. These alternatives are characterized by three overarching themes. One recommendation is the creation of comprehensive and seamless systems of care for people who are homeless. A second recommendation involves collaboration among law enforcement and behavioral health and social service providers. A third recommendation is that justice systems develop alternative strategies for managing the behavior of homeless people without treating them as criminals. This Summit report also describes the experiences of several local communities that have developed programs that treat homeless individuals with dignity and respect while simultaneously addressing the need for public safety and order. Appended Summit agenda, discussion points, and a list of Summit participants