The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, August 18, 2024, by Isabel McLain and Allison Bogdanović

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a troubling decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, stating that regulations penalizing individuals for sleeping in public spaces do not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment. State and local governments can now forcibly remove people experiencing homelessness from public areas even if there are not adequate shelter programs available. The effects of this decision could undo years of progress addressing homelessness across the commonwealth.

Using evidence-based, housing-focused solutions, homeless service providers in Virginia have brought homelessness down by 28% since 2010. But there is still more to be done: According to federal data, there are approximately 600,000 homeless citizens in the United States, with more than 6,500 in Virginia, more than 10% of whom are unsheltered.

Shifting to a carceral approach would halt this progress in its tracks. Homeless encampments are common targets of removal — the folks who inhabit them face barriers in finding another place to sleep. Most communities don’t have enough shelter beds for everyone unhoused. Some shelters don’t allow pets, forcing people into a choice between their beloved companion and a roof over their head. Sleeping outside is dangerous: Violence is common and harsh weather kills. “I felt like I didn’t sleep for a month,” shares one resident on her experience on the street. Many share that if they could afford it, they would prefer housing.

Tickets, fines and arrests do nothing to address the underlying causes of homelessness, including economic precarity and lack of affordable housing. Fining and jailing our most vulnerable neighbors builds even higher barriers to finding sustainable employment or housing.

In Virginia, we spend approximately $230 million annually on affordable housing and homelessness programs, which is only a fraction of the $1.5 billion we spend on our prison system. Despite the rising cost of housing in the commonwealth, our state’s total investment in homeless services has only increased by $675,000 in more than a decade. Investing in helping people secure stable housing has a greater positive impact on our society than putting people behind bars because they cannot afford housing.

We must collectively come together to ask our federal, state and local elected officials to invest more in affordable housing and homeless services. This includes universal rental assistance for lowest-income households, public housing repair and preservation, the expansion of the National Housing Trust Fund, eviction and homelessness prevention programs, and voluntary supportive and emergency services.

At the state level, the governor and members of the General Assembly must increase the budget for affordable housing and homelessness programs during the 2025 session. We all feel the squeeze of higher housing prices. It’s particularly challenging for low-wage workers and people with disabilities. For every $100 increase in rent, there is an average 9% increase in homelessness. In total, housing priorities received $27.45 million and $17.325 million in additional funding in fiscal years 2025 and 2026, respectively. If we tripled these investments over the course of the next several years, we could reduce the affordable housing crisis and cut the number of those experiencing homelessness in Virginia by half.

Investments in affordable housing would help parents raise their families, help students perform better in school, help increase our region’s workforce, and help people with disabilities get the care they need.

Finally, we need to call on our local governments to do their part to humanely respond to individuals experiencing homelessness in their jurisdictions by partnering with local homeless service providers. We need local governments to increase investment in homeless services programs like supportive housing that have a proven track record of getting people off the street and on the pathway to stability and independence.

The affordable housing and homelessness crises will not be solved overnight but they are solvable. Incarcerating our most vulnerable neighbors cannot be part of the solution.

Isabel McLain of Richmond is the director of policy and advocacy for the Virginia Housing Alliance. Email her at imclain@vahousingalliance.org. Allison Bogdanović of Richmond is the executive director of Virginia Supportive Housing. Email her at abogdanovic@virginiasupportivehousing.org.