The Economic Consequences of Homelessness in The US

In an interview with NPR, David Pirtle described why, even when temperatures dropped
below freezing, he stayed on the streets. Suffering from schizophrenia, he feared large
crowds and experienced paranoia, so he avoided shelters: “All I can say is that my fear
of the unknown, of what might be waiting for me at that shelter, was worse than my fear
of the known risk, you know, of staying out on the street.”
Dorothy Edwards spent eight years on the streets of Pasadena, California, where she
slept in alleys and ate food out of Dumpsters, smoking meth to ward off depression.
During that time, she was repeatedly sexually assaulted. She checked herself into a
psychiatric ward on numerous occasions, but kept returning to the streets. It took eight
years for counselors to diagnose her with depression and post-traumatic stress
disorder. Now receiving adequate treatment, she lives in an apartment with her dog and
is actively looking for a job.
4. These laws criminalize what for many is life-sustaining behavior.
Instead of addressing the root causes of homelessness, states and cities have adopted
hundreds of laws making it harder for homeless people to survive.
Camping, sleeping, or lying down in public
According to a 2014 analysis of 187 American cities by the National Law Center on
Homelessness & Poverty, over half prohibited camping, sitting, or lying down in certain
areas, and a third banned these activities citywide. Cities often outlaw these practices
without providing additional shelter beds..
In Houston, a city ordinance, enacted allegedly for “safety,” makes it illegal to sleep in a
tent, box, or other makeshift shelter on public property. A federal district judge issued a
temporary restraining order against the ban, writing that those individuals targeted by
the ordinance are “involuntarily in public, harmlessly attempting to shelter themselves —
an act they cannot realistically forgo, and that is integral to their status as unsheltered
homeless individuals.” But in December, the judge lifted her order.
In Dallas, one individual, Sarge, has been ticketed repeatedly for sleeping in public,
something he must do to survive. He estimates that he has received around 75 tickets
over the years.
In Austin, a man named Ross reports being “herded like cattle” because of the city’s
anti-camping law. “They have a law saying you can’t sit down. So if you don’t have
anywhere to live and all the homeless shelters are full, then where do you go? Do you
walk in a circle 24 hours a day?
You have to sleep and if you slow down to sleep you go to jail for it, which I’ve done,
that’s pretty much where you get to sleep.”
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