Pathway Homes a nonprofit that provides non-time-limited housing and supportive services to 1,553 adults with serious mental illness and other co-occurring disabilities in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v John et al.:
Ill-founded, expensive and inhumane! We join the National Homelessness Law Center and National Alliance to End Homelessness in condemning SCOTUS’ decision on the criminalization of homelessness.
Being poor or mentally ill or unable to afford the soaring cost of housing does not make someone a criminal. Filling jails with people who can be helped through proven Housing First programs that cost less than prison and don’t infringe on citizens’ constitutional rights are a much better solution with great outcomes. Take the shackles off, and let’s invest in helping people regain their lives.
