For Immediate Release
WASHINGTON – The United States Supreme Court recently issued a ruling upholding Oregon city ordinances prohibiting persons experiencing homelessness from using blankets, pillows or cardboard boxes as protection from the elements when sleeping in public places. Advocates affiliated with the Raising Child Care Fund advised that the ruling will criminalize homelessness without addressing the underlying causes of the housing crisis such as the lack of affordable housing, the dearth of short-term or transitional housing, or the lack of mental health resources and supports, etc. They are also concerned that the ruling will disproportionately impact parents who have been impacted by homelessness and who may struggle to access affordable early childhood education and care. They released the following statement:
“The ruling will contribute to the cycle of trauma that unhoused people already experience from the lack of support,” says Danielle C. Hardeman, 9to5 Georgia Member, “As a single mother who has experienced homelessness while raising my daughter, it was already hard enough moving from place to place and not knowing if our car would be towed. Criminalizing homelessness would further trickle down to mothers like me who are trying to escape poverty but are being penalized for trying to survive in the conditions given to them.”
“The Supreme Court got it wrong,” said Mary Ignatius, executive director of Parent Voices California. “Being homeless is not a crime. What’s criminal is that the lack of affordable housing coupled with the lack of affordable child care so families can work and keep a roof over their head is causing homelessness. What’s criminal is the fastest growing segment of the homeless population is mothers with young children. What’s criminal is the decades of underinvestment in housing and child care that disproportionately impact mothers of color.”
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