Supreme Court ruling allows cities to ban homeless people

HOUSTON — A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court Friday could impact how cities like Houston address homelessness.

The ruling states that cities can ban homeless people from sleeping outside.

For Houston, the decision has no direct impact, but it opens the door for the city to consider new measures.

The Supreme Court has sided with an Oregon city to allow cities to ban homeless people from sleeping outside in public spaces.

Advocates argued the ban violates the Constitution’s 8th Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment if people were ticketed for sleeping outside when there is no shelter space available.

Local groups said cities like Houston can’t buy tickets out of their homeless problem and hope government leaders will aim for long-term solutions.

“This allows us to have a deeper discussion about these strategies or interventions that allow us to put more barriers in the way of people trying to exit homelessness. That’s not really going to solve the problem,” said Kelly Young, president and CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless. “In fact, the only thing that’s going to solve the problem is making sure that we have enough permanent housing available for those who need it.”

Houston Mayor John Whitmire’s office sent KHOU 11 News a statement that said, in part: “My administration has developed a reasonable plan for homelessness that I will release soon. … We can do better, and we will study the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to understand what additional effective measures it allows.”

According to data from the Coalition for the Homeless, the snapshot number of homeless people in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties fell from about 4,000 in 2020 to about 3,200 this year.