While listening to a podcast, I heard about the massive amount of poverty in California, especially since the COVID pandemic last year. Cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles have become increasingly less safe and have succumbed greatly to unsanitary conditions since this time. There have been reports of large tent villages and homeless communities colliding with public city areas. In a recent report by Housing Matters on July 29 of 2020, it was said that 22% of the state’s population was experiencing homelessness. Despite this, there are 23 laws in the state prohibiting sitting, sleeping, standing, and begging. In the past, the state has slowly increased the criminalization of poverty in the area, making it much harder to be homeless without breaking the law. These homeless people are much more prone to arrest for these and many more reasons, and once they are arrested, they are immediately disadvantaged by the higher bail amounts set in place. It is no surprise that a homeless person is unable to pay e
ven the lowest amount of bail for themselves. In regard to this, where we see systemic injustice comes into play has to do with the races of these people. Because of past discriminatation all throughout the US, people of Black and Hispanic ethnicity are disadvantaged in education and housing. These people are often forced to reside in poorer areas, making them much more susceptible to poverty and much more likely to become homeless. By criminalizing poverty, these people are immediately attacked. It is clearly a systemic injustice. These people have historically been at a disadvantage economically and while the country is certainly making progress, it is nowhere near perfect. These Black and Hispanic people who are economically disadvantaged are more likely to become homeless, especially when events like pandemics hit. By criminalizing poverty, the state is inadvertently targeting these groups, which is clearly unjust. Below is a link to a report by the public policy institute of California that outlines percentages of people in poverty in California by race.
https://www.ppic.org/publication/poverty-in-california/
Herring, C., Yarborough, D., & Sparks, T. (2020, August 11). Criminalization fails to end homelessness in San Francisco. Housing Matters. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://housingmatters.urban.org/research-summary/criminalization-fails-end-homelessness-san-francisco.
Downs, R. (2018, September 14). Census bureau: California has highest poverty rate in U.S. UPI. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/09/13/Census-Bureau-California-has-highest-poverty-rate-in-US/1611536887413/.
This was a great post! I never knew about the criminalization of poverty especially to the extent that you explained. It’s very important to know and be cautious of the treatment of individuals especially due to their socioeconomic status.
Hi! I cannot express how much I think this subject needs to be discussed. The idea of fines and cash bail, especially for crimes like loitering that target homeless people, perpetuate inequality and keep homeless people in a cycle of poverty. Even after their release, it is much harder to get a job and earn money. Essentially, the system punishes people for being homeless by ensuring they will remain that way.
I never knew that such a high percentage of people in CA were homeless. This statistic makes it all much more tangible. One out of every 5 is an incredibly high number, and shows that this issue can no longer be ignored.
I wanted to ask how you felt this could be changed, and if there are any good examples of cities and states’ practices? Are there any areas that deal with homelessness better? Also, is Ohio a state with these unjust laws?