Supreme Court to debate whether cities can punish people who are homeless

When Helen Cruz pitched her tent in a city park a few years ago and made it her home, she chose the location for one reason: She wanted to be close to the houses she cleans for a living but could never afford for herself.

When Helen Cruz pitched her tent in a city park a few years ago and made it her home, she chose the location for one reason: She wanted to be close to the houses she cleans for a living but could never afford for herself. “People see the irony of it,” said Cruz, 49. “I never looked at it like that.” What Cruz didn’t realize then was that living in a park in Grants Pass, Oregon, would place her in the middle of a national debate that will reach the Supreme Court on Monday about whether cities can respond to a spike in homelessness by punishing homeless people. In the most significant appeal involving unhoused Americans to reach the high court in decades, the justices will hear arguments Monday on whether ticketing people who live on the streets is “cruel and unusual” and violates the Eighth Amendment. The case is being watched closely by city and state officials who are uncertain how to respond to a surge in homelessness and encampments that have cropped up under bridges and in city parks across the nation. It’s also being followed by people who live in those encampments and are alarmed by efforts to criminalize the population rather than build shelters and affordable housing. “Nobody wants to be out here,” said Cruz, who has since moved into a church where she also serves as a caretaker. “We know the parks are for family and children. The thing is, we have no place to go. There’s no housing.”