Paying Attention to the Supreme Court’s Johnson v. Grants Pass Decision

We have been watching the lead-up to the US Supreme Court’s shameful June 28th decision in the Johnson v. Grants Pass case, certainly the most significant Supreme Court case about homelessness in decades. This decision opens us to a country that punishes people for being unhoused. Pathways Vermont believes in a more compassionate and effective approach and puts that belief into practice daily through our Housing First program.

A July 18 opinion piece by Michele Storms of the South Seattle Emerald stated it well,
“The 2018 case began in Grants Pass, Oregon, when the city began issuing tickets to people sleeping in public with minimal protection, like blankets, when there were not enough safe, accessible shelter beds. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the unhoused plaintiffs and found that the city’s ordinance was unconstitutional. Grants Pass appealed the decision, and the case was brought before the United States Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled against the unhoused plaintiffs, stating that the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit cities from punishing unhoused people for sleeping in public, even in the absence of shelter beds.
It is difficult to overstate how consequential this decision is and how it opens our most vulnerable neighbors to even more attacks simply for having no other choice but to exist outside. [It] fits within a long history of governments turning to policing and incarceration as a solution to social issues. We cannot punish our way out of homelessness and poverty. Arrest, fines, and incarceration only further entrench homelessness by separating people from essential support systems, perpetuating a cycle of instability that keeps people on the street.
Systemic issues require systemic, evidence-based solutions. Homelessness can only be solved when everyone has access to safe, affordable housing, equal access to medical and mental health care, and other essential social services.”


Pathways Vermont’s Housing First program operates in seven of Vermont’s 14 counties through funding from the Department of Mental Health. Housing First is an evidence-based, permanent supportive housing program that helps individuals maintain independent housing and lead meaningful lives in their community.

The program immediately ends homelessness by helping individuals and families locate independent apartments in the community. Housing First staff offers program participants long-term, multidisciplinary community support, including service coordination, drug and alcohol counseling, employment support, psychiatry, and nursing care.

Here are links to two articles following the decision. We appreciated this response from Frank Knaack, executive director of the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont, and Falko Schilling, advocacy director of the ACLU of Vermont:

The U.S. Supreme Court and Vermont’s homelessness crisis (July 3, 2024)

This response from Hanna Love and Thea Sebastian of The Brookings Institution includes short-, medium-, and long-term policy recommendations post-grants pass for state and local leaders:

Safe places and safe sleeping: Cost-effective and humane recommendations for local leaders after Grants Pass (July 16, 2024)

We’re paying attention and will continue to follow the repercussions of this decision at the national and state levels. We hope you will, too.

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