One of my best Public Health teachers is Joel Nitzkin MD, MPH, DPA, in Louisiana. Dr. Nitzkin, who has another doctorate in Public Administration, observes, “In our public health system, the federal government has most of the money and taxing authority. The state government has most of the legal authority. And the local government has most of the responsibility for the problem!”

For a while, Grants Pass, Oregon bought bus tickets for unhoused people to go to other cities. That didn’t work — surveys show most homeless people stay in the same area where they lived before becoming homeless — and in 2013, the city council president said, “The point is to make it uncomfortable enough for [homeless people] in our city so they will want to move on down the road.”

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the City of Grants Pass should be able to address homelessness primarily by punishing unhoused people for sleeping outdoors.

Punishment won’t work

Since nobody can live without sleeping, and since most unhoused people would prefer to be housed rather than homeless, a policy based on punishment cannot work nationally. It’s unlikely to work even for a small city.

The United States has between 13 million and 16 million housing units that are not occupied as residences (unitedwaynca.org/blog/vacant-homes-vs-homelessness-by-city). At any given time, between 500,000 and 700,000 Americans lack shelter.

Homelessness begins to rise when median rents exceed 22% of median income. It rises more sharply when median rents exceed 32% of median income (www.zillow.com/research/homelessness-rent-affordability-22247).

Punishing people for being unhoused is an unworkable policy, for cities or anyone else. Punishing cities for implementing stupid measures doesn’t solve the problem either, especially when city officials’ and residents’ frustrations aren’t addressed.

Pull Quote

Punishing people for being unhoused is an unworkable policy, for cities or anyone else. Punishing cities for implementing stupid measures doesn’t solve the problem either, especially when city officials’ and residents’ frustrations aren’t addressed.

Grants Pass’ unhoused people need protection more than the city’s administration does — but, to solve housing problems, our country needs very different solutions.

Solutions

What can be done? Local governments can do some of what’s needed, but can’t do the whole job.

We can try regulating where people can shelter. This can work, if done humanely, but it takes money. We all want to feel safe when we sleep. Make a place the safest available place to sleep, without feeling humiliated, and people who can’t buy shelter will sleep there if they can.

Strengthening people’s ability to afford housing can work, as can lowering the cost of housing by building homes (especially for low-income people.) Large-scale implementation of these measures requires state and federal policy changes, and/or funding for new housing.

Resource constraints keep cities from doing much in this area. Pacific County is doing what it can with available resources. Leaders are taking measures to raise more funds. State and federal governments can do much more than local governments can.

Local zoning can facilitate or impede housing for vulnerable people. Changing zoning is complicated, but can be helpful. Washington counties and cities can expect changes, some of them state-mandated.

We could stop withdrawing housing from the market by discouraging the use of housing for seasonal use or short-term rentals. Every such measure will have unintended consequences, but some jurisdictions are reporting significant overall benefits.

Finally, we can help by providing humane and compassionate outreach, assistance, and health care for people experiencing houselessness, mental health problems, and substance use disorders.

In our area, Peninsula Poverty Response (PPR) does a lot in these ways. Because PPR helps people whether they’re visible or invisible to the rest of us, I wonder if PPR and related agencies might be the single best protector of the Peninsula’s tourism industry.

Pay attention

As citizens, we need to pay attention to housing needs. We need to hold state and national leaders accountable for thinking clearly, responding humanely, allocating resources wisely, and insisting on results.

Cities can help solve housing problems, but they can’t do it alone.