Radio Atlantic

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Homelessness?

Jun 6, 2024

Jerusalem Demsas, Atlantic writer and Good on Paper host, discusses the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on homelessness. The podcast explores the criminalization of sleeping in public spaces and the escalation of homelessness since the 1980s. It highlights the impact of rising housing costs on homelessness and challenges prevailing beliefs about the root causes of the issue.

27:21

Episode guests

Jerusalem Demsas

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Criminalizing homeless individuals for public sleeping fails to address underlying housing affordability issues.

The correlation between rising homelessness and the lack of affordable housing underscores the crisis severity.

Deep dives

Issue of Criminalization of Homelessness

The podcast discusses the Supreme Court's pivotal case regarding the rights of unhoused individuals to sleep in public spaces without facing fines or jail time. Grant's Pass v. Johnson centers on whether sleeping or camping in public, specifically for homeless individuals, can be penalized. The essence of the case questions whether such individuals are being penalized for sleeping as an action or due to their homelessness. The Court's ruling on cruel and unusual punishment and the potential impact on encampment policies highlight the dilemma faced by cities in balancing public order and homeless individuals' rights.

Intro

2min

Legal Debate on Homelessness in Grants Pass

10min

Exploring the Dilemma of Homelessness and City Policies

3min

Exploring Housing Costs and Homelessness

9min

Exploring Contrarian Ideas on Homelessness and Policy in Good on Paper Show Launch

2min

Later this summer, the Supreme Court will rule on City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, one of the most important cases on homelessness to come up in a long time. The court will rule on whether someone can be fined, jailed, or ticketed for sleeping or camping in a public space when they’re homeless and have nowhere else to go.

We talk to Atlantic writer and Good on Paper host Jerusalem Demsas about the case and what it may or may not solve. Homelessness has exploded since the 1980s, mostly in cities where housing costs have gone up. Criminalizing—or not criminalizing—people sleeping in public does not change the fact that many people have no other option, and that people who do have places to sleep can’t help but notice their cities have a huge homelessness problem.

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Radio Atlantic

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Homelessness?

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Issue of Criminalization of Homelessness

Rising Homelessness and Housing Crisis

Policy Implications and Solutions

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts