WASHINGTON –
U.S. cities are grappling with a quickly changing landscape in how to respond to a worsening homelessness crisis, following a ground-breaking Supreme Court decision in June and ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.
Proponents of more punitive options are feeling emboldened, as cities from Phoenix in Arizona to Fort Lauderdale in Florida step up enforcement even as others such as Philadelphia and Providence, Rhode Island, eye new protections.
Known as the Grants Pass decision, the June Supreme Court ruling gives local officials new powers to criminalize sleeping in public, even if adequate shelter space is not available.
