No Fixed Address · Episode 10 of 11 · 40 min
Grants Pass, Encampment Sweeps, and the Right to Shelter
In June 2024 the Supreme Court ruled that punishing people for sleeping outside is not cruel and unusual, freeing cities to enforce camping bans even without shelter beds. The episode follows the enforcement wave, California's encampment clearances and New York's right to shelter, plus tiny-home villages and cash transfers, steelmanning both cases.
Who's who
- Neil Gorsuch+5 more episodesJustice who wrote the Grants Pass majority
- Sonia Sotomayor+3 more episodesJustice who wrote the dissent
- Gavin Newsom+11 more episodesCalifornia governor who ordered encampment clearances after the ruling
Where it happens
- Grants Pass, OregonCity whose camping ordinances reached the Supreme Court
- New York City, New York+3 more episodesHas a legal right to shelter since 1981
- Vancouver, CanadaSite of the New Leaf cash-transfer trial
Timeline
- 1981The Callahan v. Carey consent decree establishes New York's right to shelter
- 2018Martin v. Boise bars punishing outdoor sleeping when shelter is unavailable
- March 2024New York settles to add temporary time limits for many single adults
- June 28, 2024City of Grants Pass v. Johnson upholds camping bans 6-3 and overturns Martin
- July 25, 2024Newsom's executive order directs state agencies to clear encampments
Still debated
Whether enforcement helps people toward housing or just relocates them is disputed, and evidence on sanctioned encampments is thin. Cash transfers worked for a screened, newly homeless sample, and whether right to shelter is affordable beyond New York is open.
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