The Ethicality of Homelessness: A Review of Current Literature

AUTHOR: Ziya Myneni

Introduction

Homelessness in the United States is a persistent public health, economic, and ethical issue that has evolved over centuries and intensified in recent decades. Marissa A. Cheng, a former student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, finds that policies, specifically the Reagan administration in 1960, increased taxes, exacerbating the issue of homelessness and, at the time, making it difficult for people to maintain possession of their homes (Cheng). Similarly, Chris Herring, an assistant professor who researches homelessness in the United States, explains that people are beginning to realize the extremity of homelessness, with more than half of U.S. cities banning camping, sitting, and lying in public (Herring). Cheng argues that the United States provides a window for homelessness to grow through inflation, and Herring shows the effects of the growing prices, outlining the lack of morality present in these laws.

Extermination

Within the United States, the extermination of the homeless population has become an increasing problem. Randall Amster, in his study on the criminalization of homelessness, claims that the annihilation of homeless spaces through the creation of prevention laws only forcibly drives out homeless people and prevents them from surviving without breaking the laws (Amster). Herring compliments Amster by finding that between 2006 and 2016, laws banning sitting, lying on the streets, and living in vehicles increased in states by 52 percent and 143 percent, respectively (Herring). An argumentative report published through Santa Clara University posits that the government’s general lack of empathy for homeless people is shown as it enforces laws that reduce spots for homeless people to reside in. The report also recognizes that Mayor Mark Dion of Portland, Maine, conducted a sweep of one of the city's largest homeless encampments, despite protestors blocking the roads with their cars (Santa Clara University). Despite humane protests fighting for homelessness to be treated more ethically, the government still resorts to displacement.

Relocation

Another way the government has tried to solve the issue of homelessness is through relocation. Gregg Barak, in his book on the social history of homelessness in America, the sheltered lifestyle the homeless people face, of having to gamble for a bed and leave that space early in the morning only to have the process start all over again, leads to the an unacceptable change in one's identity (Barak). The contrary of this lifestyle, the report by Santa Clara University claims, of encampments and infrastructure for the homeless also imprisons them, insinuating that they committed a crime. Furthermore, Cheng claims that shelter enforcements unethically force people to fight for the rights they should be given. Both mention how encampments further enforce the idea that homeless people are prisoners, with encampments acting like prison cells that strip them of the freedoms they deserve to have. Elizabeth F. Schwartz, an attorney in Miami observes that despite US laws aimed to keep human rights intact, their help is aimed at diminishing homeless populations, agreeing with both Cheng and Santa Clara University (Schwartz). Schwartz argues that this military focus undermines the need for encampments and other such resources. Elimination of these camps, while possibly beneficial, more extremely displays the clear unethicality of city edicts that refrain from helping the populations.

General Ignorance

Unfortunately, the government hasn’t realized the harm the homeless people are facing, leading to further ignorance of their problems. The United Nations Human Rights Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (United Nations) has clarified that any state part that deprives individuals of food, healthcare, shelter, or education will be seen as an unfulfillment of responsibilities or commitments that the party had (United Nations). Alex Visotzky, an author for the National Alliance to End Homelessness, notes that California contains 171,000 homeless people, which is about 30% of its population. California’s population is also 12% of the entire nation’s population (Visotzky). The United Nations strengthens Alex Visotzky’s argument, as Visotzky claims how the United States is ignoring these rights that the homeless people need. Many homeless people dominate widespread areas, contributing to the ignorance the government has towards this problem (Visotzky). Cheng verifies that the government and other people are split between blaming homelessness on the homeless populations or on institutions that make it harder for people to find housing. However, despite the explanation and the beliefs of the homeless, they are still treated as less of a problem and are just pushed into areas and ignored as a large issue (Cheng). Amster agrees with Cheng’s research through claims about how the government has been ignorant of homelessness, leading to a decrease in shelters being made (Amster). This shows that even though the government has proven that these shelters work, most cities won’t be bothered to create them.

Conclusion

The justification for eradicating beneficial resources for homeless people is nullified since it disobeys all ethical rules. The government bans homeless people from lying on streets or sidewalks, as well as providing punishment for those who do. This essentially criminalizes homelessness and puts innocent people who cannot fight eviction on the streets. The government also forces homeless people to relocate to shelters that provide them with a home. Simultaneously, the government acts as if they are inferior and the populations or the issue of their increasing numbers is of minor importance. In specific areas where homelessness is prevalent to the extreme, the government and people don’t bat an eye to the issue as they let it be, leading to more of an influx of homeless people since it hasn’t been mandated at all to fix it. Unless changes and direct addresses to how the United States is treating the homelessness issue as an ethical way of living, an influx in population growth will come as a result.

Works Cited

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Herring, C. (2019). Complaint-Oriented Policing: Regulating Homelessness in Public Space. 

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