Homelessness Shouldn't be a Crime

In recent years, Houston has admirably managed to reduce homelessness by half by pursuing compassionate and constitutional solutions to this nationwide crisis. But in April the city council passed two ordinances that are inconsistent with that compassionate and constitutional approach in favor of criminalization. City officials say this new "tough love" solution encourages homeless Houstonians to go to shelters, but the truth is the shelters are full and Houston’s homeless have nowhere else to go.

Laws that criminalize homelessness are ineffective, waste limited public resources, violate basic human and constitutional rights, and strip homeless Houstonians of their dignity. That's why the ACLU of Texas filed a lawsuit against the City of Houston: to encourage city officials to abandon the criminalization components of its efforts to reduce homelessness and return to the compassionate strategies that have served the city so well in the past.

Sign the pledge and support compassionate, common sense solutions for homelessness in Houston.