SCU Unhoused Initiative

Challenge to Martin v. Boise heads to the Supreme Court

Since the 2018 Ninth Circuit decision in Martin v. Boise, west coast cities have been barred from prohibiting sleeping in public spaces when adequate shelter is not available for their unhoused residents. The Court found that criminalizing camping on public property is cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the 8th Amendment, when there is nowhere for the people in question to legally sleep. Earlier in January, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson, et. al. and is expected to provide opinion on whether cities can legally ban or limit camping in public spaces by people experiencing homelessness.

According to a recent CalMatters article, The Boise decision has frustrated lawmakers who claim the ruling prevents them from limiting the spread of encampments and from conducting sweeps they say are necessary for health and safety. Advocates for the unhoused, on the other hand, argue that legislators are overreacting and that the Boise case does not prevent them from regulating encampments. Advocates also feel that the Boise decision is clear and municipalities cannot ban sleeping outside when adequate shelter does not exist for people experiencing homelessness.

As reported by CalMatters, since the Boise decision, subsequent court decisions have resulted in “a patchwork of interpretation across [California] on what qualifies as the ‘adequate shelter’ cities must provide before sweeping homeless camps.” The Grants Pass case could provide some clarity on this issue as well as other questions about the limits of Boise. For example, can cities impose time or location restrictions on sleeping outside; whether a City must have adequate shelter available for every unhoused person no matter what or only on days of a sweep; and, whether cities can criminalize sleeping in public spaces for those who refuse to accept the shelter offered to them.

As quoted in CalMatters, Berkeley law professor Jeffrey Selbin predicts that the Supreme Court will not try to “micromanage” the situation. Instead, he predicts the conservative majority Court will overturn the 2018 Boise decision, thereby permitting cities to widely criminalize encampments.

The Unhoused Initiative will be monitoring this case as it progresses at the Supreme Court and will report any updates as they are released.

SCU Unhoused Initiative

The Unhoused Initiative’s David DeCosse publishes opinion piece for the National Catholic Reporter.

David DeCosse

Unhoused Initiative faculty, David DeCosse, published an opinion piece titled “Homelessness crisis shows our country needs a new national story” in the January 2, 2024 edition of the National Catholic Reporter. The article reflects upon the prayer of St. Vincent DePaul – “It is only for your love that the poor will forgive you the bread that you give them” – and its significance in our collective response to the homelessness crisis.

Examining data and stories from the recent California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness, the piece introduces readers to the realities of California’s homelessness crisis, and follows the prompt of Matthew Desmond’s recent article by challenging us to ask “Who benefits?” from the status quo of housing and homelessness in California. Rather than asking questions of why people experiencing homelessness don’t do something to change their station, we should ask ourselves who benefits from zoning laws or tax breaks that benefit single family homes and limit our supply of available affordable housing.

DeCosse suggests that we rewrite the stories that we tell ourselves to explain the homelessness crisis. Instead of stories of triumph despite adversity and looking for others to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, “we need a new story,” says DeCosse, “in which we are bound in love and justice to the tens of thousands of persons living and dying on our streets.”
Read the full article here.

SCU Unhoused Initiative

Congratulations to UI Research Grant Awardees!

The Unhoused Initiative is pleased to announce the recipients of our first Faculty Research Grant. Congratulations to CJ Gabbe (Env. Studies), Jesilyn Faust (Poli. Sci.), and Hashim Said (Civil Eng.)! Each grantee received a $3,000 award to conduct their study. An additional $1,000 award is available upon publication. We are excited to see the results of this important research. Grantees and their study abstracts are listed below.

C.J. Gabbe, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies & Sciences &
Jamie Chang, Associate Professor, UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare
Governance to Reduce the Heat Vulnerability of Unhoused Residents

Heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S. and unhoused people compose up to half of heat-related deaths. The purpose of our research is to inform a network of local policies to reduce heat risk for unhoused residents of Santa Clara County. We answer two questions: (1) How do local government plans, policies, and programs address heat risk for unhoused residents? (2) How do different levels of government and disciplines coordinate heat resilience for unhoused residents? We answer these questions using a content analysis of adopted plans and program documents, and semi-structured interviews with staff from public agencies and community-based organizations.

Jesilyn Faust, Lecturer, Political Science
Gender, Race & Houselessness: A local and intersectional approach to homelessness

This study is an in depth examination of the causes of homelessness and the gap between needs and services with an intersectional and local focus on how race and gender impact these issues. In partnership with the Survivors of the Streets Committee of Sacred Heart Community Services, this research will be carried out as a series of interviews and other data gathering centered on racial and gender minorities in the homeless communities around the Guadalupe River Park. The purpose of this study is to shed light on the experiences of the most marginalized people and advocate for a better, data informed, intersectional approach to the homelessness crisis.

Hisham Said, Associate Professor, Civil Engineering & Sustainable Energy
Parametric Design Support System for Sustainable Interim Housing Community Sites

Interim housing is a key component of any strategy to alleviate the current homelessness crisis in California and nationwide. To maximize the return on the public investment, interim housing solutions should be affordable, scalable, and sustainable. This research project aims to develop a parametric decision support system for sustainable interim housing communities in collaboration with the non-profit organization Dignity Moves. The project involves surveying innovative sustainable construction methods, modeling the design process parametrically, and implementing the system using advanced CAD-based virtual design tools.

SCU Unhoused Initiative

Unhoused Initiative Hosts Dr. Margot Kushel, author of California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness.

Dr. Margot Kushel

In June of this year, UCSF’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative released the results of The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH), the largest representative study of homelessness since the 1990s. The report is viewable here.

On October 19th, SCU’s Unhoused Initiative hosted Dr. Margot Kushel, CASPEH’s primary author, to discuss the study’s results and implications. SCU alum, Dalliana Banuelos, a Research Assistant on the study also joined the discussion, as well as UI member, Dr. Jamie Chang.

The recording of the presentation is available online here.

SCU Unhoused Initiative

Unhoused Initiative Internal Grant Program

The Unhoused Initiative is pleased to announce an internal faculty grant of up to $4,000 for research related to the local homelessness crisis. Community-partnered projects are encouraged and will be prioritized, and papers may be the product of direct service projects or interventions.

To encourage publication and dissemination of work product, up to $3,000 will be awarded to grantees upon selection, with an additional $1,000 to be awarded upon submission for publication in a peer-reviewed journal or comparable alternative, including creative works reaching a broad audience.

Awards will be announced on November 17, 2023.

SCU Unhoused Initiative

Breaking Bread Series

With support from an Ignatian Center Bannan Forum Grant, the Unhoused Initiative is hosting conversations about the best use of the University’s resources in response to the local homelessness crisis – our “Breaking Bread” series. In May 2023, we met with faculty and staff to take stock of Santa Clara’s programs, research and resources that impact and could benefit our unhoused neighbors. During the 2023-24 school year, we will meet with community leaders engaged in the homelessness crisis, as well as people with lived experience, to learn which of the University’s many resources would have the most impact. 

After our community conversations, we will return to campus to report our findings to our original campus cohort and discuss next steps. If you are interested in participating in our Breaking Bread wrap-up session this spring, please contact us at unhousedinitiative@scu.edu.