Events & Updates

SCU Unhoused Initiative

Honoring Our Unhoused Neighbors

On November 18 and 19, the Unhoused Initiative hosted an outdoor art display of the Tombstone Memorial for our unhoused neighbors who died on the street in Santa Clara County this year. Each year, local activist, Shaunn Cartwright, makes a tombstone for each person who died while homeless in the County. A representative sample of the current 195 deaths this year (as of Nov. 18, 2024) were on the Kenna/Benson lawn to raise awareness on campus about homelessness and homeless mortality. It was also an opportunity to acknowledge the 10th anniversary of the sweep of The Jungle in San Jose – one of the largest encampments in the country at the time.

A noontime panel complemented the tombstone display. The panel discussed homeless mortality and the health and safety impacts of encampment sweeps. It was also a reflection on the sweep of the Jungle in 2014 and the community that resided there. Panelists included Shaunn Cartwright, creator of the Tombstone Memorial project, Robert Aguirre, member of the Gilroy Homeless Union, Todd Langton, Executive Director of Agape Silicon Valley, and Unhoused Initiative faculty member, Professor Boo Riley. The panel was the first in a year-long series examining encampment sweeps, past, present and future.

Click here for more information about the Tombstone Memorial, the Jungle, and our panelists.

SCU Unhoused Initiative

Service Opportunity – October 5, 2024

SCU students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to attend a day of service for our unhoused neighbors. Please read on for more information from the organizers.

Silicon Valley Interreligious Council (SiVIC), Agape Silicon Valley, & Jain Center of Northern California invites you a special distribution; The 11th Annual Supplies & Meal Distribution to be held on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

We will be delivering much needed supplies, food and water. 10 advocacy groups will team up to deliver 500 hot meals, 100’s of tents, sleeping bags and other key essentials help our friends, family and neighbors experiencing homelessness prepare for winter.

When: Saturday, October 5th, 11 AM

Where: 2315 Canoas Garden Ave, San Jose, CA 95125 (Cathedral of Faith Church back parking lot)

We need your help and compassion!

Sign up to help here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScox2WnYilhB5pyuEaeswJaGbgQZyzQNxTDMdzWI20dvVIcMA/viewform

SCU Unhoused Initiative

UI Affiliates Honored at CAS Convocation

Sarita Tamayo-Moraga

On Tuesday, September 17th, SCU’s College of Arts & Sciences held their Convocation and Awards to kick-off the 2024-25 academic year. Two UI-affiliated faculty received College Awards at the event.

UI Faculty alum, Sarita Tamayo-Moraga, received the Prof. Francisco Jimenez Reaching Out Award in recognition of her dedication to the local community and serving society’s most disadvantaged and underserved members. In particular, Sarita was selected for her commitment to our unhoused neighbors and her collaboration with the mobile showers program through Catholic Charities, Santa Clara County. Sarita has dedicated countless hours to this partnership, providing students with the opportunity to serve at the mobile showers program which provides people experiencing homelessness with a hot shower, clean laundry and other hygiene necessities.

CJ Gabbe

Additionally, current UI Faculty Grant recipient, Prof. CJ Gabbe, received the Dr. David E. Logothetti Teaching Award. The award is given in recognition of having established among colleagues and students a reputation for an energetic, engaging and effective teaching style. In his work with the UI, CJ is currently researching the impacts of the heat index on unhoused populations to inform a network of policies in Santa Clara County.

Congratulations to Sarita and CJ on these well-deserved awards!

SCU Unhoused Initiative

SCU Hackworth Fellows Focus on Homelessness

A priority of the UI is to support and promote the work of SCU faculty, staff and students related to the homelessness crisis. This summer, two Hackworth Fellows at SCU’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics published articles related to the unhoused.

Chisomaga Nlemigbo, SCU ’25, focused his article on indigenous homelessness, ethics and tribal law. Through a comparison of indigenous and non-indigenous court cases, Chisomaga examines the unique experience of being unhoused and indigenous, and how the intersection of colonization and the indigenous meaning of “home” further impact this experience. As he describes, indigenous courts apply concepts of “home” as more than a commodity – it is a place for learning, spiritual grounding and community connection. Chisomaga writes:

“When looking at cases from Indigenous American tribes and nations, a clear regard for the person as a valid and important part of the community is expressed. Indigenous responses take the time to acknowledge the inherent dignity of individuals regardless of their position in society. This is seen most prominently through active governments that consistently seek restorative forms of justice, strive for fairness, build community, and consider the special circumstances of situations. Conversely, cases from the non-Indigenous American legal system reflect the individualistic ideals that are emphasized in its society.”

Chisomaga’s full article is available on the Markkula Center’s website.

In her paper, SCU ’24 grad, Kinsey Hall, notes the recent US Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson which allows cities to criminalize sleeping outside, asking: Even if legally we may criminalize the unhoused, should we do so as a matter of ethics? Noting “that there are a multitude of moral options and a great deal of moral complexity involved in thinking about criminal policy regarding homelessness,” Kinsey applies various ethical frameworks to responses to the homelessness crisis; including, examining San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s “safe sleeping” sites. She advocates for a “return to moral thinking” in the creation and application of policies impacting our unhoused neighbors.

You can read the full article on the Markkula Center’s website.

SCU Unhoused Initiative

ProPublica looking for feedback from people experiencing homelessness.

The non-profit news organization, ProPublica is collecting stories from people who have experienced encampment sweeps (also known as “abatements” or “clean-ups”). They are investigating what happens when local agencies or authorities take belongings from people experiencing homelessness during a sweep; what are the impacts of losing an ID, medication, tents and family photos?

Reporters would like to hear from “people who have experience with having a belonging taken during a sweep, and people with insight into this issue, including front-line workers or volunteers, city contractors, researchers or regulators.”

More information about the project is available here.

SCU Unhoused Initiative

Amicus Brief filed in Grants Pass v. Johnson

Unhoused Initiative founding member and affiliated faculty, Jamie Chang, PhD, recently contributed to an Amicus Brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the upcoming Grants Pass v. Johnson case. The Brief is filed in support of Gloria Johnson and explains the harms of anti-homeless laws on people experiencing homelessness and on their ability to return to housing. It also argues the ineffectiveness of anti-homeless laws as they do not reduce homelessness, and that municipalities are not left without other options to address the homelessness crisis.

The case will examine whether a municipality can criminalize sleeping in public when alternate shelter is not available. The case could have major impacts on the criminalization of homelessness in the United States.

Arguments in the case will take place on April 22nd. The Unhoused Initiative is hosting a panel discussion on the case the week prior, April 16th, at Noon. You can find more information about and register for the event here.

Dr. Chang’s brief is available for viewing in the Articles & Research folder of the Unhoused Initiative’s Online Resource Bank.

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.