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

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.