Discrimination against homeless people is the act of treating homeless people, or people perceived to be homeless, unfavorably. As with most types of discrimination, it can manifest in numerous forms.

Discriminatory legislation regarding homelessness

Use of the law to discriminate against homeless people takes on disparate forms: restricting the

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

areas in which sitting or sleeping are allowed, ordinances restricting

aggressive panhandling Aggressive panhandling is a legal term for unlawful forms of public begging. Proponents of such legislation advocate placing limits on these activities. Some opponents lament what they perceive to be the "criminalization of homelessness" and ar ...

, actions intended to divert homeless people from particular areas, penalizing loitering or anti-social behavior, or unequally enforcing laws on homeless people and not on those who are not homeless. American Civilities Liberties Union (ACLU) report that claimed that the government of LA discriminated against the homeless residents. The report lays out the ways such as “harassment, segregation, issuing citations,” by which the government discriminates against the homeless people and holds back essential services that could save their lives. Another example of public policy failure could be seen in employment opportunities. Sarah Golabek-Goldman writes about BAN THE ADDRESS campaign by making a case that banning the address on a policy level will help homeless people who experience discrimination in seeking employment get a job to sustain themselves. Passing this law will help homeless get back on their feet because when they provide their address now the employers see their address as homeless shelter, and never call them back. This law will help in protecting the homeless against employment discrimination. There are at least 5 states which consider crimes against homeless people with the reason being due to their homelessness to be a hate crime, which include

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. It is also a hate crime stature in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

Anti-camping legislation and policy

The French

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...

noted this phenomenon as long ago as 1894, famously observing that "the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges".

Coercive Psycho-pharmaceutical Treatment

For example, see

Criminal victimization

Precise factors associated with victimization and injury to homeless people are not clearly understood. Nearly one-half of homeless people are victims of violence. There have been many violent crimes committed against homeless people due to their being homeless. A study in 2007 found that this number is increasing. This can be further understood as to why this happens, and supported by another study that found that people do not even perceive homeless people as fully human, neither competent or warm.

Lack of access to public restrooms

Per the

National Alliance to End Homelessness The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a United States-based organization addressing the issue of homelessness. The Alliance provides data and research to policymakers and elected officials in order to inform policy debates. They also work ...

, in January 2017, there were a total of 553,742 homeless people accounted for across the United States, including territories. Of those accounted for, 192,875 of them were unsheltered and "lived in a place not meant for human habitation, such as the street or an abandoned building". Many unsheltered homeless camps are located in industrial districts and along highways, far away from public parks facilities where traditional public bathrooms are located. If local municipalities do not provide bathroom access, homeless people are left to urinate and defecate in the streets and waterways near their camps. Robinson and Sickels with the University of Colorado Denver released a report highlighting the criminalization of homelessness across the State of Colorado. During their research, they found that 83% of the people they interviewed said they were denied bathroom access because they were homeless. Without access to bathrooms, unsheltered homeless populations across the country are living in . This, in turn, leads to public health concerns such as the hepatitis A outbreak seen in California. As reported by Kushel with ''

The New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one. Hi ...

'', in 2017 alone 649 people in California were infected with hepatitis A; this outbreak began in the homeless population.

Anti-homeless architecture

City and town plans may incorporate

hostile architecture Hostile architecture is an urban-design strategy that uses elements of the built environment to purposefully guide or restrict behaviour. It often targets people who use or rely on public space more than others, such as youth, poor people, and ...

, also known as anti-homeless or defensive architecture, to deter homeless people from camping or sleeping in problematic areas. Research conducted by

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

(based in the UK) recorded that 35% said they were unable to find a free place to sleep as a result of the designs. The named hostile architectures include; anti-homeless spikes, segregated benches and gated doorways. Due to the politicization of the homelessness problem, the funds to help people with mental illness have been diverted to other areas leaving the mentally ill without any help. Mental health is considered one of the biggest contributing factors of homelessness.

Resources to Help

Social inclusion is a big part of what many homeless people struggle with. Some are scared to reach out because they fear the descrimination that may come with it. Reconstructing past relationships into something positive can make all the difference. Another substantial factor is employment. Employment can help these people to feel wanted as well as helping them get back on their feet. There are some facilities that offer shelter and employment, one being in Los Angeles. “Skid Row,” conducted a study to see what kind of impact this help gives. Homeless people who were granted the shelter were more likely to want to work. There are many actions to take when it comes to helping homeless people. Some simple ones being donating clothing, household items, books and other materials. Other measures that can be taken involve fund raising programs, supporting a homeless shelter or even helping to raise awareness. Davis, B. (2017, August 17). Get involved. National Coalition for the Homeless. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://nationalhomeless.org/taking-action/get-involved/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Discrimination Against The Homeless All articles with unsourced statements Class discrimination Homelessness