Lawsuit to End Homeless Crisis
When residents get fed up with a lack of a plan or a lack of response from their government, they often turn to the unpredictable idea of lawsuits out of sheer exhausted desperation. Lawsuits are what can happen when cities don’t follow laws or don’t enforce their laws against all violations equally. But sometimes everyone wins.
The LA Alliance sued the mayor, city, and county of LA for not doing their job regarding homelessness. Judge Carter found in favor of the LA Alliance and the LA Alliance put visible success metrics in place to measure homeless encampment reduction and bed increase (see charts below).
San Jose can implement these public portal accountability charts to measure our success. Subscribe to get their updates.
LA Alliance on Grants Pass SCOTUS Decision
Cities no longer have an excuse to tolerate the most egregious of issues like open-air drug use and human trafficking.”
Matthew Umhofer, also part of the Alliance’s legal team said, “Today’s ruling has no effect on the Alliance’s historic settlement into which the City and County voluntarily entered. The City still must provide beds, the County must provide services, and people must be brought inside.”
Encampment reductions portal — holding the city and county accountable
What the LA Alliance won:
- Shelter and housing
- Reduce encampments
- Return public spaces to their intended uses
- 3,000 treatment beds
- Deadlines and targets to measure progress
Lawsuits are expensive, no doubt about it. And suing a government entity is like tilting at a windmill and it means you should be ready to lose; lose money, lose time, and possibly lose reputations.
San Jose needs to be responsive to the pleas from residents to stop the illegal encampment fires. Respond to small businesses struggling with pungent urine along the sidewalks and blight in downtown. And finally, please assist our neighbors living on the streets. Avoiding lawsuits and putting our efforts into a housing ladder plan — that we could actually initiate this afternoon — that’s where our energy should focus.
Want to solve homelessness? — here’s the plan!
Incremental Ladder of Housing Success
— — — Forwarded Message — — -
From: LA Alliance For Human Rights <pwebster@la-alliance.org>
Supreme Court Decision Paves Way for Safer Streets
The LA Alliance released a statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the Ninth Circuit Court’s Martin v Boise decision:
LA Alliance Encouraged by Supreme Court Decision Paves Way for Return To Safe Public Spaces
Los Angeles, CA June 28, 2023 –
The LA Alliance for Human Rights issued the following statement following today’s United States Supreme Court Decision RE City of Grants Pass, Oregon v Gloria Johnson, et al.:
“Today the United States Supreme Court made clear that municipalities have the right to enforce ordinances prohibiting sitting, lying, and public camping. The Court’s rationale was based on the unworkability of the Ninth Circuit’s scheme articulated in Martin v Boise.”
Elizabeth Mitchell, lead attorney for the LA Alliance said, “The Supreme Court’s decision makes it incumbent on local governments to craft policies and laws tailored to local needs. Our lawsuit and settlement promote a balanced approach that shelter, services, and safe streets are in the best interests of the housed and unhoused. Living on the street should never be an option — it is not safe or healthy for anyone. At the same time, municipalities cannot simply arrest everyone without providing some place for folks to go and services and treatment to help them get better. Enforcement should always be a last resort, but it must be an option on the table. Cities no longer have an excuse to tolerate the most egregious of issues like open-air drug use and human trafficking.”
Matthew Umhofer, also part of the Alliance’s legal team said, “Today’s ruling has no effect on the Alliance’s historic settlement into which the City and County voluntarily entered. The City still must provide beds, the County must provide services, and people must be brought inside.”
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Fixed link to Alliance district-by-district report on bed creation and encampment reductions.
LA Daily News article on Point In Time Count results for LA region. Read Webster’s concerns here.
LA Alliance For Human Rights
https://www.la-alliance.org/
LA Alliance For Human rights · CA 90013, United States
