When homeless people refuse shelter

The issue of homeless people refusing to leave their tents when ordered to do so is quickly becoming a crisis. Now that cities no longer have to provide shelter before rousting campers, we’re going to see a lot more government officials and cops instructing homeless people to leave public and private spaces—and these homeless people are going to have to comply, or face the consequences, including arrest and imprisonment.

This is a huge shift from the old paradigm, which was accepting the inevitability of encampments, to the new one, which is that homeless encampments have no place anywhere in our society. This paradigm switch also entails viewing the homeless in an entirely new light. Before, homeless people were depicted as innocent victims of cruel, racist capitalism, a depiction boosted by the media, which loves a good story about blameless victims. Now, after years of exposure to homeless people in front line cities like Oakland, voters are now realizing that most homeless people have brought their situation upon themselves, for whatever reason, and are not particularly sympathetic.

We’re seeing this new reality, as I’ve been reporting, in cities all over the Bay Area and beyond. Homeless people are being rousted, in some places (like Fresno) rather aggressively, in others, like San Francisco, more circumspectly. But it’s happening, and as this movement gathers the momentum of voter support, the number of homeless individuals who are refusing to comply with orders to leave is increasing. This is leading to another inflection point that cities are going to have to deal with.

One of the main reasons homeless people refuse shelter when it’s offered is because most shelter settings don’t allow them to bring their dogs. Now, as a dog lover (my most recent dog, Gus, died three years ago, and I grieve him to this day), I well understand the attachment people have for their canine companions; and in the case of a homeless person, that dog may be his one and only friend. Nonetheless, rules are rules. None of us is exempt from obeying them, and homeless people must not be let off the hook from accepting help just because they happen to love their pup.

An analogy is this: Say I really love good wine and filet mignon, but I can’t afford them. If I shoplift those things from Whole Foods, should I be exempt from getting busted by arguing, “Sorry, I really am attached to Bordeaux and filet, and that gives me the right to steal them?” Of course not. Such an excuse would be laughed out of court in two seconds.

By the same token, homeless people have no right to refuse shelter, for any reason. Even after the Grants Pass decision, it’s likely that most cities here in liberal, blue California will continue to develop shelters for homeless people (even though the Supreme Court says they no longer have to). So we’re quickly arriving at a crunch situation: what ought we to do with homeless people who simply will not obey the law?

The obvious answer is to jail them. It’s ironic, because a lot of homeless people say that shelters make them feel like they’re in jail. Well, when they’re really thrown into jail, maybe they’ll appreciate the difference between a prison cell and a shelter--even one that doesn’t allow dogs.

Steve Heimoff