Criminalization of Homelessness: An Endless Cycle

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            A huge barrier to many people who are homeless getting off the streets is having a criminal record. Having a felony record can lead to losing the right to vote which means they can’t vote on any laws that might make things better for the homeless population or people with a record. They lose their voice and the ones speaking for them become people who have no idea what it is like to be in their shoes. They can also be denied professional licenses simply for having a record, making getting a job even harder. Those with records also don’t qualify for federally assisted housing a majority of the time. Top that off with the criminalization of homelessness adding to the problem and making it even more impossible to get off the streets and an endless cycle is created. In Portland in 2017, 52% of arrests were from the homeless population mostly for being on other people’s property (The Oregonian/OregonLive, 2018). Where else are they supposed to go when they can’t get jobs to secure housing? In the entire US over 10% of people coming in and out of prisons or jails are homeless in the months before or after their incarceration (Heidi, 2024). Being homeless, unstably housed, or living in high-crime neighborhoods increases an individual’s risk of reoffending (Heidi, 2024). 



Why is the current setup such an issue? They committed crimes so they should be punished after all, right? Except the people living on the streets due to the criminal restrictions placed on them already served their punishment. How are they meant to ever redeem themselves and get back into society when the door was never fully opened back up? If they can’t get legitimate jobs to pay for housing or food, the risk of committing another crime versus dying from starvation or the elements is the lesser of two evils. Then there’s the issue of those who didn’t have a record before being homeless. Their only crime becomes being unfortunate enough to suffer bad luck and having nowhere else to go. Once they have that record, that barrier can stay with them forever and the aforementioned cycle can be hard to break out of. Is the punishment fair? Does the punishment fit the crime? If someone makes a mistake at 18 that leads to a charge like felony possession of marijuana, do they deserve a lifelong punishment that lends to homelessness even after they serve their prison sentence? People often complain about the amount of homeless people littering the street but have you ever stopped to think it’s not their fault and that you could be one to help create the solution? Society is the one who has failed them as a whole and as a whole, we can come together to make the problem better. 


How to help:

Join: https://safetyandjustice.org/

Interviews with Homeless people with records:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9UijgW3Pts


Resources:

Expungement: Seal a record so that in the eyes of the law the arrest/conviction, misdemeanor or felony, did not happen

https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/lane/help/pages/expungement.aspx

https://www.shannonpowelllaw.com/blog/the-oregon-expungement-guide

Reduction: Some felonies can be reduced to misdemeanors

https://www.shannonpowelllaw.com/blog/the-oregon-felony-reduction-guide


References

Heidi. (2024, July 8). Homelessness and the incarceration cycle. https://www.endfmrnow.org/homelessness-and-the-incarceration-cycle

The Oregonian/OregonLive. (2018). Portland homeless accounted for majority of police arrests in 2017, analysis finds. Oregonlive. https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2018/06/portland_homeless_accounted_fo.html

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