San Francisco Can Resume Homeless Encampment Sweeps

A recent Supreme Court decision just paved the way for cities like San Francisco to sweep homeless encampments. In 2022, a federal judge issued an injunction against the city of San Francisco relying on Ninth Circuit precedent deeming housing encampment sweeps unconstitutional, cruel, and unusual punishment unless housing alternatives were provided. Last month, the Supreme Court issued an opinion overturning that precedent, and in response, the Ninth Circuit vacated the injunction against the city. This allows homeless encampment sweeps to resume so long as the city maintains individuals' belongings as the encampments are cleaned out. The city says their goal is not to criminalize homeless, but to better enable the city to provide services to unhoused people and keep streets streets clean and safe. We'll see if the recent ruling leads to changes in policy and practice with the city. I definitely don't think criminalizing homelessness is the right way. Don't want to see people going through the justice system for this reason. So hopefully it better connects them with goods and services that they actually need. Let me know what you think about the recent ruling in the comments.