City of Bend says Supreme Court ruling on Grants Pass homeless rules will have little effect for now; homeless also weigh in

(Update: Adding video, comments from homeless, Bend assistant attorney)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)-- The Supreme Court ruled in favor last month of the city of Grants Pass, in a landmark decision that gives cities and other local governments across the U.S. the ability to enforce citations in public areas for sleeping, providing more clarity and possible latitude in their handling of the growing homelessness crisis.

NewsChannel 21 spoke Tuesday with homeless residents living at the Shepherd's House Lighthouse Navigation Center who say they agree with the Supreme Court decision.

"There are just certain people that - the streets are all they need. So that's how they live. It's hard to get to those people," Matthew DenBoer said.

Another homeless man, Kevin Woodson, pointed to the fentanyl crisis as a reason to keep the sidewalks clear.

"I can understand what they're saying, because there's a lot of drugs," he said. "Afterward, they leave their needles, they leave their drugs. It should be against the law. But instead of putting them in jail, take them to a motel."

Deschutes County and city of Bend regulations say someone can only sleep on public land for a maximum of 24 hours. A 72-hour notice has to be given before the area is cleared. No fines are given for violations, unless those camping continue to disobey.

The city's assistant attorney, Ian Leitheiser, says the ruling has still left many questions for local governments to deal with.

"What the court said is that the cruel and unusual punishment clause in the (Eighth) Amendment does not apply to, generally applicable what you would call camping regulations," he said. "What the court didn't do is take up other rules that might impact what cities could do. "

He says cities in Oregon are still required to follow state law, which says that any city or county law that regulates sleeping or camping on public property must be “objectively reasonable," something he says Bend already has in place. 

"We have a code that regulates how people can use public places to meet their basic needs," Leitheiser said. "It does not criminalize homelessness, but it does set up rules on the where, when and how people can use these places on a limited basis to sleep."

DenBoer says he hopes the court decision can help lead to more resources, as many of his friends are close to getting off the streets.

"Whether it be mental health, you know, substance abuse. I think a lot of these people are just like one step away -- one inch away from getting it right," he said.

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Senator Ron Wyden issued this news release on the issue Tuesday:

Following Supreme Court’s Grants Pass v. Johnson decision, Wyden and Bonamici Lead Colleagues in Urging Biden Administration to Invest in Affordable Housing

Letter from lawmakers: “Housing First policies are the best methods for helping people experiencing homelessness transition to stable, permanent housing and improving their overall quality of life”

Washington, D.C. — Following the Supreme Court’s recent decision to criminalize homelessness in Grants Pass v. Johnson, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., said today they are leading colleagues in urging the Biden administration to advance evidence-based solutions to help people experiencing homelessness in Oregon and nationwide. 

The lawmakers wrote President Biden, “Punishing unhoused individuals for sleeping outside when there are no adequate shelter or housing options does not solve homelessness or address its causes. It is cruel and cynical to impose penalties on people who may be facing real, human challenges like unaffordable rent, financial emergencies, or health and mental health challenges.”

Homelessness increased by 23 percent in 2023 nationwide – and increased even more devastatingly in Oregon — due to the lack of affordable housing, the lack of health care resources, and an end to effective pandemic relief measures like rent assistance, among other challenges. Criminalization also disproportionately harms Black, Indigenous and Hispanic communities, worsening disparities in homelessness and incarceration that they already experience. Punishing people for existing while unhoused, while no shelter or housing options exist, is demonstrated to worsen homelessness and can cost more than providing housing. 

The lawmakers wrote, “The solution to ending homelessness is more affordable housing, which is most effective when combined with individualized and voluntary supportive services. Placing housing at the center of solutions to homelessness, as well as expanding programs like alternative crisis response, reentry services, and workforce development, is essential to creating realistic policies to tackle homelessness rather than prolong homelessness.”

In addition to Wyden and Bonamici, the letter is signed by: Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Representatives Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), David Scott (D-Ga.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Dwight Evans (D- Pa.), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), John Larson (D-Conn.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), and Steven Horsford (D-Nev.).

The letter is endorsed by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Corporation for Supportive Housing, Enterprise Community Partners, Funders Together to End Homelessness, National Alliance to End Homelessness, National Coalition for the Homeless, National Health Care for the Homelessness Council, National Homelessness Law Center, National Housing Law Project, National Low-Income Housing Coalition, Oregon Food Bank, RESULTS Educational Fund, and Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund.

The entire letter is here.