Summary
45 Organizations Unite to Oppose the Criminalization of Unsheltered Veteran Homelessness
45 Organizations Unite to Oppose the Criminalization of Unsheltered Veteran Homelessness
Stakeholders urge SCOTUS to understand the needs of unsheltered veterans and Americans
Washington D.C. – Today, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) and the UCLA Law School’s Veterans Clinic united with 43 partners to file an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A historic Supreme Court case, Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, threatens to unleash a wave of criminalization of unhoused veterans and others across the country. On April 22, 2024, SCOTUS is set to hear opening arguments and ultimately decide whether cities can impose civil or criminal penalties on unhoused people for sleeping outside, even in the absence of shelter space.
On any night in 2023, there were 35,574 veterans experiencing homelessness in America. Further, unsheltered veteran homelessness increased by 14.3 percent since the prior year, compared to a 9.7% increase in the civilian population. A ruling in favor of civil and criminal penalties would bring dire consequences for unsheltered veterans, and detract from our ability to decrease veteran homelessness across the country.
“The Court must understand, through this brief, that their ruling could have dire consequences for unsheltered veterans” said CEO of NCHV, Kathryn Monet. “It is absurd to think that the use of civil penalties against veterans and others experiencing homelessness will do anything other than harm people for being impoverished and make it harder for them to get back on their feet. The justices must rule in a way that reflects the humanity of all Americans, no matter where they lay their head to rest.”
“I spent 5 years in the Army and did two tours in the Middle East,” said Gabriel Henriquez, 2nd year UCLA Law Student and Brief Co-author. “When I had the opportunity to come to UCLA Law, I said that I would use my education and the skills I gained here to give back to my community and this is an excellent opportunity to do just that. Most importantly, this is a crucial chance for the Supreme Court to learn about the lived experiences of unhoused veterans, who face banishment and dehumanization by local jurisdictions.”
“I came to law school wanting to uplift underserved groups and it’s been a real privilege to be able to serve this community,” said Atreyi Mitra, 3rd year UCLA Law Student and Brief Co-author.
Read the brief here.
Approximately 40 organizations have also filed amicus briefs in favor of Johnson et. Al. Read them here.
COSIGNER PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION:
| Organization | Contact Name | Email Address |
| Access Housing Inc DC | Walter Elmore | walter@accesshousingdc.org |
| Albany Housing Coalition Inc | Joe Sluszka | Jsluszka@ahcvets.org |
| American GI Forum National Veterans Outreach Program | Marie Lopez | mlopez@agif-nvop.org |
| Black Veterans For Social Justice, Inc. | Macky Dancy | mdancy@expandgrp.com |
| Black Veterans Project | Richard Brookshire | info@blackveteransproject.org |
| Cape and Island’s Veterans Outreach Center | James Seymour | Jseymour@capeveterans.com |
| Community Hope Inc. | Peggy Banko | mbanko@communityhope-nj.org |
| Connecticut Veterans Legal Center | Shannon Mykins | smykins@ctveteranslegal.org |
| Cornell Law Veterans Law Practicum | James Hardwick | jrh373@cornell.edu |
| CVJP – Criminal Veteran Justice Project | Jodi Galvin | jodi.galvin@cvjp.org |
| Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services | Sam Whitehurst | swhitehurst@dixoncenter.org |
| Emmanuel House Recovery Program | Timothy Thompson JR. | emmanuel@comcast.net |
| Family & Community Services, Inc. | Matt Slater | mslater@fcsohio.org |
| HVAF of Indiana, Inc. | Emmy Hildebrand | ehildebrand@hvaf.org |
| Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America | Morghan Cyr | morghan@iava.org |
| Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, Inc. | Ken Greenberg | jwv@jwv.org |
| Lady Veterans Connect | Phyllis Abbott | pabbott@ladyveteransconnect. |
| Michigan Veterans Foundation | Raeda Dabaja | dabaja1@msn.com |
| Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans | Kim North | knorth@mac-v.org |
| Minority Veterans of America | Lindsay Church | lchurch@minorityvets.org |
| National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium | Judy Clausen | jclausen@law.ufl.edu |
| Nation’s Finest | McKinzie Burrows | mburrows@nationsfinest.org |
| New Visions Homeless Services | Heather Beekhuizen | hbeekhuizen@newvisionshs.org |
| Operation Dignity | Tomika Perkins | tperkins@operationdignity.org |
| Project Love Coalition | Kent Bey | info@plcpgh.org |
| Public Counsel | Amanda Pertusati | Apertusati@publiccounsel.org |
| Service Women’s Action Network | Patricia Olivares | comms@servicewomen.org |
| Services for the Underserved (S:US) | Amanda Nasner | anasner@sus.org |
| Soldiers’ Angels | Michelle Julazadeh | mjulazadeh@soldiersangels.org |
| Southwestern Oregon Veterans Outreach (SOVO) | Patrick Murphy | desk@sovoservesvets.org |
| Swords to Plowshares | Colleen Corliss Murakami | colleen.corliss@stp-sf.org |
| Syracuse University College of Law Veterans Legal Clinic | Andrea Parisi | aparisi@syr.edu |
| Texas A & M School of Law Family & Veterans Advocacy Clinic | Karon L Rowden | krowden@law.tamu.edu |
| The Orange Tent Project | Mary Kate Mack | marykatemack@gmail.com |
| U.S.VETS | Cindy Monticue | cmonticue@usvets.org |
| University of Detroit Mercy Veterans Law Clinic | Grace Henning | henningr@udmercy.edu |
| University of Illinois College of Law | Krista Gaedtke | kgaedtke@illinois.edu |
| Veteran Housing Corp | Reydel “Sonny” Santos | reydelsantos@ |
| Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law | Ali Bridges | akbridges@arizona.edu |
| Veterans Integration Centers | Sheila Victorino | Sheila.victorino@nmvic.org |
| Veterans Legal Institute | Antoinette Naddour | anaddour@vetslegal.com |
| Veterans Northeast Outreach Center, Inc. | William Kelly | bkelly@vnoec.org |
| Veterans Strong Community Center | Donna Dognin | donnadognin@vetstronginc.org |
| Vets first life management | Antunell Wheeler | wheelern2171@gmail.com |
| Women Veterans Interactive Foundation | Ginger Miller | gm@womenveteransinteractive. |