From Streets to Stability: Ending the Criminalization of Homelessness Through Housing First Policy and Structural Reform

• In Event: Roundtable: Criminal Justice Policy

Abstract

The criminalization of homelessness in the United States has intensified through anti-camping ordinances, hostile architecture, and privatized urban governance. This project evaluates these exclusionary practices alongside the empirical success of Housing First models, which have demonstrated significant improvements in housing retention, health outcomes, and systemic cost reductions. Building on legal, public health, and urban planning scholarship, this paper proposes a dual intervention: expanding Housing First programs with enforced fidelity and establishing a national accountability framework to standardize implementation. It also explores complementary reforms, including repealing punitive ordinances, banning hostile design, and developing trauma-informed, gender-responsive housing services. The presentation will engage attendees in a discussion about navigating legal challenges following Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024), countering political resistance from Business Improvement Districts, and advancing interdisciplinary strategies to reframe homelessness as a structural injustice rather than a public nuisance. Audience feedback is sought to refine these proposals for future publication and to maximize their broader advocacy impact.

Author

• Haneen J. Alani, University of New Haven