In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Grants Pass v. Johnson case that municipalities and cities can cite, fine and arrest unhoused people who are living in our parks, streets and alleyways, even if there are no emergency shelter beds available. The result of this decision is that cities can effectively criminalize homelessness.
In the wake of this decision, some cities and municipalities are drafting laws that make it more challenging to go through the already incredibly difficult experience of being unsheltered, with devastating implications for health. The city of Fremont, California, recently passed a law that not only made it illegal to erect a tent in a public space, but also it is now illegal for anyone “aiding” or “abetting” people who are temporarily living in vehicles or encampments.
Bringing a shivering person a blanket? Illegal. Providing food or warm drinks for the hungry? Illegal. Violators can face criminal sanctions merely for lending a helping hand, facing fines of $1,000 and six months in jail. Such laws may seem overly draconian, and their enforcement is uncertain, but the Grants Pass decision means that these laws now pass constitutional muster.
In Salt Lake City, organizations and volunteers are working diligently to make the experiences of those living through unsheltered homelessness a little less life-threatening. For instance, the 2nd and 2nd Coalition, a group of faith-based organizations downtown, have supported Code Blue efforts, effectively offering temporary emergency shelter in church common areas when temperatures and wind chill dip below 18 degrees Fahrenheit. Research shows that community members are increasingly in favor of more compassionate and thoughtful approaches to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. However, these volunteers are not legally allowed to operate when temperatures are above 18 degrees (still freezing, and deadly cold), and would like to raise this regulatory temperature, as well as the limits on the absolute numbers of people they can serve on any Code Blue evening. We should support these faith-based organizations by increasing their capacity to serve the unsheltered.
The issue of unsheltered homelessness is inextricably linked to housing prices and housing supply. In Utah, both the prices and the undersupply of housing exceed national averages. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox acknowledges that we are in an affordable housing crisis, and perhaps more importantly, the single most important issue for Utahns is lack of affordable housing.
As our state’s legislative session continues, one area of genuine bipartisan agreement is the need for more housing. Proponents from across the political spectrum agree that we need more housing in the Wasatch Front and across the state of Utah. While there are a number of new bills that might affect housing and homelessness, none of the current bills are bold enough to support the rapid development of the kind of housing numbers that will substantially impact homelessness, which last year grew 18% nationally. Developing housing of all sorts will drive down the costs of buying and renting everywhere, and importantly, will drive down the rates of unsheltered homelessness.
How can Utah address homelessness?
In the last few weeks of the 2025 Utah legislative session, lawmakers should prioritize two approaches. First, legislators should prioritize the immediate development of housing across the economic spectrum, from low income to high income to everywhere in between. Specifically, we should subsidize affordable housing for people who might otherwise face homelessness; such a process might reverse national and statewide trends of rapidly increasing homelessness.
Secondly, legislators should revisit regulations that limit our faith-based communities and others from serving people who are unsheltered. We should guarantee that people providing aid to those who are unsheltered will not be prosecuted under civil or criminal charges, and we should expand communities’ abilities to care for the unhoused. Finally, for the people living unsheltered, we should consider enshrining a set of rights that supports people’s dignity and agency during a trying period in their lives.
Taking these two steps — increasing affordable housing and ensuring that Good Samaritans can live up to their best selves — will meaningfully address both the structural concerns that lead to homelessness and improve the lived experiences of all our community members.