By Logan Langlois
NASHVILLE, TN — Open Table Nashville (OTN) has joined over 1,000 organizations and public leaders in filing more than 40 amicus briefs to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in anticipation of their upcoming consideration of Johnson v. Grant Pass. This will be a landmark case regarding how homelessness is handled by government bodies within the United States in public spaces. Previous courts presiding over the case ruled that communities without sufficient housing and beds cannot fine, cite, or arrest people for using a blanket, pillow, and other supplies on public properties. Outreach Specialist for OTN India Pungarcher said that it surprised a lot of her fellow activists, and her, to hear that the Supreme Court would be taking verbal arguments on this case in Washington D.C. on April 22.
Pungarcher said OTN was asked to join the amicus brief by their national partners, including the National Homelessness Law Center and National Alliance to End Homelessness, to contribute their knowledge and testimony. Pungarcher said the contributions provided by OTN included helping a pro bono legal team draft the brief with the most current research on how to respond to homelessness. Pungarcher said what is being shown after decades of study in both the United States and Canada, is the best way to combat homelessness is with permanent supportive housing complete with wrap-around services to both treat mental and physical health issues.
“We’re hoping that these briefs provide a holistic, historical, well-informed, evidence-based story and plea to the Supreme Court members,” Pungarcher said. “We’re hoping that book evidence and moral conscious are on our side.”
Pungarcher said OTN has been in the unique position of being both a direct service provider to the unhoused on the street and involved in legislative advocacy. She said some of the most impactful contributions to the amicus brief were the vignettes that included the testimonies of unhoused people who experienced homelessness criminalization. One such entry told the story of Alabama, who was unhoused for 20 years, arrested 198 times, and had over 250 charges for petty offenses which only added to difficulty obtaining housing. While OTN cofounder Lindsey Krinks worked to secure Alabama housing, she printed a shirt for Alabama that read “Please do not arrest me, my outreach worker is working on my housing.” Pungarcher said after securing housing, Alabama to date has had no subsequent run-ins with the law.
Pungarcher said though the ruling of Johnson v. Grant Pass may not explicitly target homelessness, if the court were to rule against Grant Pass the consequences would disproportionately affect unhoused individuals in their ability to sleep in public spaces. She said she and her colleagues are also concerned this kind of ruling would usher in a new wave of legislation nationwide intended to criminalize homelessness. Pungarcher said she is also worried whether the ruling will criminalize unhoused people from simply existing in public space, regardless of whether they belong to a large group or encampment or not.
Pungarcher said the leading reason preventing unhoused people in Nashville from being provided housing by their government is political will. She said Nashville has shown itself unafraid to spend large sums of taxpayer dollars on things it wants, such as the Titans Nissan Stadium for example, when the political will is there to see such an effort through.
“We know what works but we have to put our dollar where our mouth is in order to expand the housing-first opportunities that we have across our state,” Pungarcher said.
Further action updates from OTN can be found on their website opentablenashville.org.
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