The U.S. is going through a major unaffordability crisis. Rapid gentrification has transformed many cities into places where people who were born and raised there can no longer afford rent, and are being pushed out into the margins.
With this has also come a major housing and homelessness crisis.But instead of trying to solve the problem of rising rents and housing prices, many U.S. states are
criminalizing the people who are being pushed out.
Tennessee has now become the first state to make it a
felony offense to be homeless and camp in parks or other public property. Police are now weaponizing these laws to attack people who are already vulnerable.
Sign the petition to demand that Tennessee and other U.S. states repeal their cruel, inhumane anti-camping laws!As the U.S. becomes more and more unaffordable, homelessness rates have been skyrocketing. That includes in Nashville, Tennessee. In just one year, the amount of people experiencing homelessness there increased by more than 30%. Overall in the U.S.,
homelessness levels rose so high, they broke new records in 2024.One man, Joseph Williams, became
one of the first two people to be charged under Tennessee's new felony anti-camping law. He grew up in the neighborhood near where he now sleeps in a park. He wishes the situation were different, but he doesn't have a lot of reliable options, and this is his home.
He has not been found guilty of anything nefarious; hasn't been accused of being violent or abusive. His only "crime" was having no place of his own to sleep, now that his old neighborhood has rapidly become unaffordable.
When police showed up, he panicked - like most people would - and tried to run away. Again: he hadn't even been doing anything wrong! But
police raced after him, electric-shocked him with a taser, and arrested him. He spent 9 days in jail before a friend intervened. His court-appointed attorney makes it clear how punitive and counter-effective these laws are. As she said, this arrest has
made "what is already a very difficult life situation for Mr. Williams harder and worse."The best way to end homelessness isn't to try to demonize and criminalize homelessness out of existence. That will not work. Better ways to address homelessness are to
ensure homes are accessible and affordable, and that local communities are invested in.Why are we further punishing people who have already been pushed to the fringes of society, who are already struggling and already mistreated? The only thing they did 'wrong' was live in a society that is allowing a growing wealth gap, without any care for the people that would hurt along the way.
Sign the petition to demand that U.S. states stop scapegoating unhoused people, and repeal their anti-camping laws! If they want to solve homelessness, it's time to invest in housing affordability and fight the rapidly growing wealth gap. 