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 Hate crime and violence against some of the most vulnerable members of our society, our homeless neighbors, continue to persist and have increased across the country over the past year. Since 1999, the National Coalition for the Homeless has been tracking the epidemic of violent and brutal attacks against homeless persons. In our first joint report on the topic, the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty have documented how this growing trend has played out in 2007.
Homeless persons are particularly vulnerable to violent attacks when they are living outside in public spaces. Most of our communities do not have adequate affordable housing or shelter space to meet the need, leaving many homeless persons forced to live outside. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 44% of our homeless population is unsheltered. Without proper action to deal with the crisis of homelessness as a whole, our homeless neighbors will continue to be vulnerable to brutal attacks.
While some cities and states have taken positive steps to address hate crime and violence against homeless persons, many cities around the country continue to dehumanize homeless persons by enacting and enforcing laws that criminalize their homeless status. Many laws, such as those that restrict sleeping, sitting, storing property, and asking for money in public, send a message to society that homeless people are not human, do not deserve respect, and that attacks against them will not be taken seriously.
-NCH
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