Statements on laws limiting or eliminating homeless persons ability to sleep from Utah faith leaders
Statement from Rev, Monica Dobbins, Assistant Minister at First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City
Ending homelessness can often seem like a complicated problem to solve. But one thing is simple: not allowing people to sleep is cruel and unusual. The need for sleep is among the most basic of human needs. It doesn’t go away when public authorities won’t provide enough shelter. And ticketing people who have nowhere to go to resolve this basic human need only pushes them further into poverty, making safe shelter even further out of reach. This week’s ruling by the US Supreme Court, that municipalities may constitutionally punish people for sleeping outdoors, may seem to give authorities a free pass to treat our neighbors in this most cruel and unusual of ways. But people of faith are compelled to speak out against it. We recognize that all human beings have worth that is not contingent upon their material wealth or status. And we call upon our local officials to be better than this ruling gives them credit for. Let us renew our efforts to provide housing first, and adequate shelter for the in-between times – and in the meantime, LET PEOPLE SLEEP. Learn more about First Unitarian Church at their website: www.slcuu.org/ |
"A Call to Honor the Image of God in Our Neighbor", a Statement by Rev. Doug Gray, Senior Minister at First Congregational Church of Salt Lake City
For people of faith, to be human is to be worthy of love and dignity. Indeed, grace is the idea that even when our lives are full of struggle—and everyone struggles sometimes—still we are worthy of love, respect and dignity. We call on our State and City leaders to recognize the inherent value of each human being. The recent Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson opens the door for governments to criminalize being without a place to sleep. In a city and state with an enormous crisis in affordable and deeply affordable housing, we should not be surprised that we have people with no place to sleep. This crisis has been building for decades, driven in part by developer profit-motives, stagnant wages, deficiencies in affordable mental health care, and improperly balanced government housing incentives. The people who are unhoused manifest the failures of our current system to address the need for adequate and affordable housing and support those who are struggling. Let us choose the path of kindness! Some leaders may be tempted to crack down on the unhoused—to remove these inconvenient reminders of our system’s failures, and allow development and economic interests to continue on as they have been. Those who are homeless are not “reminders” or “failures,” but human beings, who are homeless for reasons as unique as each individual. Every human being needs to sleep, and if as a society we have failed to take care of “the least of these our sisters and brothers,” then is it just to add to the crushing load of homelessness with fines and imprisonment? And how will the homeless pay their fines? Does imprisonment deter the homeless from needing a place to sleep when none is available? Fines and imprisonment are not viable or constructive solutions! Instead, civic leaders of compassion and foresight will recognize this moment as an opportunity to get serious about the crisis in affordable and deeply affordable housing. They will recognize the system’s role in creating this situation, and choose to show grace to those without a place to sleep and to treat each of these people with dignity. We call on the leaders of the State of Utah and the cities of Greater Salt Lake City, to choose the path of kindness and solutions. Instead of punishing people without shelter, we encourage our leaders to implement policies and investments that promote affordable housing, boost permanent supportive housing, and strengthen homelessness prevention resources. This is a key moment for our local and state leaders to demonstrate the value of human kindness and dignity. Let us work together to make a difference! Learn more about First Congregational Church at their website: www.firstcongregationalslc.org/ |
Statements on laws limiting or eliminating homeless persons ability to sleep from national faith leaders
Statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
“Policies that criminalize homelessness are a direct contradiction of our call to shelter those experiencing homelessness and care for those in need,” Archbishop Borys Gudziak, responding to today’s Supreme Court decision in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson, et al. The Court ruled it constitutional to arrest or fine individuals experiencing homelessness for resting or shielding themselves from the elements in a public place even when no safe shelter is available.
“Criminalizing homeless is not the response to caring for those in need. This decision fails to affirm the inherent dignity of a person, which is properly recognized by the constitution. Having to sleep in public with a blanket is the definition of being homeless. Ticketing and arresting people for it is a counterproductive approach to the problem of homelessness. Instead of punishing the most vulnerable among us, government should help provide shelter and economic and social programs that uphold and enhance the dignity of homeless persons. Such action would offer real opportunities for a better life and to remedy the deeper causes of homelessness.”
Archbishop Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.
Read the statement on the USCCB website:
https://www.usccb.org/news/2024/recognize-inherent-dignity-every-person-especially-those-experiencing-homelessness-says
Statement from the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
I am disappointed by the Supreme Court's decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which clears the way for onerous civil and criminal penalties for unsheltered neighbors forced to sleep in parks or on other public property. This could jeopardize the work of Lutheran ministries and organizations dedicated to helping people experiencing homelessness. As a church, we are called by God's grace to love and serve the most vulnerable and marginalized neighbors in our communities.
Worshiping communities in the ELCA include people experiencing homelessness, which is not a moral failing; often it results from societal factors such as lack of affordable housing, stagnant wages and lack of affordable access to mental health services. Fining or imprisoning people without addressing these root causes drains public resources better directed at supportive housing services.
Criminalizing homelessness is misguided both ethically and pragmatically. As Christians, we are called to embrace marginalized neighbors with compassion, not punishment. Penalizing people for lacking adequate housing runs counter to our core tenets of justice and dignity. Christ himself had "nowhere to lay his head" (Luke 9:58) and the prophet Isaiah urges the people of God to "bring the homeless poor into your house" (Isaiah 58:7). Criminalizing their circumstances compounds their suffering and diminishes their opportunities to find stability.
The ELCA upholds the dignity of all people, affirming in its 1990 social message "Homelessness: A Renewal of Commitment" that "God's love in Jesus Christ … [moves] us to care for homeless people as God cares for all."
I call on our elected leaders and public servants to implement solutions rooted in basic human rights. Rather than punish those without shelter, we need to support policies and investments in affordable housing, boost homelessness prevention resources, collaborate with ministries and expand supportive services.
As a church, we can:
1. Learn and Engage: Let us educate ourselves about housing insecurity and about justice for the homeless. Visit the ELCA Homeless and Justice Network for more information.
2. Pray: Let us use the ELCA's Homeless and Justice Ministries dedicated devotional guide to pray for those affected by this decision and for our ministries that work to secure shelter for those in need. 3. Speak Out: Let us review the ELCA World Hunger resource on housing and engage in activities to support effective policies, such as writing a letter to a local news outlet or speaking out at a town hall.
Criminalizing homelessness is an injustice we must reject. We remain committed to advocating for our unhoused neighbors.
In Christ,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
I am disappointed by the Supreme Court's decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which clears the way for onerous civil and criminal penalties for unsheltered neighbors forced to sleep in parks or on other public property. This could jeopardize the work of Lutheran ministries and organizations dedicated to helping people experiencing homelessness. As a church, we are called by God's grace to love and serve the most vulnerable and marginalized neighbors in our communities.
Worshiping communities in the ELCA include people experiencing homelessness, which is not a moral failing; often it results from societal factors such as lack of affordable housing, stagnant wages and lack of affordable access to mental health services. Fining or imprisoning people without addressing these root causes drains public resources better directed at supportive housing services.
Criminalizing homelessness is misguided both ethically and pragmatically. As Christians, we are called to embrace marginalized neighbors with compassion, not punishment. Penalizing people for lacking adequate housing runs counter to our core tenets of justice and dignity. Christ himself had "nowhere to lay his head" (Luke 9:58) and the prophet Isaiah urges the people of God to "bring the homeless poor into your house" (Isaiah 58:7). Criminalizing their circumstances compounds their suffering and diminishes their opportunities to find stability.
The ELCA upholds the dignity of all people, affirming in its 1990 social message "Homelessness: A Renewal of Commitment" that "God's love in Jesus Christ … [moves] us to care for homeless people as God cares for all."
I call on our elected leaders and public servants to implement solutions rooted in basic human rights. Rather than punish those without shelter, we need to support policies and investments in affordable housing, boost homelessness prevention resources, collaborate with ministries and expand supportive services.
As a church, we can:
1. Learn and Engage: Let us educate ourselves about housing insecurity and about justice for the homeless. Visit the ELCA Homeless and Justice Network for more information.
2. Pray: Let us use the ELCA's Homeless and Justice Ministries dedicated devotional guide to pray for those affected by this decision and for our ministries that work to secure shelter for those in need. 3. Speak Out: Let us review the ELCA World Hunger resource on housing and engage in activities to support effective policies, such as writing a letter to a local news outlet or speaking out at a town hall.
Criminalizing homelessness is an injustice we must reject. We remain committed to advocating for our unhoused neighbors.
In Christ,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
|