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National Homelessness Law Center
We are a team of attorneys and advocates working to solve homelessness through policy advocacy, litigation, and public education. #HousingNotHandcuffs
We join the Alliance for Rights and Recovery in condemning the DOJ's recent attacks on the Olmstead Mandate, one of the most important civil rights protections for people with disabilities.![]()
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The landmark Olmstead v. L.C. decision clarified the right of people with disabilities to live, work, and participate fully in their communities and has guided efforts to expand community-based services for over 30 years. This memo from the DOJ is a dangerous and deeply disturbing attempt by the federal administration to undermine one of the nation’s most important civil rights protections for people with disabilities, including people with mental health challenges, substance use disorders, intellectual, developmental, physical, and sensory disabilities. ![]()
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For more info and to learn how you can take action, see the Alliance's statement: rightsandrecovery.org/e-news-bulletins/2026/06/23/alliance-condemns-department-of-justice-attack-...
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Alliance for Rights and Recovery’s Statement onDOJ Memo Attacking the Olmstead Integration Mandate The Alliance for Rights and Recovery strongly condemns the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Leg...
Two years ago, Grants Pass, Oregon gained national attention during #JohnsonVGrantsPass, when SCOTUS effectively made it a crime to sleep outside. Two years later, things have gone from bad to worse for the city's homeless communities. Read more:
Two years since Johnson v. Grants Pass, things have gone from bad to worse
housingnothandcuffs.org
During the Johnson v. Grants Pass Supreme Court case, the city was the subject of intense national focus. After the court effectively made it a crime to sleep outside in America, people stopped paying...
NEW: We’re mapping out the recent rise of anti-homeless laws all across the country. Has your local government chosen punishment over people? How have anti-homeless laws affected your community? Let us know in the comments.![]()
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Yesterday, June 28th, marked two years since Johnson v. Grants Pass, when the Supreme Court ruled that cities and states can arrest, fine, and jail homeless people sleeping outside, even when they have nowhere else to go. Since then, 350+ cities and 14 states have passed laws and measures that make it a crime to be homeless. ![]()
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This wave of criminalization has exposed homeless people to increased police harassment, arrests and incarceration, and even death while sleeping outside. ![]()
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Many of these laws are backed or influenced by the Cicero Institute, a right-wing think tank founded by techbro billionaire and Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale. ![]()
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It doesn’t have to be like this. Cities and states still have the power to invest in proven solutions to homelessness: housing and supportive services. We can’t let out of touch billionaires like Lonsdale and his Cicero Institute harm our communities all across the country. ![]()
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Visit bit.ly/antihomelesslaws to learn more about these laws. Subscribe to Housing Not Handcuffs at the link in bio to stay informed about the fight to solve homelessness with housing and end its criminalization.
Most people haven't heard of Palantir co-founder and 'Billionaire Backer of Hate' Joe Lonsdale. But the impact of his think tank the Cicero Institute, which advocates for detention camps, forced treatment, and forced labor for homeless people, can be felt all over the country. ![]()
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Join VOCAL-TX in Austin this Sunday at 8PM as they stage an all-night vigil outside the Cicero Institute.![]()
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This Sunday, June 28th, marks the two year anni#JohnsonVGrantsPassnsonVGrantsPass Supreme Court decision that allowed cities and states to effectively criminalize homelessness. Since then, 350+ cities and 14 states have passed anti-homeless laws and measures that do nothing to solve homelessness and take money away from proven housing solutions. This rapid rise in anti-homeless laws is highly influenced by Lonsdale's Cicero Institute. We recently released a report detailing how Lonsdale also has deep ties to the prison and surveillance industries, and therefore stands to profit off the same anti-homeless laws his thank tank advocates for. ![]()
Getting to Know Austin Billionaire Joe Lonsdale • The Austin Chronicle
www.austinchronicle.com
Getting to Know Austin Billionaire Joe Lonsdale
This weekend marks two years since the most impactful case on homelessness in decades. In Johnson v. Grants Pass, the court ruled that cities and states could arrest, fine, and jail homeless people sleeping outside, even when they have nowhere else to go.![]()
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This catastrophic decision lit a match under an already burning fire. In the two years since, we’ve seen a rapid expansion of harmful anti-homeless laws and a retreat away from real solutions to homelessness, like housing and support, at the local, state, and national level. Over 350 cities and 14 states have passed laws or measures making it a crime to be homeless, including a new Louisiana law that opens the door for cities to push homeless people into treatment and unpaid labor against their will. ![]()
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Now, despite being up against literal billionaires, advocates in cities and states across the country are continuing to fight back against criminalization and win decisive victories. This includes defeating a proposed camping ban in East Lansing, Michigan, getting a statewide camping ban ruled unconstitutional in Kentucky, and defeating six different criminalization bills in one legislative session in Wisconsin. Two years later, we are proud to continue our work to build a movement for a country where everyone – regardless of where they live, who they live, or what they look like – has the housing and support they want and need to thrive. ![]()
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Our statement:
homelesslaw.org
In the two years since the Grants Pass decision to criminalize homelessness, over 350 cities and 14 states have criminalized homelessness. The ripple effects of this decision have been devastating.
