US Supreme Court decision could affect how Louisville, other cities address homelessness

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court could directly impact how Louisville and other cities can address homeless populations.

More than 11,000 people experienced homelessness in Louisville last year. A report from the Coalition for the Homeless found homelessness in Louisville increased by more than 40% from 2018 to 2021.

Robert and Mary Tyer spent several months living on the streets in Louisville.

"We were on the streets all the way from July up to December," Mary said. "All summer long, all the way through the fall, we had no other option."

Robert is paralyzed on one side, but has been arrested for panhandling and other issues.

"They threatened him to go with indecent exposure, he rolled off the sidewalk and his pants fell down," Mary said.

Monday, the couple attended a rally outside the Mazzoli Federal Building. Advocates for the homeless held the rally in opposition to a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We believe in housing first and that housing is a human right and that by putting someone in stable housing, they then have the opportunity to work on any other issues that they have in their lives," Dr. Susan Buchino, executive director of Arthur Street Hotel, said.

The high court is hearing a case in Grants Pass, Oregon, and will decide if ticketing homeless people amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Buchino said criminalizing homelessness is counterproductive.

"We are talking about a population that if they had money to afford stable housing they would," Buchino said. "It creates an ongoing cycle of further instability because when someone goes to jail, they're not getting the treatment. It disrupts any work that they have been doing with providers."

There were about 25 tents set up on the grass outside the federal building in Louisville. On any given night, more than 525 people in Louisville have nowhere to sleep but outdoors, so each tent represents 24 people who are unsheltered on any given night.

On the last day of Kentucky's legislative session, lawmakers and supporters gathered at the Capitol in Frankfort for a ceremony for House Bill 5, the controversial Republican anti-crime measure that is set to become law after GOP lawmakers overwhelmingly moved to quash Gov. Andy Beshear's veto. Perhaps most controversially, the bill creates criminal penalties for street camping and makes repeat camping in public areas, such as beneath overpasses, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail.

It was not a unanimous path through the legislature. Democrats and even some Republicans pushed back on how the legislation would impact the homeless population.

House Bill 5 will go into effect in July.

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