FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS CONTACT: Darcy Hirsh, National Council of Jewish Women, dhirsh@ncjw.org

The Supreme Court issued its decision today in Grants Pass, Oregon  v. Johnson, which upholds an extreme law criminalizing sleeping outside. National Council of Jewish Women Government Relations and Advocacy Director Darcy Hirsh issued the following statement.

“With its egregious decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, the Supreme Court essentially criminalized homelessness. The extreme municipal laws passed by Grants Pass, Oregon, and upheld by the Court today, impose increasingly harsh penalties on the town’s unhoused who have been forced to live in parks and on the streets due to a lack of affordable housing and space in the one town shelter. 

“National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is well-aware that the lack of affordable housing nationwide along with an upswing in evictions is a crisis, leaving millions, including families with children, with no place to live. Today, the Court’s ruling has made it even harder for these individuals and families, actually worsening the homelessness crisis.

“NCJW believes that the moral test of a nation is how it treats people who face the steepest barriers to success due to structural inequities. Today, the Court failed this test. This decision will not deter our efforts to end poverty in America. Until we do so, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that the unhoused have a safe place to live with dignity. Our 210,000 advocates across the country will continue our work of tikkun olam, repairing the world, to ensure policies and programs at the local, state, and federal levels that ensure individuals and families have what they need to live with dignity and thrive.”

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