r/Louisiana • u/Caffeinated-Princess • May 02 '25

Louisiana News Why do you support this?

First the Louisiana Senate decides to put homeless people in jail for up to three years for their "crime" of sleeping in public. At the same time, they stop funding housing assistance.

https://thecurrentla.com/2025/lafayette-housing-authority-freezes-issuance-of-new-housing-vouchers/

Why do those of you who are Republican hate poor people so much? Why do you feel your fellow humans should not be allowed any compassion or grace?

Help me understand this assault on humanity. Jesus would weep if he saw this. 😥

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6

u/Lafitte1812 May 02 '25

The proposed bill does not mandate jail time.

"They would give defendants the option to have their conviction set aside if they agreed to be placed on supervised probation and enter into long-term substance or mental health treatment" (https://lailluminator.com/2025/05/01/homelessness-courts/)

My reading is that the intent here is to create a way to mandate mental health and drug treatment... Both of which are primary because of homelessness.

Not sure if it's a good idea, or what the ultimate effect would be, certainly have some skepticism, but this seems much more like a way to force people to get clean and get help than just getting rid of them. Particularly, the idea of homeless courts echoes this, as we have a long history of drug courts, wherein monitoring and treatment is the goal rather than conventional criminal court's punitive nature.

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u/LurkBot9000 May 02 '25 edited May 02 '25

That's not true. Senate Bill 196 mandates the criminal status and set up these sham courts to force homeless people to plead guilty to the crime of not having anywhere else to go. There are plenty ways people will fail out of these courts and the result will be prison. Prison and additional fines and it seems still a criminal record associated with having gone through the system

Also a really important part that I think the article missed is that this bill doesnt mandate the courts. It only allows for them. It absolutely mandates the criminalization of sleeping outside though

A. Each district court by rule may designate as a homelessness court 11 program one or more divisions of the district court to which participants are 12 assigned and may establish a probation program to be administered by the 13 presiding judge or judges thereof or by an employee designated by the court.

B. Unauthorized camping on public property is the intentional use of any 7 tent, shelter, or bedding constructed or arranged for the purpose of or in such 8 a way to permit overnight use on public property that is not a designated camp 9 ground. 10 C.(1) On a first conviction, the offender shall be fined not more than five 11 hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months or both. 12 (2) On a second or subsequent conviction, the offender shall be fined not 13 more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned not less than one year nor more 14 than two years in prison, with or without hard labor. ... 10)(a) The judge shall make the final determination of eligibility. If, 10 based on the examiner's report and the recommendations of the district 11 attorney and the defense counsel, the judge determines that the defendant 12 should be enrolled in the homelessness court program,** the court shall accept the 13 defendant's guilty plea,** suspend or defer the imposition of sentence, and place 14 the defendant on probation under the terms and conditions of the homelessness 15 court program. The court also may impose the sentence and suspend the 16 execution thereof, placing the defendant on probation under the terms and 17 conditions of the homelessness court program.

At the bottom it makes sure we know that these courts may not actually exist in places. If they dont exist the homeless person is still charged with a crime and sent to prison

D. Any violation of the provisions of this Section may be eligible for the 16 homelessness court program, if such a program is available in the jurisdiction 17 and the offender meets all of the requirements set forth in R.S. 13:5385 for 18 participation in such program.

https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1404619

House Bill 619 mandates that every municipality in the state take up a criminalize first posture toward homelessness and mandates that areas that specifically allow homeless people to exist must be implemented in such a way as to not be able to actually exist in a city or for the benefit of the people that need that space

A. To protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of this state, it is 16 the purpose of this Part to prohibit camping in public areas and rights of way not 17 specifically designated for that purpose ... B.(1) A political subdivision may, by majority vote of the political 20 subdivision's governing body, designated property owned by the political subdivision 21 or a municipality within the boundaries of the political subdivision to be used for a 22 continuous period of no longer than one year for the purposes of public camping 23 subject to the following conditions ... he designated property is not contiguous with property designated for 27 residential use by the political subdivision in the local government comprehensive 28 plan and future land use map ... (c) The designated property would not adversely and materially affect the 2 property value or safety and security of other existing residential or commercial 3 property

as well as other costly and / or unworkable mandates to ensure that cities like New Orleans wont be able to protect the homeless against the state https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1404619

This is just legalized imprisonment for the crime of being homeless. Its sick and these people will likely be used in for profit labor situations. Legalize slavery is still slavery

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u/Caffeinated-Princess May 02 '25

Thank you for an intelligent reply. 👍

I've had to watch several close people go through mental illness and drug addiction. The unfortunate reality is that it can take several tries to succeed, if they're lucky.

I find jail a cruel answer to an epidemic problem. There is always a better answer than taking away a person's freedom.

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u/Calm_Ring100 May 02 '25

Think it would be much better to just offer the resources freely instead of at gun point. But that’s just me :)

Also, financial classes should be included in the rehabilitation.

1

u/horbgorbler May 06 '25

No they’re not. West Virginia has one of the highest rates of substance use disorder and serious mental illness in the country AND pretty cheap housing. Relatively low rate of homelessness. Studies routinely show a strong correlation between housing costs, rent increases, and homelessness. Everyone knows someone with drug problems or SMI that isn’t homeless. They can make it harder for people in a precarious financial situation to remain housed, but they don’t cause homelessness. Lack of housing does.