“Martin v. Boise and Grants Pass v. Johnson have prevented cities from punishing people for sleeping in public spaces when they have nowhere else to go.”

  • @jordanlundOPM
    link
    -199 months ago

    The reasons people choose not to go to a shelter are wide and varied, but the most commonly stated is “I want to be free!” which reads as “I can’t bring my drugs and booze!”

    See the article I linked:

    “I couldn’t do it,” said Cooper, sitting next to a shopping cart filled with his sleeping bag and other belongings. “Being out here, it’s freedom.”

    “I prefer to be outside because that way I can get up and move,” Varner said, while resting in the grass at Sewallcrest Park. “I can sleep in a nice area.”

    A KGW survey of 100 people living in tents in Portland found 89% would rather stay in a tent over a shelter.

    “I think that shelters are too temporary and there’s too much stimulation. I’m high functioning autistic. I just couldn’t. It’s not something for me. There’s too much going on,” he said.