II. Background

The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), established in 1982, is the oldest national homelessness advocacy organization. NCH is comprised of local and statewide advocates, representatives of homeless coalitions, service providers, faith-based organizations, grassroots activists and people experiencing homelessness. This year’s report continues documenting local discriminatory practices which have frequently been challenged and modified, but continue to re-emerge, often in more aggressive forms. When litigated, "quality of life" laws have sometimes been determined unconstitutional in both state, and federal court. As these laws and practices continue to be used as sources to reduce the visibility of homelessness, advocates must consistently confront them.

Full report in .pdf form | Introduction | Background | Methodology | Problem Statement/Consequences of Criminalization | Model Programs | Conclusions & Recommendations | The Cities Included in this Report | Meanest Cities | Narratives of the Meanest Cities | Narratives of the Other Cities | Prohibited Conduct Chart | Survey Questions | Incident Report Form: English & Incident Report Form: Spanish | Sources