Criminalizing the homeless is a sign of our moral failure

One of the things that I relish about Jesus is that he was simple and direct. He was not a fan of weasel words and deeds. We would do well to remember how he defined righteousness in Matthew 25:31-46.

In an article in USA Today, Yamiche Alcindor questions whether the crackdown on the homeless across the country is a sign of "compassion fatigue." That is a ridiculous way to frame the issue because it implies that we have been compassionate. Ha! The Jesus answer is that it is a sign of our collective moral failure and unrighteousness.

These initiatives criminalize sleeping in public places and even sharing food. Public officials pretend that these initiatives help the homeless along with improve public safety. That is nothing but a lie.

Let's be clear about the reasons people become homeless. At the top of the list is mental illness. Over the past 30 decades, our "compassionate" political leaders from president down to city council members have closed inpatient mental health facilities and cut funding for community health facilities. That was before the Great Recession. Since 2009, states have cut nearly $2 billion in funding for mental health programs and more cuts on the way. These policies mean that mentally ill with difficult to manage psychiatric conditions will be on the street with little or no treatment. It is cruelty writ large. Many of these conditions go hand in hand with substance abuse, another major factor contributing to homelessness.

By criminalizing living on the street without providing alternatives, you are deliberately turfing the homeless into the criminal justice system. This is short-sighted because it costs much more to house the homeless in prison than providing compassionate care in the community. Allowing them to live on the street is not compassionate. Sending them to prison is not compassionate.

See if you can spot the lie and hypocrisy in these weasel words:

Mark McDonald, press secretary for the city's mayor, Michael Nutter, said the measures are about expanding the services offered to the homeless, adding dignity to their lives and about ensuring good public hygiene and safety.

"This is about an activity on city park land that the mayor thinks is better suited elsewhere," he said. "We think it's a much more dignified place to be in an indoor sit-down restaurant. … The overarching policy goal of the mayor is based on a belief that hungry people deserve something more than getting a ham sandwich out on the side of the street."

The initiatives that criminalize sleeping in the street and giving food to homeless do not include expanded services for the homeless. The city of Philadelphia is not increasing the budget for social services for the homeless. The city is not building shelters and expanding feeding programs. The measures are not about expanding services. They are about turfing the homeless to the criminal justice system.

Let's cut to the chase. These measures to criminalize homeless came at the same time the state of Pennsylvania was gutting the budget for programs that serve that mentally ill and homeless. The governor is crushing the homeless because he wants another $275 million in tax cuts for corporations.

Please, Lord. Open our eyes, hearts, and minds, but do not do it gently.

‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’