Introduction:
Homelessness generally refers to a state of a person who doesn’t even have a shelter to live under. This condition of Homelessness has a major problem to solve in many parts of the world. This has become an issue that is beyond rectification.
Homelessness which is a clear instance of “Social Exclusion” is neither rare nor new in the world. The homeless people are often invisible when we look at society. And many consider them as vagabonds, vagrants, beggars, tramps, bums, idlers, mendicants, underclass, itinerants, and indigents. These types of views towards the homeless differentiate the homeless from the remaining society. Homelessness is a strong and evocative social issue which in otherwise wealthy societies, has become symbols of social inequality and injustice.
While issues related to householder disabilities can be addressed in different fields, societal concerns emerge as to why homeless people lack motivation and the reasons for their social deprivation, why the greater part of society rejects them, and why they are treated as a community outside the social system. These Homelessness problems have tremendous research potential. Many writers considered Homelessness a significant and growing social issue around the world[1].
In comparison, the vulnerability to abuse and the lower rates of social care, homeless people are considerably higher[2]. Homeless citizens were found as people with no goal who living outside society or on its boundaries had abandoned their previous lifestyle or activities considered natural for various reasons, in the sociological investigation in Durkheim, Parsons, and Merton[3]. Homelessness is a significant social and public health challenge worldwide, due to different systemic causes and individual problems.
It is estimated that Homelessness affects 100 million people worldwide[4]. While a majority of the world’s population has some form of home, approximately half of the world’s population does not have the full set of rights to housing that is deemed suitable. UN estimated that there was insufficient housing for more than a billion people. Discussions regarding Homelessness appear to be dominated by a variety of speeches regarding the origin, meaning, homeless counting, and acceptable answers[5].
These arguments are backed by the old-fashioned convictions of who has residential insecurity, the lack of respect for the right to decent housing, and a number of housing problems such as the effects that globalization has on people, privatization of public services, situations of conflict, and poverty. Furthermore, attention to Homelessness has decreased since the start of the 1990s, even though this problem is again exacerbated by the present economic downturn and housing crisis. Homelessness often raises difficult problems to research since they are interrelated with many equally complex things. Besides, concern among social scientists continues to be strong because the issue of Homelessness is not only focused on underdeveloped and developing countries but also because its socio-economic and systemic issues are complex.[6]
Definition
It is important not to underestimate the significance of defining Homelessness. Concerning Homelessness, a wide variety of views vary. The stigma of being homeless is a complicated issue. Around the world, different countries have their approaches to the concept of the homeless. Therefore, considering the relative importance and historical variance in various regions or cultures, no common concept of home is adequate. Likewise, loss of home or Homelessness may differ according to the economic circumstances of the country and its deprivation, which represents the magnitude of the homeless population.
Existing meanings emphasize housing problems related to extreme poverty. There is also a description of Homelessness concerning what is missing. The Statistics Department of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has defined ‘main Homelessness’ as individuals without shelter or living quarters and “secondary Homelessness” as involving people without an ordinary place of residence. In some cases, the lack of access to land and shelter is considered to be Homelessness. The pattern of time spent outside shelter is also a factor that defines Homelessness.
Many scholars have highlighted and categorized the time component of Homelessness into three key types[7]: (a) transient Homelessness that is defined as the transitional phase; (b) cyclical episodic Homelessness where people come into and out for a very short period of time; and (c) persistent Homelessness that describes a continuous Homelessness condition. Such meanings concentrate on the absence of a particular housing standard. The global definition of “lacking access to minimally adequate housing” is suggested by the Institute for Global Homelessness, listing different types of life conditions that fall under that general definition.
The higher numbers and exposure of homeless people, including men, women, and families, and young persons without families contributed to research into Homelessness in the 1980s[8]. Besides, the comprehensive data needed to manage Homelessness in disaffiliation represented an additional functional obstacle. Unfortunately, the classification of the homeless population does not provide the actual image and data on the homeless population in compliance with the criteria set down by the census.
In 1987, the United Nations proclaimed an International Year of shelter for the homeless, not only a person who was living in a street or a shelter but also as someone who had not met the fundamental requirements for health and social growth that were deemed important to his shelter or home. These requirements included tenure security, protection from the bad weather, personal safety, and access to health facilities and drinking water, schooling, employment, and health services. Also, census identification creates issues associated with homeless population coverage.[9]
Prevention of Homelessness
Before getting into the framing of solution for the Homelessness, let’s know how homeless people majorly appear in our day to day lives. Homeless people always appear in two states they are: (a) Sleeping in Public (b) Panhandling. Generally, there are many misconceptions, in many countries; regarding Homelessness and response to law enforcement to Homelessness. Homelessness was treated as an offense or criminalized in many countries for various reasons and homeless people were often arrested till these arrests were declared unconstitutional by the federal district court in the case of Pottinger v. The city of Miami[10].
By holding up, the Homelessness was repeatedly said that homeless survival behavior as “essential, life-sustaining acts” and “harmless, involuntary conduct which they must perform in public”[11]. At a point in time in America, when violent crimes and Homelessness was rising concurrently, many thought that they were interrelated. But now, as the Homelessness increased and crimes declined, resulting in withdrawing the support for criminalizing Homelessness. In India, the homeless people are abused to a high extent in such a way that the homeless people are charged for many offenses to save the actual offenders who are rich are powerful in the eyes of law. Some homeless people themselves accept this as they can get some shelter at least in this way.[12]
That is why, whenever there is a discussion regarding the framing a solution for this issue there always arises the debate on whether Homelessness should be criminalized. This takes place because the homeless people often seem to be caught in offenses like trespass or sleeping in public or street or parks, which can’t be avoided by them as that is their only way or the status of Homelessness. Here it would be a tough call for the government to decide whether to punish them by looking at their actions or leaving them by looking at their status. And even the advocates in this aspect argue that sleeping in public or streets indicate their status of Homelessness and they shouldn’t be made to face criminal penalties for violation of quality of life ordinances. Apart from this in the 1870s, there existed a “vagrancy law regime” which allows a patrol officer to arrest anybody who seems to appear as a vagrant, which was further dismantled by the court through its decision in Papachristou v. The city of Jacksonville.[13]
In India, at present, there are neither laws nor Policies to govern either Sleeping in public or panhandling (Begging). However, for begging, there was the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959[14], which imposes detention for Three to Ten years in the beggar homes, which was adopted by about states in India[15]. But recently this law was struck down by the High Court of Delhi by saying “The State simply cannot fail to do its duty to provide a decent life to its citizens and add insult to injury by arresting, detaining and … imprisoning persons who beg in search for essentials of bare survival” and this made no law prevailing against or supporting Panhandling. And when it comes to sleeping in public, there is no prevailing or governing the issues, and for now, it is said that sleep is a right of every citizen and cant held punishable for sleeping unless that act violates any prevailing law.
So, now as no laws are prevailing to govern Homelessness in India, let me propose some initiatives that our government can try to eradicate the Homelessness India, which were already by some U.S countries.
- Sleeping in Public:
Efforts relating to the regulation of Homelessness, which in turn related to Public disorder, often target sleeping in public. Most of the above-mentioned controversies of public health are related directly to Sleeping in public. Initially sleeping in public was an offense. And now the case law, Martin v. City of Boise[16], has made the act of punishing the people who are sleeping on the road forbidden unless the person who is sleeping in public has no other option of sleeping under a shelter.[17]
From this, it can be derived that, in case if any law is proposed in India and comes into force opposing the act of sleeping in public, that should not just make everybody who sleeps in public punishable, instead it should verify he/she had any other choice other than sleeping in public.
Apart from this, like New York City if possible people must be given with Right to Shelter, and states should include Homeless services in their daily curriculum and act on it by allotting a certain amount of money in the budget list for this scheme.
- Panhandling:
Initially, in the U.S there were laws to regulate the panhandling but now all the laws were struck down by the Supreme Court in the case of Reed v. Town of Gilbert. And later in 2014according to National Law Centre on Homeless and Poverty many challenges regarding the panhandling succeeded, which was again struck down by the Lower Court in 2015, in the case of Thayer v. Worcester[18], because the act of panhandling it is done by a human being when he/she has noted in their life and has a need of money to live life in the ongoing metropolitan world, and there would be no point in making the act punishable and taking away the only means to earn money to live, from them[19].
The situation in Indian is the same as compared to the U.S. there is nothing that the government of India other than this to regulate the Panhandling, except coming up with other ideas to decrease the people involved in Panhandling.
Apart from all the above regulations or solutions, the Indian government can come up with more authentic ideas. This means it can make rules by using the constitution.
That is, the government can treat this problem legally by coming up with schemes for which Directive Principles of State Policy which in turn Indian as a base for those schemes. That is, according to Article 38 (1) of Part IV of the Indian Constitution[20], which imposes a duty on the state to strive for the welfare of the people and Article 39 (a)[21], which imposes a duty on the state to provide a livelihood for the people of the state, the government for the protection of the Homeless people who are prone to experience crimes, should try to include the right to shelter in the Constitution and provide shelter for the Homeless people and provide them with basic requirements, at least for those who are not in a condition to work and earn money for living. And alongside the government should also provide a livelihood and education for the homeless people and children respectively, as most of the homeless people and children are without any job and education respectively. This makes them stand on their legs and earn money and for themselves, which in turn creates vacancies to accommodate other homeless men or women. For this, a lot of amounts will be required to put this into the application. And this can be obtained by the allocation of a certain amount of money for this purpose alone during the budget annual budget allocation, or otherwise, even a separate tax can be imposed on the other citizens of the country or state so that it can symbolically be said that people are helping each other.
Conclusion
After studying and analyzing extensively the concept of Homelessness and the ways of prevention that were adopted by the other countries, I would like to conclude that, there is no other way other than coming up with some new law with the help of Directive Principles of State Policy. This because no other law is legal than the one made with the provisions of the constitution as The Constitution is superior to everybody in the country or state.
Apart from this, coming up with any other newly formed law may arise controversies regarding whether the people who are violating any law prevailing because of their status of being homeless. So, I believe, from the above discussion it can be said that most of the homeless people lack jobs or education, the government of India should come up with laws or schemes which will provide homeless people shelter and livelihood as mentioned in part IV of the Indian Constitution, till they can manage their things on their own and arrange shelter for themselves.
References:
[1] P. A. Kennett & A. D. Marsh, Homelessness: Exploring the New Terrain research-information.bris.ac.uk (1999), https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/Homelessness-exploring-the-new-terrain (last visited Sep 7, 2020)
[2] Angie C. Kennedy, Homelessness, violence exposure, and school participation among urban adolescent mothers, 35 Journal of Community Psychology 639–654 (2007).
[3] Herman Schwendinger & Julia Schwendinger, Review of Gregg Barak, “Gimme Shelter”, 19 Social Justice 144–149 (1992), https://www.jstor.org/stable/29766664?seq=5#metadata_info_tab_contents (last visited Sep 7, 2020).
[4] UN Commission on Human Rights, 2005.
[5] Nishikant Singh, Priyanka Koiri & Sudheer Kumar Shukla, Signposting invisibles, 3 Chinese Sociological Dialogue 179–196 (2018).
[6] Nishikant Singh, Priyanka Koiri & Sudheer Kumar Shukla, Signposting invisibles, 3 Chinese Sociological Dialogue 179–196 (2018).
[7] Nishikant Singh, Priyanka Koiri & Sudheer Kumar Shukla, Signposting invisibles, 3 Chinese Sociological Dialogue 179–196 (2018).
[8] Anne B. Shlay & Peter H. Rossi, Social Science Research and Contemporary Studies of Homelessness, 18 Annual Review of Sociology 129–160 (1992).
[9] Nishikant Singh, Priyanka Koiri & Sudheer Kumar Shukla, Signposting invisibles, 3 Chinese Sociological Dialogue 179–196 (2018).
[10] 810 F. Supp. at 1584
[11] David M. Smith, A Theoretical and Legal Challenge to Homeless Criminalization as Public Policy, 12 Yale Law & Policy Review 487–517 (1994), https://www.jstor.org/stable/40239428?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents (last visited Sep 7, 2020).
[12] Nishikant Singh, Priyanka Koiri & Sudheer Kumar Shukla, Signposting invisibles, 3 Chinese Sociological Dialogue 179–196 (2018).
[13] Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville, 405 U.S. 156 (1972).
[14] Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959.
[15] Rina Chandran, Begging is not a crime, Delhi High Court rules, Reuters, August 9, 2018, https://in.reuters.com/article/india-Homelessness-lawmaking/begging-is-not-a-crime-delhi-high-court-rules-idINKBN1KU1FH (last visited Sep 7, 2020).
[16] Martin v. City of Boise, 920 F.3d 584 (9th Cir. 2019).
[17] Stephen Eide, Responses to Homelessness: The Law-Enforcement Dimension Manhattan Institute (2019), https://www.manhattan-institute.org/misconceptions-about-law-enforcement-and-Homelessness#notes (last visited Sep 7, 2020).
[18] Thayer v. City of Worcester, No. 13-2355 (1st Cir. 2014).
[19] Stephen Eide, Responses to Homelessness: The Law-Enforcement Dimension Manhattan Institute (2019), https://www.manhattan-institute.org/misconceptions-about-law-enforcement-and-Homelessness#notes (last visited Sep 7, 2020).
[20] Indian Constitution, art. 38, cl. 1.
[21] Indian Constitution, art. 39, cl. a.
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