In the Media...

Violence Against Homeless People

Last week, USA Today published an article highlighting how a rise in attacks against homeless people in 2007 has led many states to consider harsher penalties for perpetrators. "Hate, Violence and Death on Main Street USA 2007," released last week by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, shows that attacks have increased from 142 in 2006 to 160 in 2007. Twenty-eight of the attacks in 2007 were murders. So far, Maine is the only state that has passed tougher penalties that allow judges to consider the victim's status as a homeless person as a reason to impose longer sentences. Legislation to increase penalties is pending in Ohio, Massachusetts, and Alaska. Congress is also considering two bills to address this issue: one that would require the FBI to track attacks on homeless people and another that would protect them under federal hate crime laws.

Florida's Associated Press also highlighted the trend of increased violence against homeless people. In 2007, Florida led the nation in attacks against homeless people, with 31 incidents recorded, according to the study "Hate, Violence and Death on Main Street USA 2007." 2007 is the third consecutive year that Florida has topped the list, with 32 attacks reported in the state in 2005 and 48 in 2006. Maria Foscarinis, the Executive Director of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, speculated that the criminalization of homelessness, including bans on sleeping in certain places and on food assistance, may be promoting the message that homeless people are sub-human and contributing to the increases in attacks in Florida.
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