With Liberty and Justice for ALL: The Case for Decriminalizing Homelessness and Mental Health in America

I remember the heartbreak I felt when my best friend deserted me shortly after our wedding . . .I spiraled into an even deeper depression, leading to my resignation from Apple and eventual homelessness in North Carolina.Events turned even more harrowing when an unfortunate encounter with the police led to my hospitalization and official diagnoses of psychosis, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.All these experiences hammered home the true weight of loneliness. 1Although the study of America's homelessness epidemic has deepened in the past two decades, 2 public narratives about homelessness are misconceived and inconsistent.When we look beyond the numbers and delve into accounts of advocates like Jha'asryel-Akquil Bishop, whose lived expertise offers a heartbreaking perspective of homelessness, policing, and mental illness, we realize how increased access to voluntary, community-based mental health supports and decriminalization are necessary means to ending homelessness.Personal accounts also reinforce how conditions of homelessness are intrinsically intersectional.Predominantly Black and Brown racial and ethnic -----------------------------* Siya (she/her) is a civil and human rights lawyer at the National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC), based in New York City, where she is building strategic litigation and policy advocacy capacity in the movement to decriminalize homelessness and make housing a