How a small city in Oregon could shape the way major U.S. cities handle homelessness

Grants Pass, Ore. — For more than five years, Helen Cruz lived on the streets of Grants Pass, Oregon.

A small, rural town of roughly 40,000 people, the city has now found itself at the center of a homeless crisis plaguing major cities across the United States.

“We’re in this situation not because we want to be. We’re in this situation because we don’t have a choice right now,” Cruz, 49, said in an interview.

For years, Grants Pass has been embroiled in a contentious lawsuit with homeless residents like Cruz arguing that anti-camping ordinances enacted by the city — including fines for sleeping in any park or public space — violate their constitutional rights.

That legal battle has now gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on April 22. The decision could impact how cities nationwide address homelessness in their communities.

Cruz, who couldn’t afford rent, said she often slept inside a tent in a city park. Although she is no longer homeless — working and living at a small, local church — she said she still has more than $6,000 in tickets and fines.

“My credit is shot. I have no credit. None,” Cruz said. “Anything they want to write a ticket for, they do.”

Cruz and other residents say that because Grants Pass has no low-barrier, full-time homeless shelter, they have no alternative but the street. It’s for that reason, they argue the city has violated the 8th Amendment of the Constitution barring cruel and unusual punishment.

“They are saying, because we don’t have that white picket fence that we’re not allowed to live,” Cruz said. “And we don’t have any place to go.”

The flip side, local officials say, is a city dotted with tents and frustrated residents who feel