{"id":15096,"date":"2026-04-20T17:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/?p=15096"},"modified":"2026-04-20T17:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:10:09","slug":"should-encampments-be-protected-homelessness-and-the-law-in-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/2026\/04\/20\/should-encampments-be-protected-homelessness-and-the-law-in-pittsburgh\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Encampments Be Protected? Homelessness and the Law in Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Lauren Shovlin, Juris Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo courtesy of unsplash.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homelessness is on the rise.  More than 14,000 homeless persons were reported across Pennsylvania last year[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u2014an increase of over 1,400 from 2023.[2]<\/sup><\/a>  This reflects a national 18% surge between 2023 and 2024, compared to a 12% rise the previous year.[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although frequently painted with the broad brush of \u201chomelessness,\u201d this term masks a spectrum of experiences\u2014from sleeping on the sidewalk, to living in tents or temporary shelters\u2014each with distinct challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encampments, in particular, have reemerged \u201cin numbers not seen in almost a century.\u201d[4]<\/sup><\/a>  Nationally, documented encampments increased by 1,342% between 2007 and 2016, and two-thirds now last more than a year, signaling a shift from temporary to semi-permanent communities.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In City of Grants Pass v. Johnson<\/em> (2024), the Supreme Court held that cities may enforce general bans on public camping without violating the Eighth Amendment\u2019s Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause, so long as penalties address conduct (camping or sleeping in public) rather than the status of being homeless.[6]<\/sup><\/a>  The ruling overturned Martin v. City of Boise <\/em>(2019), which had prohibited criminalizing outdoor sleeping when no shelter beds were available.[7]<\/sup><\/a>  Grants Pass<\/em> emphasized that this \u201ccomplex\u201d issue requires localized solutions best managed through state police power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to this, Allegheny County Department of Human Services opened a winter shelter at the Community Resource Mall providing 140 beds and free transportation to Second Avenue Commons.[8]<\/sup><\/a>  Fifty-two more beds also became available at the Salvation Army, East End Cooperative Ministry, and Second Avenue Commons.[9]<\/sup><\/a>  At the same time, the city cleared existing encampments and placed rocks at former sites, creating \u201chostile architecture\u201d to deter homeless persons\u2019 return.[10]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encampments have become a focal point in Pittsburgh\u2019s homelessness debate, raising difficult questions about how these semi-organized communities should be treated under the law. To understand their role, it is important to consider why individuals choose them over shelters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encampments offer autonomy and control\u2014over one\u2019s schedule, possessions, and community\u2014unlike shelters, which are commonly avoided by homeless due to theft, trauma, and safety concerns.[11]<\/sup><\/a>  Short-term shelters often closed during the day, forcing residents to leave early in the morning with all their belongings, frustrating efforts to find and maintain employment.[12]<\/sup><\/a>  Moreover, fights, abuse, and bullying are common in shelters.  Former residents have described how the concentration of individuals experiencing significant personal and health issues can heighten stress and tension.[13]<\/sup><\/a>  Conversely, encampments allow residents to choose who they live with, where they live, and the rules governing that lifestyle.[14]<\/sup><\/a>  However, this autonomy can also enable coercion and abuse that remain largely unchecked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates sometimes describe encampments as elective communities and push for limited oversight out of respect for personal choice.[15]<\/sup><\/a> However, this view can overlook the inherent instability and power imbalances within these informal societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katie Dorman, director of The Red Door in downtown Pittsburgh,[16]<\/sup><\/a> explained, \u201cthere is a hierarchy in the homeless world, and there are groups that can\u2019t mix with other groups because someone will attack you.\u201d  Encampments often emerge from \u201cstreet families\u201d\u2014self-arranged groups that offer protection but also reinforce cycles of control.[17]<\/sup><\/a>  Dorman noted that \u201cstreet families\u201d are nearly always led by a woman: \u201cThere\u2019s always a woman at the top who is the \u2018street mom.\u2019 Whether she\u2019s a dominatrix or protector, she runs the camp.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these groups can provide a sense of community and identity, they can also lead to violence.  \u201cWe had a young girl get stabbed from a street family issue,\u201d Dorman recalled.  \u201cThey\u2019ll destroy your stuff, burn everything, and taint your name if there\u2019s a falling out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many women, remaining in an abusive encampment feels safer than facing the streets alone.  \u201cThey know how they will be abused and by who,\u201d Dorman says, \u201cand sometimes, it\u2019s better to be abused than to not be in an encampment because you are promised \u2018protection.\u2019\u201d  This \u201cdevil-you-know\u201d dynamic only perpetuates exploitation and deserves meaningful attention in policy conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By virtue of their homeless condition, encampments are built upon an unregulated and often necessarily illicit network.[18]<\/sup><\/a> These informal systems make safety and accountability difficult to guarantee, rendering debates over the potential benefits of encampments beside the point\u2014communities grounded in such dynamics cannot reasonably be expected to operate outside them. <\/strong>Moreover, many fail to seek help for fear of retaliation from other homeless or the police.[19]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While increasing shelter capacity is certainly helpful, such initiatives remain short-term solutions to an enduring problem\u2014not only because most shelters are temporary but because they are reactionary in nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Policies focused solely on managing visible homelessness\u2014through clearances or \u201chostile\u201d architecture\u2014target a symptom as the problem, which only further disadvantages unhoused persons.  Likewise, policies that romanticize encampments as self-governing communities ignore the dangers inherent in these unregulated environments.  Ultimately, the solution lies in providing a more authentic version of what encampments attempt to recreate: strong family units, community, and reliable access to work and education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD 2024 Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs Homeless Populations and Subpopulations<\/em> (2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a> City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, 603 U.S. 520, 548 (2024) (quoting Lauren Dunton et al., Exploring Homelessness Among People Living in Encampments and Associated Cost<\/em>,(Feb. 2020), https:\/\/www.huduser.gov\/portal\/sites\/default\/files\/pdf\/Exploring-Homelessness-Among-People.pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/sup><\/a> National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, TENT CITY, USA: The Growth of America\u2019s Homeless Encampments and How Communities are Responding<\/em>, (2017), https:\/\/homelesslaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Tent_City_USA_2017.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/sup><\/a> City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, 603 U.S. 520, 548 (2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/sup><\/a> Martin v. City of Boise, 920 F.3d 584 (9th Cir. 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/sup><\/a> Allegheny County, DHS Announces Comprehensive Winter Shelter Plans<\/em>, (Nov. 3, 2025), https:\/\/www.alleghenycounty.us\/News-Articles\/Allegheny-County-Press-Releases\/November-2025-Press-Releases\/11-3-2025-DHS-Announces-Comprehensive-Winter-Shelter-Plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/sup><\/a> Jordana Rosenfeld, Replacing tents with boulders, Downtown boosters argue safety while advocates for homeless see exclusion<\/em>, Pittsburgh\u2019s public source (Feb. 10, 2025), https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/downtown-pittsburgh-homeless-encampments-replaced-boulders\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/sup><\/a> Ari Shapiro, Why Some Homeless Choose the Streets Over Shelters<\/em> Dec. 6, NPR, (2012), https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2012\/12\/06\/166666265\/why-some-homeless-choose-the-streets-over-shelters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12]<\/sup><\/a> Julie Hunter et al., Welcome Home: The Rise of Tent Cities in the United States<\/em>, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, (March 2014), https:\/\/homelesslaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/WelcomeHome_TentCities.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13]<\/sup><\/a> 83 Nick Kerman et al. Victimization, safety, and overdose in homeless shelters: A systematic review and narrative synthesis<\/em>, (2023), https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.healthplace.2023.103092<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[14]<\/sup><\/a> National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, TENT CITY, USA: The Growth of America\u2019s Homeless Encampments and How Communities are Responding<\/em>, (2017), https:\/\/homelesslaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Tent_City_USA_2017.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[15]<\/sup><\/a> Samir Junejo et al., No Rest for the Weary: Why Cities Should Embrace Homeless Encampments<\/em>, Seattle University School of Law, (May 11, 2016), 4, https:\/\/digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu\/hrap\/4<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[16]<\/sup><\/a> Interview with Katie Dorman, Director of The Red Door, in Pittsburgh, Pa. (Nov. 11, 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[17]<\/sup><\/a> Lauren Dunton et al., Exploring Homelessness Among People Living in Encampments and Associated Cost: <\/em>City Approaches to Encampments and What They Cost,<\/em> (Feb. 2020), https:\/\/www.endhomelessness.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Exploring-Homelessness-Among-People.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[18]<\/sup><\/a> Marcie Cipriani, Homeless encampment closed due to criminal activity, city officials said, Pittsburgh Action News<\/em>, (Mar. 13, 2024), https:\/\/www.wtae.com\/article\/fort-pitt-boulevard-homeless-camp-closed\/60192439<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[19]<\/sup><\/a> Martin Kaste, Homeless camps are often blamed for crime but experts say it’s not so simple<\/em>, NPR, (Jan. 24, 2022), https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/01\/24\/1074577305\/homeless-crime-experts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Lauren Shovlin, Juris Writer Photo courtesy of unsplash.com Homelessness is on the rise.  More than 14,000 homeless persons were reported across Pennsylvania last year[1]\u2014an increase of over 1,400 from 2023.[2]  This reflects a national 18% surge between 2023 and 2024, compared to a 12% rise the previous year.[3] Although [\u2026] <\/p>\n

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