ITS always been a crime.
From a Legislative Perspective, it is Illegal to be Homeless in Virtually Every State in the USA, Except for Two – Oregon and Wyoming.Dec 16, 2022
With the advent of modern homelessness in the 1980s, rather than addressing the underlying lack of affordable housing, communities faced with increasingly visible homelessness began pushing homeless persons out of public view with laws criminalizing life-sustaining acts.
Loitering is often illegal because it can disrupt public order, create safety risks, and is sometimes associated with criminal intent, such as drug dealing or prostitution
Vagrancy laws historically criminalized homelessness and unemployment by making it a crime to wander without apparent financial support. They often included loitering prohibitions and could lead to arrest, imprisonment, and forced labor. Vagrancy laws have been used to target and harass people living in poverty,
