(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Yesterday, a bill protecting people and organizations that provide support services or life-saving assistance to a person who is experiencing homelessness passed the Senate Floor by a margin of 23-11.

Authored by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez and a powerful group of justice advocates seeking real solutions to the housing crisis in California -- Disability Rights California, Inner City Law Center, National Alliance to End Homelessness, and Western Center on Law and Poverty – the bill is also supported by more than 90 other legal aid and advocacy organizations, including ACLU California Action, National Homelessness Law Center, and United Way of Greater Los Angeles, among many others.

SB 634, the Unhoused Service Providers Protection Act, will prohibit local and state government entities from adopting an ordinance, or enforcing an existing ordinance, that prohibits providing basic survival services or resources to an unhoused person. This includes helping to find housing and social services, directing people to food and shelter, and providing all around case management to offer pathways to get off the streets and into a permanent residence.

“Imposing punitive penalties towards those providing basic survival services for unhoused people under the umbrella of ‘aiding and abetting’ is not only ludicrous, it’s inhumane,” said Alex Visotzky, Senior Policy Fellow with the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “Real solutions involve evidence-based intervention rather than citing people simply for handing out food and water.”

“In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, cities throughout California became emboldened to enact new measures that make sleeping in public spaces a legally punishable offense—effectively criminalizing homelessness,” said Western Center on Law & Poverty Brandon Greene. “With this bill, we’re trying to prevent those people helping them get off the streets from being criminalized themselves.”

Addressing the unhoused crisis in California requires proven response efforts focused on providing housing, basic services, and financial support for unhoused individuals. The success of essential unhoused service programs is largely based on supporting the efforts of community-based service providers, whose work is critical to alleviating houselessness. The coalition is taking aim at the growing shift to criminalize the unhoused and those that assist them–effectively shifting the focus from applying proven, humanitarian solutions to stigmatization and punishment.

“We’re witnessing a dangerous moment in which the criminalization of poverty is extending to the criminalization of compassion itself,” said Ishvaku Vashishtha, Equal Justice Works Fellow at Inner City Law Center. “SB 634 makes clear that in California, extending a helping hand — offering food, water, legal services, or medical services —to our most vulnerable neighbors is not a crime; rather, it’s the right thing to do. This bill affirms the work of the individuals, faith-based groups, and service providers that are at the frontlines of combatting poverty and houselessness."

Addressing the trend of criminalization rather than real policy solutions is of statewide concern. SB 634 will next move on to the Assembly and then the Governor’s Desk for approval.

Media Contacts

Sam Mickens
Communications Director
Disability Rights California
(646) 945-0918
Sam.Mickens@disabilityrightsca.org 

Alex Visotzky
Senior Policy Fellow
National Alliance to End Homelessness
Cell: (202) 304-3609
avisotzky@naeh.org  

Brandon Greene
Director of Policy Advocacy
Western Center on Law & Poverty
(702) 606-3068
bgreene@wclp.org 

Ishvaku Vashishtha
Equal Justice Works Fellow
Inner City Law Center
(213) 855-2711
ivashishtha@innercitylaw.org 

Jerome Parra
Press Secretary
Office of State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Los Angeles)
(916) 651-4025
Jerome.Parra@sen.ca.gov 

Fernando Ramirez
Office of State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Los Angeles)
916-651-4025
Fernando.ramirez@sen.ca.gov 

Disability Rights California (DRC) - Is the agency designated under federal law to protect and advocate for the rights of Californians with disabilities. The mission of DRC is to defend, advance, and strengthen the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities. For more information visit: https://www.disabilityrightsca.org

Inner City Law Center - A nonprofit poverty-law firm serving the poorest and most vulnerable residents of Los Angeles. Born inside a rusty construction trailer behind the Catholic Worker soup kitchen in 1980, ICLC has always been guided by the fundamental principle that every person should always be treated with dignity and respect. As the only full-time provider of legal services headquartered in Skid Row, ICLC’s staff provides quality legal representation for people who have nowhere else to go.

National Alliance to End Homelessness  - A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. As a leading voice on the issue of homelessness, the Alliance analyzes policy and develops pragmatic, cost-effective solutions; works collaboratively with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to build state and local capacity; and provides data and research to policymakers and elected officials in order to inform policy debates and educate the public and opinion leaders nationwide.

About Western Center on Law and Poverty - California’s premier nonprofit public interest social justice law organization. Founded in 1967, we provide comprehensive advocacy and legal services to prevent poverty, redress systemic racism, and foster policies ensuring equitable healthcare, affordable housing, and fair access to public programs. Through litigation and policy advocacy in and beyond California, we advance racial and economic justice—dismantling and transforming systems so all communities in California can thrive.