Title: Homeless Person legal definition of Homeless Person
Headings: Homeless Person
Homeless Person
Homeless Person
Shelter
Economic Assistance
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Content: 1992), a homeless rights group sought to enforce compliance with the McKinney Act. The court agreed with the plaintiffs and held that the government must comply with the McKinney Act by allowing homeless people access to underused federal property. Because the federal courts have refused to recognize a federal constitutional right to shelter, several states have enacted their own laws to recognize such a right. Many of these statutes require that cities provide shelter for people who are homeless, but they do not outline enforcement procedures. Although statutes require state agencies to provide shelter, the agencies often cannot keep up with the demand, citing expense and overcrowding. In Atchison v. District of Columbia, 585 A.2d 150 (D.C. App. 1991), a court imposed daily fines on a shelter for failure to provide services. The level of fines combined with the cost of litigation stimulated the adoption of an emergency act that allowed the agency to provide a shelter program based on the availability of funds. Economic Assistance
By the late 1990s, public assistance was a prominent political issue. As the government began cutting Welfare programs, people who were homeless found it increasingly difficult to rise above the poverty level.