Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/23-175_19m2.pdf
Page Number: 10

Cite as:  603 U. S. ____ (2024) 

5 

Opinion of the Court 

et al. as Amici Curiae 4, 32 (Cities Brief ).  But many, too, 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  as  they  put  it,  “[j]ust
building more shelter beds and public housing options is al-
most certainly not the answer by itself.”  Id., at 11. 

As many cities see it, even as they have expanded shelter 
capacity and other public services, their unsheltered popu-
lations  have  continued  to  grow.  Id.,  at  9–11.  The  city  of
Seattle, for example, reports that roughly 60 percent of its 
offers of shelter have been rejected in a recent year.  See id., 
at  28,  and  n. 26.    Officials  in  Portland,  Oregon,  indicate
that, between April 2022 and January 2024, over 70 percent 
of their approximately 3,500 offers of shelter beds to home-
less individuals were declined.  Brief for League of Oregon 
Cities et al. as Amici Curiae 5 (Oregon Cities Brief ).  Other 
cities tell us that “the vast majority of their homeless popu-
lations are not actively seeking shelter and refuse all ser-
vices.”  Brief for Thirteen California Cities as Amici Curiae 
3.  Surveys cited by the Department of Justice suggest that
only “25–41 percent” of “homeless encampment residents”
“willingly” accept offers of shelter beds.  See Dept. of Jus-
tice,  Office  of  Community  Oriented  Policing  Services,  S.
Chamard, Homeless Encampments 36 (2010). 

The reasons why the unsheltered sometimes reject offers
of assistance may themselves be many and complex.  Some 
may  reject  shelter  because  accepting  it  would  take  them 
further from family and local ties.  See Brief for 57 Social 
Scientists as Amici Curiae 20.  Some may decline offers of 
assistance because of concerns for their safety or the rules
some shelters impose regarding curfews, drug use, or reli-
gious practices.  Id., at 22; see Cities Brief 29.  Other factors 
may also be at play.  But whatever the causes, local govern-
ments say, this dynamic significantly complicates their ef-
forts to address the challenges of homelessness.  See id., at 
11. 

Rather  than  focus  on  a  single  policy  to  meet  the  chal-