The Tents Are Gone—But So Are The People
A Year After Grants Pass, Charlotte Tallies the Human Cost
It's been twelve months since the U.S. Supreme Court blessed local camping bans in Grants Pass v. Johnson. In legal time that's a blink; on Charlotte's sidewalks it's an eternity. Ask the outreach teams now chasing clients who no longer stay still long enough for a morning check-in.
"Human Whack-a-Mole"
Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center calls the post-decision landscape "human whack-a-mole." Benjamin Horton, who pairs veterans with beds through Veterans Services of the Carolinas, says the sweep-and-seize pattern strips IDs, meds, and momentum: "Lose your birth certificate twice and housing paperwork stalls for months."
From Courtrooms to Council Chambers
The ruling didn't technically bind North Carolina, but it did embolden leaders. Monroe passed a public-property camping ban by February. The Cicero Institute, co-founded by tech investor Joe Lonsdale, is pushing twin bills in Raleigh: one declaring drug-free zones around shelters, the other cloning Grants Pass city ordinances statewide. Devon Kurtz, Cicero's public-safety policy lead, frames it as tough love—housing tied to treatment, non-compliance criminalized. Service providers call it a fast track back to jail cells.
Counting Tents, Losing Track
Jason Black of Coastal Horizons says his team now issues fresh maps weekly: "People move every three to five days." Meck County's last Point-in-Time count showed a 14 percent uptick in "unsheltered unknowns" — residents literally off the radar.
Why It Matters in Ballantyne
Shoppers sipping lattes outside the new Summit Coffee outpost may never see encampments, but the ruling reshapes city budgets—shifting dollars from housing to enforcement. Every arrest costs taxpayers roughly the price of three months' rent subsidies.
What's Next?
Advocates plan a July 4 vigil outside Government Center, reminding council that liberty rings hollow if you're cuffed for sleeping. They're drafting an ordinance to create sanctioned safe-sleep lots paired with on-site case management—think parking-lot triage instead of highway underpass roulette.
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About the Author
☕ Nell Thomas writes on a double espresso from Einstein Bros. Bagels (Ballantyne Commons). She swears their Hazelnut Roast unlocks her investigative super-powers and pairs perfectly with an Everything Bagel smothered in jalapeño shmear. Catch Nell in the pages of The Charlotte Mercury or right here at Strolling Ballantyne. #LastToFirst
—Nell ("Will Report for Coffee") Thomas
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This article, "Grants Pass Ruling Turns One: How Charlotte's Homeless Policies Shifted After the Supreme Court Decision," by Nell Thomas is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.
"Grants Pass Ruling Turns One: How Charlotte's Homeless Policies Shifted After the Supreme Court Decision"
by Nell Thomas, Strolling Ballantyne (CC BY-ND 4.0)