The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on whether Grants Pass can enforce its public camping ban through fines. That case, the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, and a related case, Martin v. City of Boise, have shaped in large part how cities can respond to homelessness.

We are no experts on the Constitutional questions. It sure seems cruel and unusual to punish people for a situation if they can’t avoid it.

The real issue of the response to homelessness is not a problem with the law, though. If people could be fined legally when they are sleeping on the street with no place else to go, does that help make the problem of homelessness go away?

Don’t think so.

The real problem has more to do with money, commitment and attitudes about homelessness.

Many people avoided going outside this weekend, as the temperatures dove into single digits and the snow piled. And yet we know that as a community we continue not to have enough shelter beds or enough access to services to serve the homeless.