Louisiana is about to make it a crime to sleep on a sidewalk.

HB 211, recently passed by the Louisiana Legislature, would allow police to arrest anyone sleeping on a public street or sidewalk statewide. The offense would be classified as a misdemeanor. Governor Jeff Landry is expected to sign it into law.

In 2024, roughly 1,500 people slept without shelter on any given night across Louisiana. They are not sleeping outside by choice. They are sleeping outside because there is nowhere else to go. Arresting them does not create a single shelter bed. It does not build a single unit of affordable housing. It turns poverty into a criminal record.

Supporters of the bill say it is a pathway to treatment. But the bill itself does not guarantee treatment is available, funded, or accessible. Sarah Parks, who runs the homeless assistance nonprofit Grace at the Green Light, put it plainly: "You can't solve the issue of homelessness by arresting people."

State Sen. Royce Duplessis agreed: "It's a lazy approach and flawed method."

Governor Landry has the power to stop this before it becomes law. We are asking him to use it.

Vetoing HB 211 is not a vote against helping people who are homeless. It is a vote against using handcuffs as a substitute for housing policy. Louisiana can do better.

Sign to demand Governor Landry veto HB 211.