It was a tense moment for one man, a magistrate, and for Licking County. A new court was about to begin, one that might have far-reaching implications for unhoused people in the community.
The stakes were high.
The new court, called “Housing Opportunities through Municipal Engagement,” or HOME court for short, was created in the wake of laws approved by Newark and Heath to ban “camping” in public places.
The court is to handle cases from across the county when the defendant is unhoused and facing a misdemeanor. Its main goal is to connect unhoused people with the services to help them get back on their feet – resources such as housing providers, local nonprofits and churches.
Participation is not mandatory. This specialized court is an alternative to a criminal trial, which would bring fines or jail time for convicted defendants.
Magistrate Teresa Liston was ready to hear the first case: the State of Ohio vs. Bobby Kelley.
The first item on the agenda for Kelley, a Newark man charged with criminal trespassing after taking shelter in a condemned building, was to meet with both attorneys to review the rules and regulations of participation in HOME court. After that meeting, Kelley returned to the courtroom and said that he understood the rules and regulations and agreed to participate.
By order of the court, Kelley was told to begin the process of acquiring his driver’s license and birth certificate. He also would be required to establish medical care at Lower Lights Christian Health Center, which would include counseling services.
At the time, he had no permanent housing. So these bureaucratic hurdles, these administrative assignments, could be the first steps to sustainable housing for a man who had no place to call home.
National decision, local implications
Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson on June 28, 2024, local communities had the right to enforce laws against public camping – sleeping in public places – even when no alternative shelters are available.
Filed in October 2018, the case originated in Grants Pass, a city of about 38,000 people in southwestern Oregon, where on any given day, about 600 people are homeless. The city itself was challenged in court for passing a law to criminalize individuals who camp or sleep on public property.
Previous precedent from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision in Martin v. City of Boise held that “the Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of criminal penalties for sitting, sleeping, or lying outside on public property for homeless individuals who cannot obtain shelter.” The Eighth Amendment protects individuals from cruel and unusual punishment.
However, upon reaching the Supreme Court in April 2024, the lower court’s decisions were repealed by the 6-3 majority decision. The Supreme Court cited that the Eighth Amendment has primarily focused on punishments after criminal convictions, not on what behaviors the government has deemed to be criminalized. For this reason, general laws that regulate camping or sleeping on public property do not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Ultimately, the Grants Pass decision has given local governments the green light to approve and enforce criminal penalties of fines, arrests and imprisonment for those who sleep in public places, even when communities lack proper shelter spaces for unhoused individuals.
Jesse Rabinowitz, of the National Homelessness Law Center, told The Reporting Project that more than 160 camping-related laws have been enacted around the United States and about 80 more city councils are considering them.
“This is exactly what we thought would happen,” Rabinowitz said. But there is still a housing crisis and more homeless people, he said.
He is skeptical of the housing court model. “They are not successful in solving homelessness, because it’s not a criminal-legal thing. It’s a housing thing; it’s a poverty thing.”
The Grants Pass community argued it couldn’t solve homelessness because they couldn’t arrest people. Now it can, and recent reporting from Oregon Public Broadcasting shows that encampments of unhoused people persist in Grants Pass.
“[There is a] deeply held misconception that homelessness is a personal choice and if we make it hard to be homeless, people will choose not to be homeless,” Rabinowitz said. “I’m hopeful that more people are recognizing that homelessness is caused by the housing crisis, that we need more housing, not handcuffs.”
From Grants Pass, Oregon, to Licking County, Ohio
Last fall, after months of contentious city council meetings, Newark and Heath enacted bans on camping and sleeping in public places. A first offense in both cities would be considered a minor misdemeanor, and anyone found guilty could be sentenced to a fine of up to $150.
Any subsequent violations – including a second or third time found sleeping on a bench or in a doorway – would be considered fourth-degree misdemeanors punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $250 for each offense.
However, in Heath, a third offense would be a third-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. The maximum total fine would be $500 for a series of violations.
But rather than rely purely on this punitive approach, Newark City Law Director Tricia Moore and Assistant Law Director Melanie Timmerman saw an opportunity to try something different. The Licking County Municipal Court started a new court program, the Housing Opportunities through Municipal Engagement, or HOME court.
This diversion court serves as an alternative to the standard criminal justice system and participation is not mandatory. The other option is the standard fines or jail time if convicted.
Moore and Timmerman modeled the program after similar designs in Montgomery County, Maryland, and in Greenville, South Carolina, which incorporated recommendations from service providers while removing the use of a probation officer.
“I understand the cities need to keep our streets clean to prevent having tent cities,” Moore said, “even for the safety of the homeless people, because these encampments are not always safe. … But I was like, how do you enforce that in a very humane manner in order to help get them off the streets, just not rather than just moving them?”
Service providers from Licking Memorial Hospital, the Licking County Health Department, LightHouse Behavioral Health Solutions, BrightView Newark North Addiction Treatment Center, Licking County Coalition for Housing, the Licking County Coalition of Care, St. Vincent de Paul and the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Drop-In, among others, attend HOME court hearings to provide support for anyone who decides to participate in the court’s program.
Each participant receives a personalized “action plan” to acquire the needed identification documents, such as a birth certificate, a Social Security card and a valid state ID. The agencies work together to help participants gain employment, medication, counseling and housing assistance.
“These providers that have come, volunteered to work with us. … They came to us and they said, ‘Let’s help.’ And now they’re all connecting with each other. I think that was a big piece that was missing,” Moore said.
HOME court in session
It’s going to be a busy day for Magistrate Teresa Liston. Her small courtroom is packed: Today’s docket includes five cases with one newly admitted participant into the program. But she’s not phased by it. Liston has 42 years of experience as a judge in eviction court and came out of retirement to hear these cases.
She’s ready for it. And, she said, she is ready to help address the big issues.
One thing that has become abundantly clear to Liston, and this she said does not come as news to local residents, is that there is no emergency shelter in Licking County.
This has been an ongoing issue in the county, felt most acutely in the winter months.
“This court,” Liston said, “also offers an opportunity to get information out to people who are in a position to make decisions. They can make decisions about the community with accurate, valid information that they can concretely see.”
In the meantime, the court has been working with local nonprofits and hotels to offer immediate shelter to participants who need it.
For the last few weeks, proceedings have gone smoothly with the eight HOME court participant’s action plans. Participants have gotten their Social Security cards, birth certificates, Veteran Affairs assistance, temporary housing and more.
Liston has seen the success of the individuals who are participating in the project, particularly in one of the most recent admissions, Dustin Bowen. At his first hearing, Bowen received a haircut, medical treatment with needed medication, new clothing and a fresh meal.
“I don’t even recognize Mr. Bowen,” Liston said. “The second he sees me, his face lights up and he smiles. He was so sick. … He was there on the sidewalk when I arrived at work that morning. I’m sorry, I get choked up. I saw that human being, and I came in here and said, ‘Somebody get down there right now. That man needs help.’”
Liston explained that when she first saw Bowen weeks ago, she did not know he was one of her defendants, only that “he was hurting in a very bad way.”
But in the case of the inaugural HOME court participant, Bobby Kelley, his progress had begun to wane.
Kelley, by order of the court, worked to receive his birth certificate and Social Security card with assistance from the United Way and Licking County Coalition of Care so that he could receive a valid state ID.
Liston had required Kelley to bring a state ID to his most recent court date. She wanted “to see the plastic.” Additionally, Kelley’s plea date was constantly pushed back as he maintained he would not plead guilty.
Kelley did not obtain the plastic ID, and today he is required to enter a plea.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Kelley. This matter was continued from our last hearing date in order for Mr. Kelly to comply with the plan, which required him to present the state ID here today. Mr. Kelley, can I see your ID, please?”
“I didn’t get it,” Kelley replies.
“So, Mr. Kelley, what’s the problem?”
“Well, I do have progress,” Kelley replied.
Kelley explained that he wanted to put on record that he received certain paperwork which assured he was not illegally trespassing on the original charge that brought him here.
Liston replied by revoking Kelley’s bond due to his inaction on his action plan over the last weeks. He would be placed into custody until the next court session, when Liston would determine if Kelley would continue in the program.
Kelley thanked the magistrate before being escorted out of the room in handcuffs.
After seven days in jail, Kelley appeared in front of Liston again. He pleaded “no contest” to criminal trespass charges and subsequently was given a second chance at the program. Kelley was immediately taken to an emergency shelter option and scheduled to get his state ID.
“We have to do stabilization. But if we want any long-term success, we have to do the painstaking work of figuring this out,” Liston said.
On-the-ground perspective
It’s 93 degrees before noon on June 23, and inside the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Drop-In Center in Newark, the air conditioning is blasting. A week earlier, the air-conditioning system had broken, letting in the June heat, only calmed by a mass of fans spaced anywhere they could fit in their multipurpose space.
At the front desk sits Donna Gibson behind her small laptop. Beside Gibson is her co-director, Greg Bossart. Gibson leads the Drop-In Center for those who need a place to sit, recharge devices or themselves, get out of the heat and eat a home-cooked meal. The center is available on weekdays to anyone, and it specializes in support for visitors who are unhoused, senior citizens, low-income workers, victims of abuse and others looking for a safe place.
“The temperature’s not dropping,” Bossart said. “It’s very high humidity. We come in here and we’ll expect we’ll be full almost all day. It just won’t be coming in for lunch and then leaving. But it’ll be up until, well, we’re gonna stay up until 6:30.”
The center serves food to 40 to 50 people a day. On this day, a few individuals sit at rows of plastic, folding banquet tables. They’re eating hot dogs and baked beans.
Crates of water bottles are constantly brought inside by volunteers to be refrigerated. A few visitors rest on roll-out mats in the cool air.
Gibson explained that every person they have seen coming through the center has been affected by the ordinances banning camping and sleeping in public.
“Because of the ordinance, they say you can’t camp on sidewalks. I’ve never known anybody to pitch a tent over a sidewalk. I think that’s foolish to even say that. You know, if you’re going to say something, at least talk about where it’s actually at,” Gibson said.
Gibson had previously expressed concern about the HOME Court program as a whole. She felt the system was missing many pieces to properly address the problems at hand, and disliked the original set up of the court.
“I’m keeping an open mind,” Gibson said. “I didn’t like it when it first happened, because I felt like they were doing a perp-walk the very first time we were there, because there were all of us sitting right here. … I felt so uncomfortable, because I know [Kelley]. He’s been here before. He’s a good guy.”
Magistrate Liston visited the Drop-In Center’s staff and guests. She asked visitors to write down their experiences and opinions for her to read.
Liston has been open to amending the HOME court process. In preliminary discussions of the HOME court, Gibson expressed her list of concerns on the proceedings, specifically how expensive expungement of records would be after completing the program. As a result, expungement costs were eliminated in the early stages to aid participants.
Both Gibson and Bossart appreciate Liston’s willingness to listen and to pivot.
But doubts persist, largely because affordable housing remains an issue across the United States and is being felt in rapidly growing central Ohio. According to the Licking County Coalition for Housing, 78 unsheltered individuals and 17 unsheltered families are currently seeking affordable housing.
“The HOME court – the system – works if there’s a place for them. Once they get through the whole program, there’s a place for them to go,” Bossart said. “If they go through the program with flying colors, and there’s still no place for them to be, then what are we doing?”
Tyler Thompson writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here. Andrew Theophilus, Katie Nader, Alan Miller, and Jack Shuler contributed to this story.