When passed, the Shelter First Act will require municipalities to provide adequate indoor spaces for people experiencing homelessness before the enforcement of any ordinance that would criminalize living outside.
HARRISBURG, PA − November 18, 2025 − Citing the need for permanent solutions to the Commonwealth’s ongoing housing crisis, today State Senator Nikil Saval (D–Philadelphia) and State Representative Ismail Smith-Wade-El (D–Lancaster) joined housing advocates to announce the introduction of the Shelter First Act, legislation to prevent the criminalization of homelessness in Pennsylvania.
“Study after study shows that the criminalization of homelessness is cruel, that it is a gross misuse of public resources, and that it serves to worsen the crisis it professes to combat,” said Saval. “The provision of adequate indoor shelter is a proven tool to help individual people and families regain crucial stability in their lives. The Shelter First Act is a means to uphold the dignity and rights of all Pennsylvanians.”
“The Shelter First Act is a fierce rejection of the criminalization of the unhoused being perpetrated by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Trump Administration, which condemns those experiencing homelessness to an endless cycle of heavy fines, arrests, and incarceration, perpetuating their poverty,” said Smith-Wade-El. “We must counteract this violence by recognizing everyone’s innate human dignity and ensure that every Pennsylvanian’s right to a place to sleep is protected. Our communities will be stronger and safer for it.”
In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson allowed for local governments to impose civil and criminal penalties on residents for sleeping outside, even when they have no place else to go. This decision effectively opened the door for municipalities to respond to homelessness by sending their residents to jail rather than addressing their need for safe, accessible, affordable housing.
In anticipation of municipal ordinances, advocates and legislators across the country have worked quickly to advance laws clarifying that adequate indoor shelter spaces must be made available before such ordinances can be enforced. The legislation introduced by Saval and Smith-Wade-El will advance these protections in Pennsylvania.
Advocates speaking on behalf of the Shelter First Act cited a lack of affordable housing as a prime driver of housing insecurity. Nearly 1 in 3 Pennsylvania households is cost burdened, meaning that housing and utility expenses consume 30% or more of a household’s income. This figure is even higher among renters: nearly 1 in 2 renter households is cost burdened.
“The Supreme Court’s decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson has unleashed a wave of actions across the country that criminalize basic survival activities like sleeping, sitting or keeping warm and dry on public property,” said Candice Player, Vice President of Advocacy, Public Policy and Street Outreach at Project Home. “But Grants Pass isn’t a mandate; it’s a choice. And here in the Commonwealth, we have the power—and the responsibility—to take a stand.”
“We know that the homelessness crisis affects urban, suburban, and rural communities across Pennsylvania,” said Sterling Johnson, a housing organizer with Philadelphia Housing Action. “This legislation gives counties and cities the opportunity to assess and budget for the needs of their residents—specifically families, people with disabilities, youth, seniors, and people experiencing domestic violence. My hope is that it contributes to a broader, statewide conversation about our housing needs. Most importantly, it affirms a simple truth: the solution to homelessness is housing, not sweeps or criminalization.”
“Everyone needs a safe place to live, and Senator Saval and Representative Smith-Wade-El’s Shelter First Act is an essential and timely first step to protecting homeless Pennsylvanians from being jailed or fined just because they can’t afford the rent,” said Eric Tars, Senior Policy Director at the National Homelessness Law Center. “More Pennsylvanians than ever are struggling to pay rent, afford groceries, and get healthcare, putting them just one missed paycheck or medical emergency away from homelessness. This bill will help communities address our unhoused neighbors with proven solutions to homelessness—housing and services—rather than costly and counter-productive policing.”
The Shelter First Act clarifies that threatening or imposing civil or criminal punishments on people experiencing homelessness for undertaking life-sustaining activities in the absence of adequate alternative indoor spaces is a violation of Article I, Section 13 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, which protects people from excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel punishments. Before imposing any penalties, municipalities must first provide adequate shelter.
“Thank you to Senator Saval and Representative Smith-Wade-El for their leadership in identifying a better path forward to help people living unsheltered,” said Phyllis Chamberlain, Executive Director of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania. “We know the model that works—street outreach that brings services to people, an advocate to help a person understand the services available and how to access them, and help with paying for housing. This is the practical solution.”
“In street medicine, we recognize homelessness not only as a housing issue or what has become a political issue, but as a healthcare and human dignity issue,” said Joanie Miller, a Physician Assistant-Certified and a street medicine practitioner. “Of all social determinants of health, homelessness has the highest associated morbidity and mortality. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the life expectancy of those living without a home is DECADES shorter than that of the housed population. When homelessness is criminalized, the work of street medicine is disrupted. It actually perpetuates homelessness to the detriment of those who are homeless. That detriment comes with life-altering if not life-ending consequences.”
The Shelter First Act has numerous cosponsors in both the Pennsylvania Senate and the Pennsylvania House.
“The hardships experienced by people who are unsheltered are compounded when the only response of their governments is via criminal and civil penalties,” said Saval. “We’re not letting that happen here in Pennsylvania.”
The Shelter First Act is introduced in the Pennsylvania Senate as SB1089 and in the Pennsylvania House as HB2028.
Video footage of the full press conference is available here.
