Class action law suit under Article XVII, §1 of the New York State Constitution by homeless men for “the aid, care and support of the needy”. Whether action is justiciable. Temporary mandatory injunction ordering State to provide adequate shelter. Right to assistance. Minimum standards. Supervision of Consent Decree.
Robert Callahan died on the streets of the City before the Consent Decree was signed. Right to shelter was extended to homeless women in Eldredge v. Koch, 98 AD2d 675 (1st Dept. 1983) and to homeless families in McCain v. Koch, 117 AD2d 198 (1st Dept. 1987), rev’d in part, 70 NY2d 109. Cases of severe hypothermia and death among homeless dropped dramatically after the decree. Appellate Division ruled in 2003 that refusing shelter for 30 days as means of enforcing new welfare rules is consistent with Consent Decree.
This case was an historic victory in a legal system that is not friendly to ESC rights. It has been the basis for ongoing advocacy and further litigation to enforce the order, co-ordinated by the Coalition for the Homeless. The decree and its ongoing judicial enforcement is an early model for long-term enforcement of complex remedies to ESC rights violations. The trial judge’s reference to the homeless as “flotsam and jetsum”, however, demonstrates the prevalent attitudes toward the homeless.
Case brought by Robert Hayes, attorney and founder of The Coalition for the Homeless The National Coalition for the Homeless was created 5 years after the Callahan judgment to advocate nationally. http://www.nationalhomeless.org/
