California is intensifying efforts to clean up homeless encampments
Image: Mario Tama/Getty
On Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) delivered a message to local governments across the state: Start cleaning up homeless encampments ASAP, or lose out on state funding to address homelessness in 2025 and beyond.
Newsom’s comments mark the latest escalation of his statewide campaign to move homeless residents out of encampments and into shelters, which was prompted by a June Supreme Court ruling that made it legal for local governments to do so.
- Last month, the California governor signed an executive order directing state agencies to start clearing homeless encampments on state land.
- At the same time, Newsom also began pressuring local governments to remove local encampments – though the governor can’t legally force them to act.
Some rights groups are pushing back against the move. Many homeless shelters say they lack enough resources to accommodate everyone who would be displaced if local governments began clearing encampments. Last year, California had ~71,000 shelter beds available – or enough to cover less than 40% of the state’s 180,000+ homeless people, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
Yes, but… Newsom and other state officials argue local governments across California have been provided ample funding in recent years to help address homelessness within their communities – so there’s no excuse for failing to clear encampments.
- Since Newsom first took office in 2019, the state has spent ~$24 billion to address the state’s homelessness situation, including $1+ billion in encampment resolution grants specifically aimed at cleaning up homeless encampments and addressing the underlying issues, according to Newsom’s office.
Zoom out: An estimated 650,000+ Americans were experiencing homelessness as of January 2023, representing the highest figure since the US government began using a yearly point-in-time survey in 2007. Roughly 40% of homeless individuals in the US sleep outside, per federal data.
📊 Flash poll: Do you support California’s new statewide push to clear homeless encampments?
See a 360° view of what media pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that it’s disappointing to see Newsom take a hardline stance on homeless encampments, since it won’t do anything to address the root causes, and applaud efforts in LA and elsewhere to slowly reach out to people in encampments and transition them to housing.
- Others contend that Newsom’s order to clear homeless encampments sounds great in theory, but the rollout of the new policy highlights how inhumane, dehumanizing, and cruel it is to penalize homeless people who have nowhere else to go.
- “Newsom and San Francisco take a wrong turn on homelessness” –LA Times Editorial Board
- “San Franciscans awaken to the cruelty — and futility — of homeless sweeps” –Christin Evans, San Francisco Standard
- “California’s Homelessness Is a Failure of Will” –Matthew Desmond, NY Times
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that Newsom’s executive order on homeless encampments may provide a boost to his media image, but it doesn’t actually do much of anything, and is a prime example of the blame-shifting strategy employed by Democrats when it comes to addressing homelessness.
- Others contend that many of California’s homeless woes stem from the fact that most Democrats don’t want to clear homeless encampments, even though clearing them is a necessity to help get people out of homelessness and into shelters and future long-term housing.
- “The days of endlessly waiting for unhoused individuals to agree to accept services are over” –Susan Shelley, LA Daily News
- “Los Angeles fights to keep its homeless encampments” –Zachary Faria, Washington Examiner
- “Newsom right to take down the tent cities” –San Bernardino Sun Editorial Board
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