California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered state agencies to begin removing homeless encampments across the state, a move that advocates for unhoused residents criticized as going “against evidence-based practices” in efforts to end homelessness.
Newsom’s executive order “directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them.”
It comes after the Supreme Court in June ruled that laws enforcing anti-camping bans do not violate the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
“In the past, the courts have denied the ability of the local government, including the state, to clean up many of these encampments,” Newsom said. “We have now no excuse with the Supreme Court decision. This executive order is about pushing that paradigm further and getting the sense of urgency that’s required of local government to do their job.”
More than 180,000 unhoused people were estimated to live in California in 2023, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. A 2023 study conducted by the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UC San Francisco found that, “contrary to myths of homeless migration,” 75% of homeless adults in California lived in the same county as where they were last housed.
Newsom’s order calls for state agencies, such as California State Parks, to model the existing encampment policy of the California Department of Transportation, which has dealt with numerous unhoused people living in tents near freeways. Caltrans has cleared more than 11,000 encampments and removed more than 248,000 cubic yards of debris since July 2021, according to the order.
The governor also encouraged local governments to emulate the state’s “successful model.” It provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same. Under the order, people must be given at least a 48-hour notice of the encampment removal. Personal property collected from the encampment must be stored for at least 60 days.
Newsom touted investing $24 billion to address the housing crisis and noted that local governments can apply for $3.3 billion in competitive grant funding from Proposition 1 to “provide appropriate care to individuals experiencing mental health conditions and substance use disorders – with a particular focus on people who are most seriously ill, vulnerable, or homeless.”
The homeless services nonprofit PATH issued a statement on Thursday, calling Newsom’s actions concerning due to a “lack of dedicated funding attached to this Executive Order, which instead goes against evidence-based practices.”
“California is not lacking in urgency – we lack consistency, social workers, shelter beds, and affordable housing,” PATH said. “We know what works to end homelessness: consistent leadership, intensive wraparound services, interim housing, and affordable permanent homes.
Elected leaders across the state have reacted differently to Newsom’s order.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, a Republican, applauded Newsom’s order, saying in a statement that “he rightfully points out that local government remains at the helm of homeless encampment removals.”
So did San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan who on X said in his city, “we’re treating homelessness like the crisis it is, and we’re seeing results.”
“For this strategy to work, we need every level of government to invest in expanding shelter and in-patient treatment beds so we can offer people dignified alternatives to the streets,” Mahan said.
Assemblymember Alex Lee, a Democrat, said sweeping encampments are “wasteful public spending” that are “morally wrong.” In a statement on X, Lee said pushing unhoused people from site to site will not work. “You get your highway off ramp clean for a moment only,” he said.
“While the administration is stepping up with meaningful reforms like Prop 1, I’ve also been [a] frequent critic that the governor has prioritized encampment sweeping dollars in our tight budget year than actual affordable housing dollars – the real solution to homelessness,” Lee added.
