Governor Newsom is not content merely allowing the clearance of homeless encampments. Last week he warned cities and counties that do not show “demonstrable results.”
NPR this week called it a move that “puts the Democratic governor closer to conservatives on this issue than to the progressives in his own party.”
The announcement came on Thursday as the governor helped to clear an encampment in LA.
In July, Governor Newsom issued an executive order that “urges local governments to address unsanitary and dangerous encampments within their communities and provide people experiencing homelessness in the encampments with the care and supportive services they need.”
On Thursday, Newsom criticized some cities and counties for not doing enough, despite what he called “unprecedented resources” he said the state has provided.
“No more excuses. You’ve got the money, you got the flexibility, you got the green light, you got support from the state, and the public is demanding it of you,” Newsom said. “I’m here on behalf of 40 million Californians that are fed up. I’m here because I’m one of them. I want to see results.”
Anna Scott, who covers housing and homelessness with the California Newsroom, told NPR this week, “He didn’t threaten to cut any particular funding stream yet from any specific place, but his office told me he’s ready to redirect money away from any county that’s not meeting milestones set by the state.”
Further, she said that “he did call out Los Angeles County specifically and said leaders here need to act with more urgency on this issue.”
The problem from our perspective and we have pointed out numerous times—most homeless experts don’t believe this is the right approach.
CNN noted, “The comments come after some municipalities have pushed back against the idea of issuing citations or jailing people in homeless encampments.”
In July, CNN explained, “the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of a motion affirming its jails won’t be used to hold homeless people arrested when encampments are broken up. County officials said the approach was already in effect.”
Groups like the ACLU of Northern California point out that, for decades, the state “failed to build sufficient housing for people across all income levels, leaving thousands of residents—including families and children—no alternative but to sleep in cars, tents, and on the street.”
The ACLU called on state leaders to “act decisively to expand affordable housing for all income levels, provide rental assistance to keep people in their homes, and implement stronger eviction protection measures.”
Jenny Friedenbach, Executive Director of Coalition on Homelessness San Francisco, noted that previous attempts to clear encampments have failed to reduce the numbers of people forced to sleep outside.
It is their belief, “Displacing, destabilizing, and dispossessing people without real offers of permanent housing makes homelessness worse.”
Friedenbach said, “Despite Governor Newsom citing CalTrans as a model for clearing encampments, the agency has had a terrible track record of unlawfully confiscating and destroying people’s belongings.”
Advocates have sued the state over this practice in the past, resulting in a $1.3 million settlement to compensate people whose property had been seized.
Friedenbach added, “Many Californians struggle to pay rent and are worried about losing their homes. To end homelessness, elected officials must expand housing that is affordable to all income levels, provide rent relief to help people remain in their homes, and strengthen eviction protections.”
But on Thursday, Newsom argued that this was about getting people resources, not criminalization.
“The rhetoric is increasingly stale. This is not about criminalization. What’s criminal is neglecting people who are struggling and suffering and dying on our watch,” he said.
But without housing and shelters, it may be the governor who is playing the rhetorical game.
“This is not one of those political things,” Newsom said. “This is a sincerely held belief that we need local government to step up. This is a crisis, act like it.”
If that’s the case, perhaps Governor Newsom should meet with local communities and stakeholders and experts on homelessness to devise a plan, rather than impose one from above. One many, if not most, experts say will not work to reduce homelessness.
As Anna Scott put, “Well, it’s not completely clear (what the Governor wants counties to do that they’re not already doing), other than get rid of more encampments. But the problem is people need places to go. And we’re short on affordable housing. We’re short on shelter beds here in LA County.”
So, as we argued last week—clear the camps and people go … where exactly?
