SACRAMENTO, CA – After the June U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which declared states have their own authority to arrest unhoused individuals even when no availability exists in shelters, the Western Regional Advocacy Project strongly criticized CA Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order to communities to sweep the unhoused.
WRAP, based in San Francisco, denounced the policy because of the “aggressive” and “carceral” manner in which unhoused individuals’ presence is minimized in the public eye.
“There is now no excuse with this Supreme Court order,” Newsom said about the encampments across California.
WRAP countered, “By declaring states have their own authority, it signals to the country that there is no baseline for how unhoused people should be treated. The complete disregard for humanity from this decision is deeply felt as organizations and individuals alike…a ruling in favor of Grants Pass…exacerbate(s) the war on the unhoused and the poor.
“From sweeps to budget cuts to treatment and public services to the ever-worsening housing crisis, the politically elite and the wealthy continue to push forward initiatives that bolster their own interests,” charged WRAP, adding California’s housing crisis has led to a state average cost of rent being the second highest in the nation.
WRAP added, “Criminalizing unhoused people simply for trying to survive and navigate an ill resourced system is not going to solve homelessness. Punishing people via citations or other means will only create more barriers for individuals to break free from the cycle of homelessness. The solution is simple. Nothing beats homelessness like a home.”
