'It’s mayhem and craziness': Californians react to Gavin Newsom’s order to remove homeless encampments
Local officials and homelessness advocates in California are divided over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order requiring state agencies to remove homeless encampments on public property.
Local officials and advocates in California are divided over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order requiring state agencies to remove homeless encampments on public property, leaving the homeless community caught in the middle and uncertain where they will go.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that punishing homeless people for sleeping on public property does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. According to an assessment provided to Congress last year by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, there were about 180,000 homeless people across the state, making California’s homeless population one of the highest in the nation along with New York’s, Florida’s and Washington’s.
In an effort to address the rising levels of homelessness, Newsom, a Democrat, ordered state agencies to adopt plans to remove homeless encampments across the state — one of the most direct reactions to the Supreme Court’s decision and a path other states could soon follow.
While local governments are not forced to comply, Newsom said in a press conference on Thursday that he will withhold funding from cities and counties for not clearing encampments next year.
Newsom has pointed out that his administration has invested billions across multiple state agencies to provide services to homeless people, including more than $9 billion for programs aimed at helping local governments move them out of camps and into housing. The investments — as well as the new authority that the Supreme Court gave to cities — will provide the tools needed to carry out the order, he said.
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