How California is Clearing Homeless Encampments

Describing the homelessness crisis as the “biggest scar in the reputation” of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned counties last week that he would redirect money if he did not see “demonstrable results” over removing homeless encampments.

• Newsom to reporters on Thursday in Los Angeles: “You’ve got the money, you’ve got the flexibility, you’ve got the green light, you’ve got support from the state. The public is demanding it of you. And if this is not the most important issue, you’re not paying attention.”

The governor’s warning follows his July executive order that directed state agencies to adopt policies to clear camps on state property — and he urged local governments to do the same. Newsom issued the order a month after the U.S. Supreme Court granted cities more authority to clear encampments and arrest or fine unhoused people for sleeping in public spaces.

So how have cities cleared encampments since then?

As CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall explains, some unhoused people and activists say police appear to be sweeping encampments more frequently and aggressively, while there has been no significant increase in shelter beds or affordable housing.

A homelessness activist in Santa Cruz says that recent sweeps show the city’s most forceful push to dismantle encampments in years. Police now come back regularly after a sweep to make sure people don’t return, the activist said. This leaves homeless residents such as Tré Watson with few options.

• Watson: “We gotta be somewhere. We can’t hover. We come here, they run us away. We go to any park and they run us away. We go to the Pogonip (nature preserve), and they bring bulldozers.”

In San Diego, a 2023 ordinance that banned camping in certain public spaces has led the city to crack down on encampments since before the high court’s ruling. But after Newsom’s order, enforcement seems to be ramping up along the San Diego River, says one outreach worker with the nonprofit PATH. Authorities used to clear camps along the river a few times a month; now it’s multiple times per week.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and San Francisco Mayor London Breed have welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision. But L.A. Mayor Karen Bass slammed the ruling, arguing that strategies that move “people along from one neighborhood to the next … do not work.” Other homelessness advocates say that displacing unhoused people during sweeps can be traumatizing, and can result in their loss of IDs that they need for subsidized housing.

Newsom on Thursday said his threat to take money from local governments was not an indictment of L.A., but rather “more broadly an indictment of counties.” In the past five fiscal years, the state has allocated $24 billion to homelessness and housing, including $750 million to help local leaders clear encampments.

Learn more about how cities are managing encampments in Marisa’s story.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.