I’m Jeanne KuangCalMatters Capitol reporter, and I’m subbing for Lynn at present.
For 5 years, California officers responding to the homelessness disaster needed to work round one massive restriction imposed by the federal courts: As a result of they didn’t have sufficient shelter beds, cities typically couldn’t make homeless camps unlawful.
It made getting individuals to go away encampments sophisticated and infrequently flawedand metropolis leaders and housed residents complained it led to sprawling well being and security considerations. However advocates and authorized specialists stated the restriction pressured cities to truly attempt to determine easy methods to supply appropriate various housing — fairly than forcing unhoused residents to decide on between felony citations and sleeping on an airport tarmac.
That’s altering dramatically. As CalMatters’ homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall writes, we’re getting into an period of zero tolerance.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court docket overturned that restriction on cities, greenlighting native bans on homeless camps. Gov. Gavin Newsom, one among quite a few California Democratic leaders who had requested for such a choice, adopted up with an government order encouraging native governments to clear camps.
Since then, Marisa stories that dozens of California cities and counties are contemplating or have already handed new bans on sleeping in public areas, or are making present bans even stricter — whether or not or not they’ve sufficient shelter beds. It might result in extra fines, citations and arrests.
San Joaquin County, for instance, is contemplating forcing unhoused residents to maneuver alongside from the place they’re sleeping each hour.
- Supervisor Tom Patti: “We’re going to have zero tolerance. We’re going to have definitive enforcement.”
Practically two-thirds of the 186,000 Californians who’re homeless are “unsheltered,” that means they sleep exterior. The overall homeless inhabitants is up 8% since 2022, in line with an unique CalMatters evaluation.
The encampment bans are taking place throughout the state, and span conservative-leaning and Democratic-run cities. For extra on whether or not it might make a distinction within the homelessness disaster, learn Marisa’s story.
Extra on homelessness and housing: CalMatters has detailed and up to date seems at why housing is so costly in California and why homelessness is so persistent.
