California Governor Gavin Newsom, backed by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, issued an executive order Thursday (25) asking state officials to begin dismantling homeless encampments.
The decision to remove thousands of encampments across California comes after the high court last month ruled in favor of an Oregon city that fined homeless people for sleeping outdoors.
The ruling rejected arguments that such “anti-camping” ordinances violated the constitutional prohibition on “cruel and unusual” punishments.
“This executive order directs state agencies to act urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them – and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same,” Newson said in a statement.
“There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part,” he added.
The order calls on state authorities “to adopt humane and dignified policies to urgently address encampments on state property.”
The move drew criticism from homeless advocates and elected officials.
“Newsom could have issued this order before the (Supreme Court) ruling. The only difference now is that states and localities are free to confine and arrest people even when there is no shelter available,” said Chris Herring, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“So before the Supreme Court decision, cities were in the position where they would have to provide shelter offers before they would remove encampments. Now… they will be able to conduct these encampment sweeps with the very real threat of issuing incredibly expensive fines that people cannot afford and that often result in a warrant for their arrest or arrest or may result in incarceration,” he added.
The professor said the timing of the order was not surprising as Newsom seeks to “politically clear his name from the homelessness crisis, especially as he is in the national spotlight right now amid the presidential election.”
In San Francisco, a spokesman for Mayor London Breed said the city has already begun taking action.
“Our city encampment teams and street outreach teams have been going out every day to bring people inside and to clean and clear the encampments,” spokeswoman Parisa Safarzadeh told CNN in a statement.
“That’s why we’re seeing a five-year low in the number of city tents on our streets,” she added.
Study shows evictions do little to change homeless numbers
Late last month, results from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s point-in-time count — conducted in January — showed that the homeless population in Los Angeles had declined for the first time in six years.
The survey showed that the overall number of homeless people, and the number of unsheltered people in particular, declined in both Los Angeles County and the city. According to the tally, the number fell by 2.2 percent in Los Angeles and by 0.27 percent in the county.
There were also 45,253 homeless people in the city and 75,312 homeless people in the municipality, the authority reported.
“For the first time in years, the number of unsheltered homeless people has declined in Los Angeles due to a comprehensive approach that leads to housing and services, not criminalization,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday (25).
“Strategies that just move people from one neighborhood to another or provide citations instead of housing don’t work,” he added.
In fact, a new study by the Rand Corp.’s Center on Housing and Homelessness found that encampment cleanup efforts in Los Angeles had no long-term effect on the number of people on the streets.
Researchers analyzed encampment cleanups in Venice, Hollywood and Skid Row in Los Angeles and “observed temporary declines in the homeless population that lasted an average of two to three months” before returning to previous levels, according to the study.
In Venice, for example, encampment removals meant that “the percentage of homeless people living literally unsheltered (e.g. without a tent) increased from 20% to 46%,” the study says.
Newsom last month praised the high court’s ruling, saying it “provides state and local officials with definitive authority to implement and enforce policies to clear unsafe encampments from our streets.”
“This decision eliminates the legal ambiguities that have tied the hands of local authorities for years and limited their ability to implement common-sense measures to protect the safety and well-being of our communities,” the California governor added.
The case was the most significant appeal involving homeless Americans to reach the Supreme Court in decades, and was closely watched by cities and states across the country grappling with a sharp rise in homelessness.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Newsom “rightly points out that local government remains in charge of homeless encampment removals.”
“Cities have an obligation to develop housing and shelter solutions in conjunction with supportive services provided by county government,” Barger said in a statement.
“This formula, which is largely based on partnerships, is how we can deliver lasting results. No single entity can achieve this,” she added.
Source: CNN Brasil
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