Gov. Newsom’s Multi-Billion Dollar Effort Has Led to More Encampment Clearances, But Not Fewer Homeless People
California is pioneering a controversial way to incentivize homeless people to stay in shelters across the state. This follows the Supreme Court ruling in June that allows governments to punish people sleeping outside when no shelter is available.
But the new approach—which relies on using homeless sweeps to force people into shelters—is not achieving its desired ends. This suggests that local leaders need to rethink their approach, starting by improving the already available services for people experiencing homelessness.
“It’s been very upsetting because these efforts end up exasperating homelessness,” Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco, told USA Today. “People are traumatized daily.”
Governor Newsom’s Sweeps Order and Funding Initiatives
In July, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies to clear homeless encampments “while respecting the dignity and well-being of all Californians.” He also threatened to withhold state funding from cities and agencies that refused to comply with this order.
The order was also accompanied by $3.3 billion of state grants to expand mental health and substance abuse services for people who are ill or homeless. These efforts built upon the $1 billion in funding Newsom set aside for cities to conduct sweeps and another $3 billion for Project Roomkey, which helped homeless people find temporary shelter in hotels.
However, these efforts have not yet made a meaningful difference in the number of people experiencing homelessness in the state. Since July 2021, California has cleared more than 11,000 encampments. But the total number of people experiencing homelessness has grown by more than 12% up to more than 181,000 as of 2023.
Confusion Between Law Enforcement and New Policies
One reason the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to grow in California is that some jurisdictions have confused law enforcement with new policies. For instance, San Mateo County made it a crime to refuse shelter. But after six months, law enforcement has not yet enforced the law because it only applies to people living in unincorporated areas of town.
Another reason that homelessness continues to grow in California is that the state’s shelters are not seen as desirable locations for people to receive services.
Since 2021, California has added roughly 45,000 new shelter beds compared to the more than 20,000-person increase in the homeless population. This makes California one of just a small handful of states that have a greater number of shelter beds than people experiencing homelessness.
But people like 80-year-old Wendell in Los Angeles told Invisible People that they avoid shelters because they are violent and dirty places. “I just want to go back to central California where I can park myself on a ranch and enjoy what little time I got left,” he said.
The Struggle to Increase Affordable Housing Supply
California has also struggled to get local jurisdictions to increase their supply of affordable housing. This has made it difficult for many places to expand services for low-income earning folks in the state.
Elk Grove is one city that has refused to expand its affordable housing supply. In early September, city leaders rejected a plan for a supportive housing development in a historic part of town despite approving a market-rate development in the same neighborhood.
After California sued the city over the project, Elk Grove paid a $150,000 settlement to end the case. It also agreed to find a new site for the project in the future.
“We can’t solve California’s homelessness crisis without creating new housing and supportive services,” Newsom told the LA Times. “Elk Grove is not immune to this challenge, and the city’s decision to block these efforts — wasting valuable time and resources — is especially shameful. We expect Elk Grove to follow the law — continued refusal will not be tolerated.”
Instead of focusing on measures to criminalize homelessness, advocates say California leaders should prioritize supportive services that help people reconnect with the broader community.
“They’re forcing someone under threat of arrest to pack up and move all their belongings,” Niki Jones, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, told CalMatters. “And people’s bodies literally can’t handle the physical stress.”
How You Can Help
With the Supreme Court’s gutting of essential protections for homeless people, our work is more critical than ever. Nationwide, anti-homeless laws are gaining ground in legislative committees, fueled by hidden votes, corporate backing, out-of-state lobbyists, and conservative think tanks like the Cicero Institute. We’re fighting a crucial battle against misinformation and the criminalization of homelessness.
The pandemic underscored the urgent need to overhaul housing policies in the United States, revealing that many homelessness initiatives rely too heavily on law enforcement rather than social services.
Stand with our vulnerable neighbors and urge your representatives to take meaningful action to address homelessness. As the first step toward ending homelessness, we must prioritize compassionate solutions over punitive measures.
