After Supreme Court ruling, California strengthens homeless camp enforcement
| PALM SPRINGS, Calif.
California, the epicenter of homelessness in the United States, is trying to find its footing after the Supreme Court this summer gave localities more power to enforce anti-camping rules.
The court鈥檚 ruling upholding the enforcement measures of the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, allows local governments to penalize people for sleeping and camping outdoors 鈥� even if there is no place to shelter them.聽
With that new authority, cities like San Francisco are taking a more 鈥渁ggressive鈥� approach, as Mayor London Breed puts it. Police and street cleaners are instructed to prevent tents from popping back up after encampments are cleared; outreach workers must first offer people experiencing homelessness transportation out of town as city shelters near capacity.
Why We Wrote This
California, which has America鈥檚 largest homeless population, is taking a harder tack on enforcement 鈥� but some cities are pairing that with more support.
Mayor Breed is in step with California Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 July 25 鈥渘o more excuses鈥澛� that directs state agencies to develop guidelines and move urgently toward removing encampments on state property. The order encourages local city and county governments to take similar action. While he can鈥檛 force local compliance, he warned last week that he would direct money away from counties if he did not see 鈥渄emonstrable results鈥� by year鈥檚 end. About a third of the nation鈥檚 homeless people live in California.
The governor may be moving fast, but some jurisdictions are balking. The Board of Supervisors for vast Los Angeles County, for example, the most populous county in the nation, where 75,000 people are homeless,聽聽to reject fining or arresting people for sitting, sleeping, or lying in public spaces, as the Supreme Court ruling now allows it to do.
Instead, the county board affirmed its聽, in which outreach workers encourage people to come indoors, get supportive services, and ultimately move to permanent housing. For the first time in years, the number of people living on the streets in the region declined this year 鈥� dropping 5.1% in the county overall, and 10.4% in Los Angeles.
One particular success in LA County is聽the coastal community of Redondo Beach, which since 2019 has halved its homeless population. That has come through innovations like individual tiny shelters, restricted camping hours, and a聽聽that convenes outdoors, according to Michael Webb, the city attorney and point person on homelessness.聽
Localities are trying to find 鈥渢he humane way and the effective way鈥� to address homelessness in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, he adds.
鈥淓veryone is in a 鈥榝igure out where we are鈥� mode,鈥� says Mr. Webb.聽
Stronger enforcement a 鈥渘eeded tool鈥�
Even so, he supports the Supreme Court ruling and the governor鈥檚 executive order because stronger enforcement is a 鈥渘eeded tool鈥� to keep people from sleeping or camping in public spaces, especially if they refuse shelter and services or have other housing options, he says. But 鈥渋t would be a mistake if [enforcement] is used as a first resort.鈥�
That would result in shifting, not solving, the problem, he explains. One city鈥檚 tougher measures can drive homeless people to a neighboring town with weaker enforcement. That鈥檚 why Mr. Webb put forward a 鈥済ood neighbor pledge鈥� 鈥撀爐o be adopted by cities in the region 鈥� that offers shelter and services as a core strategy, while promising not to push those who need shelter to another town.
鈥淕enerally, I鈥檝e heard nothing but positive鈥� comments, he says, 鈥渂ecause everyone鈥檚 worried about being on the receiving end鈥� of the homeless population shift.
础听 of three homeless hot spots in Los Angeles found that in places with encampment clearing, the homeless population declined 鈥� but only for two or three months.
鈥淭he people come back, [though] they might not have tents anymore,鈥� says Sarah Hunter, director of the Rand Center on Housing and Homelessness, which conducted the study.
While Governor Newsom聽 behind encampment cleanup, he also said it needed to include 鈥渟upporting and assisting the individuals.鈥� The order calls for state agencies, such as parks, to adopt guidelines consistent with those of the state鈥檚 Department of Transportation, which has cleared more than 11,000 encampments from underpasses and other areas in the last three years. The guidelines must include advance notice of a cleanup, contact with homeless service providers, and storage of people鈥檚 belongings.聽
Coordinating moving and services
The state is providing billions of dollars for homeless services, housing, and encampment clearing. But Dr. Hunter says the governor is putting the cart before the horse, as not all of the resources have come online yet.聽
Meanwhile, politics play a 鈥減retty substantial role,鈥� she says, given the governor鈥檚 role on the national stage and Mayor Breed鈥檚 reelection bid.聽In addition, the Republican Party is using Democratic presidential nominee聽Kamala Harris聽of California as a聽punching bag for failed liberal policies.
In Palm Springs, which last month passed an ordinance to prevent encampments and sleeping in public places, police Chief Andy Mills is grateful for both the Supreme Court ruling and the governor鈥檚 executive order.
鈥淭he state has finally come to the realization that just housing alone is not going to work,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here has to be some enforcement also.鈥�
When Chief Mills came to Palm Springs three years ago, he found that the top concern was not burglaries, traffic, or shootings. It was, by far, homelessness. He and his team focused on it with the relentlessness of the desert sun 鈥� taking a detailed census of homeless people; connecting them with shelter, services, family, and other locations; and clearing encampments by using existing laws against trespassing and starting fires.聽
Of the roughly 350 homeless people living year-round in Palm Springs in 2022, only about 100 鈥渞ecalcitrant鈥� people remain, according to city police. Police now have legal authority to tell people, 鈥淵ou cannot lie in the middle of the sidewalk in the middle of the day,鈥� says Chief Mills.聽
Like Mr. Webb of Redondo Beach, the police chief says the high court has given him 鈥渙ne more piece of leverage鈥� to move homeless people who refuse housing and services.
A new $40 million homeless navigation center
The city鈥檚 new ordinance won鈥檛 go into effect until a new $40 million housing and social services聽navigation center is completed for homeless people, probably in September. It offers 80 units of modular, transitional housing for individuals and families, and includes supportive services, a play area, green space, and a dog park.
Police describe their approach as 鈥渃ompassion first.鈥� But there are also consequences.
If people violate the new ordinance, they have three options, says Chief Mills: the new navigation center (if there is space), another location (preferably their hometown or with family), or jail 鈥� at the police officer鈥檚 discretion.
鈥淲e are not solving homelessness,鈥� says the police chief. 鈥淏ut people have to understand they鈥檙e full-grown adults like you and I. They need to be held accountable for their impact on our community.鈥�
Donna Jones, a homeless woman sitting on a sidewalk near a cooling shelter with access to services, has no interest in the new navigation center 鈥� neither its large room with 50 beds that opened this spring, nor the individual units coming online. She says that she feels unsafe in group shelters. Small individual units strike her as 鈥渁 little jail.鈥澛�
鈥淚鈥檇 rather sleep under the stars,鈥� with occasional rejuvenating visits to Motel 6, she says. A self-described 鈥渢rust fund baby鈥� whose downfall was gambling, Ms. Jones has heard nothing of the Supreme Court ruling, governor鈥檚 executive order, or new city ordinance.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 right,鈥� she says, when told about the court鈥檚 decision and the possibility of arrest. She perks up at the news that Los Angeles, her hometown, is not going to penalize people for sleeping outside. She wonders, How can anyone tell her where to live?
