When Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Thursday directing state agencies to clear homeless encampments across California, Raquel Roman’s first thought was, “Where are they going to go?”
Roman, executive director of Proyecto Pastoral, which operates the Guadalupe Homeless Project in Boyle Heights, said encampment sweeps brought on by the governor’s order will put unhoused Angelenos at further risk.
“If we don’t have the beds or the shelter space, what it’s going to create is a more unsafe environment for everyone,” Roman said. “When there’s criminalization, people go into hiding so then it’s going to be even more difficult to connect them to housing.”
Newsom’s directive comes a month after the Supreme Court’s decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson granted cities more power to enforce a ban on homeless encampments.
Citing the decision, Newsom’s order said “there is no longer any barrier to local governments utilizing the substantial resources provided by the State, in tandem with federal and local resources, to address encampments with both urgency and humanity.”
The order requires state agencies— including state parks and the department of transportation — to to clear encampments that pose safety risks. Officials are to give advance notice to homeless people, temporarily store their belongings and connect them to outreach services. It also urges cities and counties to do the same.
“The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets,” said Newsom in a statement. “There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.”
But the order doesn’t provide a specific timeline or plan for accommodating the state’s tens of thousands of homeless people. According to a report to Congress by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, California has 181,000 homeless people, more than 27% of the country’s unhoused.
Soaring home prices and rising rents have exacerbated Los Angeles’ housing crisis, and directly fueled the state’s decades-long challenges with homelessness.
“[In the past] people were able to rent apartments that they could afford at $800, $1000 or $1200,” Roman said. “Now that’s unheard of… then folks will turn to the streets.”
Roman describes a dire situation at Guadalupe Homeless Project, where beds are always at capacity, despite the city’s improved homelessness rates.
For the first time since 2018, L.A’s annual homeless count showed that the city’s unhoused population actually decreased. In a statement on Newsom’s order, L.A Mayor Karen Bass credited the city’s progress “to a comprehensive approach that leads with housing and services, not criminalization,” saying sweeps don’t address the root of the problem.
“Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work,” Bass stated.
Councilman Kevin de León, who represents the 14th district, agreed, saying the order should do “more than simply remove individuals from state property.”
“We have to ensure that there is a comprehensive approach in place that includes housing solutions and prevents the repopulation of cleared encampments,” he said.
But supporters like L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger applauded Newsom’s order. “He rightfully points out that local government remains at the helm of homeless encampment removals,” Barger said in a statement.
“Cities have an obligation to develop housing and shelter solutions in tandem with support services provided by County government. This formula, which is largely based on partnerships, is how we can deliver permanent results. No single entity can achieve that.”
Some solutions, according to Roman, would be to further invest in mental health resources and fight gentrification, which she says is worsening the homelessness crisis. Roman also suggests that other Southern California cities shuffling their unhoused residents around adds to the problem at shelters.
“Maybe people could commit to being good neighbors. If county wide, we could do that, that would help with the stress of the order,” Roman said.
Next week, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors will consider a motion by supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath on developing a strategy for addressing encampments.
“With the State moving forward to clear encampments on their properties, I ask that it expands its partnership with local providers and housing agencies to ensure that people experiencing homelessness are swiftly connected to housing and services” said Solis in a statement. “Moving people from one community to another does not resolve their homelessness. The crisis we have at hand can only be solved with a coordinated and unified response.”
