AWHA Statement on Gavin Newsome’s Guidance to California Localities on Encampments
An unsettling trend continues: localities being given the authority to displace, arrest, or fine those who have nowhere else to sleep but outside or in encampments
July 30, 2024
A Way Home America, in solidarity with an overwhelming number of other homelessness and housing advocates, is admittedly frustrated with the recent rollback of rights for those who are unsheltered. Rather than protect the rights of some of the most vulnerable, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), in June, ruled that localities may choose to criminalize people for sleeping outside. This has led to the most recent Executive Order N-1-24 from Governor Newsome of California. However, just as mentioned in our statement on the Johnson v. Grants Pass decision: We always knew that this fight was far from over. We will not let this obstacle, heart-wrenching as it may be, deter us from our mission.
Additionally, the California Governor continued the dangerous trend of denying overarching protections to the constituents of his state. Empowered by this executive order, we expect some localities in California will now choose to let their bigotry persuade them to dehumanize those sleeping outside or in encampments, resulting in actions like unnecessary police interaction, arrests, demolition of encampments (supposedly with only 48 hours of notice), and other forms of harm. It is particularly concerning to witness the language of the Governor, describing encampments in a manner that highlights his true values:
“It is imperative to act with urgency to address dangerous encampments, which subject unsheltered individuals living in them to extreme weather, fires, predatory and criminal activity, and widespread substance use, harming their health, safety, and well-being, and which also threaten the safety and viability of nearby businesses and neighborhoods and undermine the cleanliness and usability of parks, water supplies, and other public resources…”
This narrative misplaces blame and accountability for the trauma experienced by those who are unsheltered. The encampments are NOT the problem; policies around fair housing and protections for our homeless and unsheltered communities ARE the problem. We stress that you cannot jail your homelessness problem away. There is already an over-reliance on existing shelters, and this order will ultimately make it worse, giving some folks no other options but to risk arrest simply for needing somewhere to sleep.
There were many options to explore for Governor Newsome that are innately humane and tackle the root causes of homelessness. It is readily apparent that those options were either not considered or actively ignored. A Way Home America, for instance, offers a number of transformative policy recommendations in our New Deal to End Youth Homelessness to uplift the humanity and needs of those facing barriers to sustainable housing, specifically designed for youth and young adults. We know that if these policies can work for some of the most targeted and under-resourced communities (e.g., Black, Brown, and/or LGBTQIA+ youth), then we can collectively find a solution to housing for all. Therefore, it’s imperative that we protect the most vulnerable among us with compassionate, future-oriented policies that change how we think about equity in the housing space.
Governor Newsome has the opportunity to work with localities to prioritize evidence-based practices and initiatives that are actually shown to help eliminate homelessness in ways that preserve the dignity and livelihood of those living through it. AWHA implores the Governor of California to consider other such transformative actions to resource those who are homeless and/or unsheltered, rather than ignoring their needs and right to survive. We join the outcry against CA Executive Order N-1-24, because we know we can do better.
