Whereas some local authorities have rejoiced at Gavin Newsom’s orders to clear homeless camps, others have seen the California Governor’s edict for what it is: A cynical passing of the buck to cities and counties with far too few beds and services to meet the needs of the state’s 180,000 homeless people. Newsom ordered state and local agencies to start removing homeless camps on July 25.
There’s a clear contrast between Fresno’s almost jubilant promises to jail and fine homeless people who camp in public places and San Jose’s and Los Angeles’ sobering but factual responses to the governor’s decree. Shortly after Newsom’s executive order to clear camps, Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau proposed an ordinance that would fine homeless campers up to a thousand dollars and sentence them to six months in jail.
Not to be outdone, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and City Councilmembers tacked a jail sentence of “up to a year” onto the $1000 fine. No one seems to be concerned about the near impossibility of most homeless people to come up with a thousand dollars, nor do Fresno authorities care to acknowledge that a shortage of beds and services means homeless campers have nowhere to sleep other than on public and private property. Fresno homeless shelters, with a total capacity of fewer than one-thousand beds, are currently full. At last count, Fresno County’s homeless population was almost 2000.
It is conceivable that Fresno officials have their eyes on that segment of the homeless population with incomes: the disabled whose disability checks amount to around a thousand dollars a month, the seniors whose Social Security installments prevent them from affording even the lowest available rents, and the odd scavengers and panhandlers who somehow manage to collect enough bottles, cans and donations to be able to walk around with a thousand dollars burning holes in their pockets.
On the other hand, it’s just as likely that the Fresno bigwigs are hoping homeless people will get the message and get out of town. Fresno’s fines and jail time are the clear equivalent of the, “You’ve got until sundown,” orders the tough sheriffs issued in those old B-movie westerns. Yes, it takes real badass authorities to order elderly and disabled poor people to, “Get out of town or else.”
Fresno’s response to the Governor’s order is in marked contrast to that of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and LA County Supervisors, who passed ordinances prohibiting jail time for people in homeless camps right after Newsom’s order. LA County Sheriff Robert Luna added that he would not be arresting people merely for being homeless.
In a similar vein, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan stated the obvious when he said,
“Clearing encampments only works if we have places for people to go, and require that they use them.”
Karen Bass and Matt Mahan see how fatally flawed Newsom’s order really is because they’re willing to acknowledge the state’s dire housing and shelter shortage. That hard reality is the immovable fact that too many public officials throughout the state simply refuse to accept, most especially the governor.
And, as Fresno Bee columnist Marek Warszawski has pointed out, there’s at least one other hard fact that could derail Fresno’s “bust ‘em and jail ‘em” tactic for managing homelessness. Because of a federal requirement that a sheriff must consider releases once a jail is 90% full, Fresno’s jails don’t have enough capacity for its homeless miscreants, except when they release people for minor offenses, like, say, camping.
Absolutely correct on all points. This is an accurate, factual tutorial on the homeless in CA and should be required reading for all city and county officials in this state.
Gov. Newsom is simply reacting to the Supreme Court – like everyone else is.
I’ve constantly struggled with paying rent since I got divorced as the costs rise on renting a place etc, and what I can make money-wise. I’m 62 years old. I stood for 30 years doing hair and I can’t be there anymore cuz of my back, arms, and hands so I recently just lived in my car for 2 years and got on HUD housing which took 7 years. I got on the list 7 years ago because I was worried that something might happen to me housing-wise and it did because I live in California where toilet paper is $40 so the governor needs to realize that these people out there the homeless people are out there because in California everything is over the top expensive and nobody really cares to look at the real reason why people are homeless. They just think that we’re scum. I think all the officials need to learn about why people are homeless. Talk to homeless people and allocate some land and the tiny homes for these people and even where they’re staying in homeless camps bring toilets and dumpsters they can dump garbage so it isn’t a mess. There’s nowhere to put the garbage there’s nowhere to go to the bathroom there’s nowhere to take a shower there’s not enough money for anything. $1,000 a month on disability is nothing to try and live on in California. I love California. I’ve been in California my whole life, but the rise and cost of everything is out of control. No one can afford to pay rent and to get jailed and fined $1,000 that’s going to do nothing. It’s going to overcrowd the jails. It’s just stupid. It’s not getting to the root of the problem. Officials need to look at this and try to help the homeless. I do everyday.
The solution is to spend a trillion dollars on a funding bill for affordable housing. No one wants to build affordable housing.
I feel if it wasn’t for my parents I wouldn’t have anywhere to go and I work full time like 50 hours a week and there’s no way I could afford any type of rent in CA. I think my kids and I will have to relocate.
Applying reality to buck passing actions, would mean, for instance, taking into consideration what a southern central valley CA sheriff stated. Arresting the homeless, would require utilizing 300 jail beds, currently not being used. In order to do that would require hiring 40 more employees to cover the shifts, to maintain the additional 300 beds, IF brought back into use. It amounts to a vicious cycle, that adds up, YET makes no financial sense.
I heard, due to fraudulent over-valuations of homes and land, more and more homeowners cannot afford taxes on their property and/or mortgage payments. So how are all these funds going to be raised to cover these additional costs?
Cities and counties may have to find ways to take from the widowers, orphans, poor, and, oppressed. Fines that cities and counties figure a way to wrangle from those ordinarily judgment proof, just might be the goal.
Governor Newsom ought to have kept a watchful eye on all those dollars being passed around quite liberally, that were boastfully being used to ASSIST those without housing, allegedly. And, the funds which alledgedly went missing. HOW does that much money up and vanish, allegedly?
If Governor Newsom does not stop playing around with other people’s lives, there will be Newsomvilles, just like there were Hoovervilles, back in the depression. There are only so many people who can be rounded up, unwillingly, before they apply civil disobedience, AND, find their own way into displaced persons’ camps. What goes round comes round. Another thing I heard.
I became homeless when my mother passed, I was caring for her. I’m on ssdi and in a housing authority building now after 5 yrs. on the street. I’m miserable but I have NO other choice. WHY, because the price of everything is outrageous here in California. Take the authorities, take all their assets but the amount some get for ssi, or ssdi and put them on the street and try to survive. It’s not easy. Meanwhile some are getting richer but so called helping and housing some of the homeless. B.S. Now they want to throw them in jail and fine them. Remember Jesus was homeless too
Good Article. Affordable Housing is becoming rare in California, however, a solution is coming. As more and more big businesses leave California, there will soon be lots of buildings and shopping malls that will be empty- seems like a perfect place to deal with this problem. For anyone really wanting out of homelessness, sometimes it might be best to find a place that has affordable rents- outside of California. Here is a challenge- add up all the $$ spent on homeless solutions in California each year (likely several Billion $$)- I wonder if all that $$ could pay for low income rents…… hmm, if there are 200,000 homeless people in California, that works out to about 100,000 apartments X $1500/month = under $2 Billion. Hmm, well, the problem with that is all the big wigs won’t make any money ….
I have a few thoughts:
1. Basic Christianity says take care of the poor. Who said to go out of your way to make life difficult for them?
2. Has anybody proposed building gas chambers for a final solution to the homeless problem, yet?
3. How would Newsom like it if somebody showed up at his house with a bulldozer and said I’m here to clear this camp? Would he think that was unfair? Why, exactly?
Well said
Call Gov. And tell him what’s missing in his edict. I did! He forgot these are people he is talking about. He focused on the money STATE spent but failed to say what kind of good happened for the homeless. Missing details.. missing the facts that not all homeless are the same. A very old problem and half-baked solutions by people outside of the very problem and ASSUMED they knew it all. Result failure for most and now even more deaths and unjust harrassment by police with no choices left for police or the people.