On May 12, Governor Gavin Newsom released a state model ordinance for “cities and counties to immediately address [homeless] encampments with urgency and dignity.” The Governor’s Office said that the ordinance “will be provided to every community as a starting point so jurisdictions can create their own policies.
“The ordinance contains key provisions, which may be modified based on local need, including: A prohibition on persistent camping in one location; A prohibition on encampments that block free passage on sidewalks; A requirement that local officials provide notice and make every reasonable effort to identify and offer shelter prior to clearing an encampment.
“The ordinance helps ensure that local communities take a balanced approach to address and prevent encampments with compassion and care.
“The ordinance reflects the guidance for local governments created following the Governor’s Executive Order, requiring at least 48 hours’ notice, outreach to local service providers, and proper storage of items when addressing encampments.”
Fresno has already implemented an ordinance that includes some of the suggested elements in the state’s ordinance but includes citing and arresting unhoused individuals. This is not “a balanced approach” as stated in Newsom’s suggested ordinance. More than 400 people have been arrested under Fresno’s ordinance to date, making life even more difficult and harder for unhoused community members to ever get housing.
Fresno also fails to “make every reasonable effort to identify and offer shelter prior to a sweep.” In addition, instead of offering to store property, as documented by advocates, the Fresno Police Department’s Homeless Assistance Response Team throws property away on many occasions.
An additional $3.3 billion in Proposition 1 funding will be provided to local governments to implement the Governor’s proposed ordinance. Critics say he has failed to track and audit spending of prior allocated homelessness funding.
An April 10, 2024, article by Marisa Kendall in Cal Matters titled “California fails to track its homelessness spending or results, a new audit says” states that “Governor Gavin Newsom is facing criticism for a perceived lack of accountability in how state homelessness funding is spent and managed.
“A recent state audit found that California has failed to consistently track the $24 billion it has spent on homelessness programs, and Newsom has vetoed legislation that would have required more rigorous monitoring and reporting. This has led to concerns about the effectiveness of the programs and how taxpayer dollars are being utilized.”
Critics are questioning whether the new $3.3 billion in funding will be tracked and audited. The funding comes from the narrowly passed 2024 Prop 1, which changed current behavioral health funding allocations to implement the California CARE (Community Assistance Recovery and Empowerment) Court program, which is designed to force unhoused individuals suffering from behavioral health issues into treatment.
Opponents to the proposition and the CARE Court cite the potential for increased involuntary treatment to infringe on individual rights. Opponents also say that forced treatment can be ineffective and might even be associated with negative outcomes such as higher suicide risks.
Critics also argue that the shift in funding priorities would lead to cuts in other crucial mental health services, such as outpatient care, peer counseling and prevention programs. However controversial, the CARE Court program is being implemented and the Governor’s new funding allocations and the implementation of a uniform ordinance statewide are the beginning of the process.
Although the Governor is putting a positive spin on this new effort to “eradicate” homelessness, critics continue to argue for proven solutions, a Housing First approach, services when needed and the ending of the criminalization of our fellow human beings that suffer on the streets of California.
Although many people in Fresno and across the United States lack empathy and compassion for unhoused community members, people should at least be interested in the effective use of tax dollars. The $24 billion and now another $3.3 billion in state tax dollars to provide temporary solutions instead of permanent housing calls into question the sanity of our elected leaders and the general public.
California cities and counties are wasting huge amounts of tax dollars to criminalize and marginalize unhoused Californians instead of providing low-cost housing and housing subsidies for the poor.
