Camp Clearing on the West Coast

 On The west Coast homelessness is a serious problem. When considering the homeless

crises, Los Angeles is one of the places that comes to mind. Homelessness sweeps beyond “Skid

Row” in Los Angeles, in fact it has become widespread throughout California. As of July 25 th,

2024, Gov. Newsom has issued an order to remove all homeless camps in the state of California.

Will this be beneficial, will it be improving the lives of homeless individuals, or will it be

another pointless tax on Californians? Improving to the lives of homeless individuals; appears to

be uncertain as far as we know.

Gov. Newsom has decided to invest $24 billion to clean up homeless camps. Gov. Newsom

said, “We must 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.”

Just in the state of California alone, there is a total of $181,000, which includes both

sheltered and unsheltered homelessness; 70% of that represents just the unsheltered. Since 2021,

Caltrans, which is a program dedicated to cleaning up homeless in California; has cleaned up

about 11,000 homeless camps. However, does clearing of the homeless camps improve the

homeless crises in California? Shayla Myers, who is the Legal Aid Foundation attorney who has

repeatedly sued the city of Los Angeles for how poorly they have treated their homeless

population. She quotes, “Blaming court injunctions that protect our most vulnerable residents is

political rhetoric at its worst. “In her opinion, Myers thinks that Gov. Newsom might be

“grandstanding” possibly due to it being his loss of his popularity.

Democratic political consultant, Andrew Acosta said this executive order is “Vague” and

lacks substance which makes it possible for Newsome to lack accountability which is one of his

largest. Acosta quotes, “I think part of this is trying to move this discussion away from Newsom

and push it down to other folks to say: you need to do more,” he said. “You’re hard pressed to

find anybody who is praising this order. I don’t think it’s really going to change what people see

on the streets every day.”

Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-Santee) said in a statement Thursday. Despite

its tone of urgency, the order sets no specific timeline for agencies to remove encampments. Nor

does it lay out a program for providing the tens of thousands of new shelter beds and permanent

housing that would be needed to accommodate. Newsom’s order requires state agencies to adopt

policies modeled after a California Department of Transportation directive that “prioritizes

removal of encampments that pose threats to life, health and safety, while partnering with local

governments and nonprofit providers to facilitate offers of shelter and supportive services in

advance of removal.”

Homelessness possesses a serious problem on the California coast. Considering the

homeless crises, Gov. Newsom seems to be taking steps to improving the ever-growing homeless

population that is increasing widespread throughout the West Coast. Will this be enough to

bettering homeless individuals? Will this be enough to repairing the California dream and will

this be a permanent improvement? Although, there may be attempted improvements to the lives

of homeless individuals; the result of the matter remains uncertain.

Cited Sources

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-25/gov-gavin-newsom-orders-state-agencies-

to-clear-homeless-camps-and-encourages-cities-to-do-so