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Blue state Gov. Gavin Newsom took to the streets of California to scrub up trash left behind by homeless encampments Thursday, threatening municipalities that if they don’t clear up encampments they will lose state funding subsequent 12 months.
A pissed off Newsom was seen choosing up trash from a cleared encampment in Los Angeles — one of many largest hubs within the state for homeless individuals residing outdoor — alongside the California Department of Transportation. California’s homelessness accounts for roughly one-third of the nation’s disaster.
“I want to see results,” Newsom informed reporters Thursday. “I don’t want to read about them. I don’t want to see the data. I want to see it.”
GOV NEWSOM ORDERS HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS TORN DOWN ACROSS CALIFORNIA: ‘NO MORE EXCUSES’
Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, and folks at a homeless encampment in California. (Getty Images)
Homelessness has skyrocketed within the Golden State below Newsom’s management. According to the 2024 point-in-time rely, which gives a snapshot of homelessness on a given evening, the variety of homeless people in California elevated to roughly 172,000. This represented an increse from the estimated 131,000 homeless people counted in 2018, the 12 months Newsom took workplace.
Thursday’s announcement was a continuation of Newsom’s rising efforts to induce native governments to conduct extra sweeps of homeless encampments after the Supreme Court dominated governments can drive individuals out of encampments. Last month, Newsom directed state businesses to start clearing encampments from state property and has been pushing native officers to observe go well with.
“We’re done with the excuses,” Newsom informed reporters. “The last big excuse was, ‘Well, the courts are saying we can’t do anything.’ Well, that’s no longer the case, so we had a simple executive order: Do your job. … You’ve got the money, you’ve got the flexibility, you’ve got the green light, you’ve got the support from the state and the public is demanding it of you.”
MASSIVE CALIFORNIA RESIDENTIAL TOWER TO OFFER HOMELESS PRIVATE ROOMS, GYM, CAFE AND MORE AMENITIES
A homeless encampment in Oakland, Calif. (Getty)
But some native leaders do not agree with Newsom’s strategy. In a press release to ABC7 News, LA County officers stated partly, “New bed capacity needs to be built to accommodate a population of patients who will require locked facilities when held for treatment involuntarily.
“Without first taking these steps, the work of transferring individuals off the streets for their very own well being and security would fail,” the statement continued. “This doesn’t imply LA County is standing nonetheless. Our Pathway Home encampment decision program already has moved a whole bunch of individuals inside as we’ve got additionally extensively supported the City of LA’s Inside Safe program that has sheltered 1000’s of others.”
Kathryn Barger, an LA County supervisor, told the news outlet she “would love to clarify to the governor what we’re doing as a result of we’re.”
HOMELESS PERSON ALLEGEDLY ABDUCTS 4-YEAR-OLD AT CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT AMID UPTICK OF CRIME
A homeless encampment on the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. (Toby Canham for Fresh News Digital)
“I’m not going to criticize the truth that he issued that order as a result of, really, I help what he desires to do. My objective is to have us all in the identical route. You can go in and clear the encampment, however in case you do not coordinate with the totally different jurisdictions round you, you are merely transferring that drawback,” she said.
Earlier this year, Newsom’s administration blamed counties and cities after a state audit report found his own homelessness task force failed to track how billions of dollars have been spent trying to tackle the crisis in the last five years.
At the time, a senior spokesperson for the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (CICH), which coordinates homeless programs across the state, told Fresh News Digital the audit’s findings “spotlight the numerous progress made in recent times to deal with homelessness on the state stage, together with the completion of a statewide evaluation of homelessness packages.”
Tents and belongings at a homeless encampment in Toriumi Plaza at 1st Street and Judge John Aiso Street in Los Angeles. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Over the past five years, the CICH didn’t consistently track whether the money actually improved the situation, the audit concluded.
The spokesperson added local governments “are primarily liable for implementing these packages and accumulating information on outcomes that the state can use to judge program effectiveness.”
Since 2016, California has spent over $25 billion on homelessness. This includes state, local and federal funding allocated toward boosting the state’s “Housing First” ideology through various programs, which prioritizes placing people in housing first before addressing mental illness or substance abuse problems.
The Housing First model began in 2016 through SB 1380. Authored by Democratic state Sen. Ed Hernandez, the bill expanded state resources for permanent housing to homeless individuals without requirements like sobriety or employment.
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In a response to Fresh News Digital’s request for comment, a spokesperson for Newsom referred to Thursday’s news conference and provided a statement.
“The State of California’s doing greater than ever. We’ll proceed to do extra. But this will likely be my last phrases on this: If we do not see demonstrable outcomes, I’ll begin to redirect cash. I’m not focused on establishment any longer. And that can begin in January with the January price range. We’ve been offering the help to native authorities that embraces these efforts and focuses on a way of urgency — and we will double down. If native authorities just isn’t , we’ll redirect the cash to elements of the state, cities and counties which can be.”
