In Humboldt County, more than 1,500 are facing homelessness this year. That number continues to grow.
“People sometimes wonder ‘Oh, we’ve put all of this money into homelessness. Why aren’t we seeing a big, you know, difference on the street?’ What people have to remember is that new people are becoming homeless every day,” DHHS’ Housing and Assistance Coordinator, Robert Ward said.
Earlier this month, a UCLA study found nearly a fifth of Californians were “housing insecure” – which means they weren’t homeless but their situation wasn’t stable. They might be one paycheck away from not being able to afford rent or utilities which could lead to living on the streets.
“Those people need resources in order to resolve homelessness. As long as the flow into homelessness is ongoing it’s going to be difficult go get everybody out of it,” Ward said.
On July 25th, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law an executive order to clean up homeless encampments on state property.
“It’s time to engage with urgency at a local level, to clean up these sites, to focus on public health and focus on public safety,” Newsom said in a video posted on X formally known as Twitter. “There are no longer any excuses. $1 billion this state is invested to support communities to clean up these encampments.”
The move came after a Supreme Court ruling that would ban people from sleeping in outdoor public spaces.
Newsom said in a press release “this executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same. The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets. There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.”
“I found that what was being ordered was fairly limited. It was really restricted to state agencies and encampments that are located on state property,” Ward said. “There’s no new money, and there’s nothing that any of our coalition partners have to do in response to this order. It only applies to state agencies. You know, so there are some encampments on state property locally, primarily. That would be the state parks and caltrans.”
Caltrans already has protocols in place for the removal of homeless encampments on their properties.
California State Parks information officer Jo Biswas said in an e-mail to Redwood News “We will continue to partner with our state and local agencies to address homeless encampments on state parks’ property and their impacts on natural and cultural resources while remaining compassionate and respectful of Californians experiencing homelessness.”
Governor Newsom signed a new executive order on July 31st announcing $94 million from the state to fund infill housing projects across 15 state counties including Del Norte and Humboldt.
