California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging cities to shut down homeless encampments in public spaces. This move is a significant reversal of his previous approach to dealing with the Golden State’s homelessness crisis.
Newsom’s office issued a press release laying out a state model for cities and counties “to immediately address encampments with urgency and dignity.”
Newsom stated that “There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets” and emphasized the work his office has done to solve the problem. “Local leaders asked for resources — we delivered the largest state investment in history. They asked for legal clarity — the courts delivered. Now, we’re giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and with humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing, and care.”
As part of California’s ambitious push to tackle the nationwide homelessness crisis head-on, Governor Gavin Newsom released a model ordinance for cities and counties to address unhealthy and dangerous encampments. The Governor is calling on every local government to adopt and implement local policies without delay, backed by billions in state funding and authority affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. The model ordinance follows and builds on the Governor’s 2024 executive order, which urged all local jurisdictions to quickly address encampments and use state and local funding to connect people experiencing homelessness with the care and support they need.
This announcement is coupled with the release of $3.3 billion in voter-approved Proposition 1 funding, which will be made available later today to communities statewide to expand behavioral health housing and treatment options for the most seriously ill and homeless in California.
"There is no compassion in abandoning Californians to the dangers and indignities of encampments." - Gavin Newsom, abandoning Californians to the dangers and indignities of encampments since 2004, rolling out his new new new new plan to solve homelessness
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) May 12, 2025
pic.twitter.com/U6Y1KfneVv
The model template includes several provisions that cities can choose to adopt. These include restrictions on “persistent camping in one location, “encampments that block free passage on sidewalks,” and “a reqreuiment that local officials provide notice and make every reasonable effort to identify and offer shelter prior to clearing an encampment.”
Newsom’s administration has struggled to deal with California’s homelessness problem despite pouring copious sums of taxpayer money at the issue.
From The New York Times:
Mr. Newsom’s administration has raised and spent tens of billions of dollars on programs to bring homeless people into housing and to emphasize treatment. But his move on Monday marks a tougher approach to one of the more visible aspects of the homelessness crisis. The governor has created a template for a local ordinance that municipalities can adopt to outlaw encampments and clear existing ones.
California is home to about half of the nation’s unsheltered homeless population, a visible byproduct of the temperate climate and the state’s brutal housing crisis. Last year, a record 187,000 people were homeless in the state, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Two-thirds were living unsheltered in tents, cars or outdoors.
Gavin Newsom isn’t fighting homelessness, he’s fighting homeless people. Banning encampments won’t fix the housing crisis, but it will make life more miserable for those with nowhere to go. https://t.co/yTXtxIFGYc
— Current Affairs (@curaffairs) May 12, 2025
Several cities, such as Long Beach, have already started clearing homeless encampments. The San Jose City Council is considering a proposal that would allow police to arrest homeless people if they refuse to relocate to a shelter three times.
Here is a PR shot of Gavin Newsom personally tearing down homeless encampments. Democrats aren’t “too woke”; they’re more interested in in finding middle ground with the opposition than they are appealing to their constituents. https://t.co/xXmzmJ8cAb pic.twitter.com/NIeDM4p6sV
— Derrik (@dkopp37) May 7, 2025
However, The Times noted that “many California politicians have balked. Some worry about further traumatizing homeless people with citations, arrests and jail time.”
Despite a $20 billion budget allocated for homelessness initiatives, the state still has a shortage of shelter beds. Programs such as the No Place Like Home Act have severely underperformed. It created only 500 occupied units, falling far short of the anticipated 8,000.
Newsom, who is widely expected to seek the presidency in 2028, likely knows his subpar record on homelessness in California could be an issue for his campaign. This realization could be what’s prompting this reversal. However, if his adminsitration fails to address the underlying issues leading to homelessness, it could remain a thorn in his side and provide fodder for his opponents.
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