California governor pressures cities to clean up homeless encampments

Los Angeles. Governor CaliforniaDemocrat Gavin NewsomPressure has mounted on the state’s counties and cities to clear thousands of encampments occupied by homeless people, and even participated in cleaning up an encampment under a bridge. Los Angeles.

Democrats on Thursday expressed less enthusiasm for his executive order, which was released in late July, as part of the pressure on Los Angeles leaders.

Newsom’s move follows a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which in early July ruled in favor of Oregon officials who fined homeless people for sleeping outside.

But both Los Angeles County and city officials have warned they will move forward with their own approaches to dealing with the problem. Newsom cannot legally compel local officials to follow his parameters.

“We need partners, not enemies,” the governor told reporters. “If we can’t move Los Angeles County forward, we’re not going to move the state forward,” he added.

California has experienced a decades-long crisis of homeless people who settle in the most dangerous places, such as improvised shelters in the middle of streets, public parks or on the sides of highways or shopping center parking lots.

The state government estimates that more than 180,000 people will be homeless at some point in 2023, with 123,000 of them unsheltered and sleeping overnight in tents, trailers and vehicles.

According to the latest census by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), Los Angeles, with ten million residents, faces the greatest challenge of having to deal with approximately 75,000 people living on the streets in the county by January 2024.

Newsom did not rule out state workers returning to areas under their jurisdiction to conduct cleanup operations in Los Angeles.