New California Bill Would Ban Homeless Encampments

A new, bipartisan bill introduced to the California state Senate in early February aims to tackle homeless encampments by prohibiting people from camping near certain areas. Proponents argue that increased enforcement is needed to tackle the homelessness crisis — but critics worry that would just add more misery to the lives of people experiencing homelessness while not actually addressing the root causes of the crisis.

The aim

Illustration. Image credit: Shutterstock

“What we are trying to do,” explained Republican state Senator Brian Jones, “is compassionately [clear] encampments near areas that are sensitive to the public and the public needs to have safe access to.”

Specifics

Under the bill, people would be prohibited from camping within 500 feet of a school, open space, or major transit stop. Though local officials would be able to determine how exactly to enforce this, the bill’s language punishes a violation with an infraction or misdemeanor.

Further prohibitions

The legislation would also prohibit people from “sitting, lying, sleeping or storing, using, maintaining or placing personal property upon a street or sidewalk” — as long as a homeless shelter is available.

Major issue

The problem, critics argue, is that many areas in California do not have space available in their homeless shelters — or, like Chino, Fillmore, and San Clemente, lack any homeless shelter beds at all.

Bad environment

Illustration. Image by Depositphotos.com

Even when shelter beds are available, they are sometimes a worse option than living on the street. In 2019, for example, the American Civil Liberties Union described shelters in Orange County as having “unsafe and unsanitary living conditions,” being rife with “discrimination and abuse,” and inflicting residents with “deprivation of fundamental rights.”

Inconvenient truth

Warning, whisper, stop, secret — Illustration. Image credit: Depositphotos

“There are lots of reasons people don’t want to be in congregate shelters — concerns about theft, lack of privacy,” Democratic state Senator Catherine Blakespear acknowledged. Blakespear and Jones worked together on the proposed bill.

Another possible solution

“I think having safe camping, along with safe parking and permanent supportive housing, and additional emphasis on mental health and substance abuse issues and having more beds available for people there — those are all pieces of the puzzle,” Blakespear said.

Permitted camping

Image by JimLambert via Depositphotos.com

“If they’re in the safe camping areas when the social services people come,” Jones echoed, “they know they’re going to be able to interact with that person on a regular and continuous basis.”

Same problems

Police cars at night. Police car chasing a car at night with fog background. 911 Emergency response police car speeding to scene of crime. Selective focus — Photo by Depositphotos.com

However, safe camping sites have been criticized for having the same problems as shelters, with residents of such sites reporting theft, privacy issues, and abuse — verbal, physical, and even sexual — from the officials policing the site.

Debated impact

“It is not compassionate for us to have people dying on the streets in front of us and in our public spaces while we walk by them,” Blakespear said.

The steps to take

The legislation would have law enforcement officers give people experiencing homelessness “verbal or written information regarding alternative locations to sleep, homeless and mental health services, or homeless shelters in the area.”

Losing valuables

The bill would allow localities to determine how to deal with the property of people forced to leave an unsanctioned encampment. As the Stolen Belonging project has recorded, local officials often steal or simply destroy important or priceless personal belongings, from identity documents to family heirlooms.

The real problem

Ultimately, as organizations like Impact Labs note, research overwhelmingly shows that the real root cause of homelessness is a lack of affordable housing. California has some of the most unaffordable housing in the nation, though the state is attempting to amend that by forcing localities to construct more.