Last year, 40% of homeless people slept under bridges, on sidewalks, in parks, cars, and abandoned buildings.
The Supreme Court ruled that people without homes can be arrested and fined for sleeping in public spaces, overturning six years of legal protections for homeless residents in California. This comes at a time when record numbers of Americans lack permanent housing, and leaders are concerned about homeless encampments posing threats to health and public safety.
During the 2024 PIT count, 7,322 people experiencing homelessness were counted. Of these, 3,149 were sheltered, while 4,173 were unsheltered.
“California remains committed to respecting the dignity and fundamental human needs of all people, and the state will continue to work with compassion to provide individuals experiencing homelessness with the resources they need to better their lives,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.
California is divided between those prioritizing aid for unhoused individuals and others prioritizing keeping public spaces clear. Governor Gavin Newsom is investing $1 billion in the state’s Encampment Resolution Fund to help move homeless individuals to shelter and housing.
The recent Supreme Court ruling marks a significant victory for city officials in the West, yet it poses a setback for homeless rights advocates. Since 2018, the advocates had secured rulings from the 9th Circuit that deemed it unconstitutional to enforce anti-camping laws against individuals without housing and nowhere else to sleep. While the decision does not mandate cities to intensify enforcement actions against homeless individuals, it may afford some of them the freedom to do so.
Newsom said in a statement that the ruling provides state and local officials with the definitive authority to implement and enforce policies to clear unsafe encampments from our streets.
“This decision removes the legal ambiguities that have tied the hands of local officials for years and limited their ability to deliver on common-sense measures to protect the safety and well-being of our communities,” he said.
Advocates for the unhoused say the decision won’t solve the bigger problem and could make life much harder for the 653,104 people living on streets, in parks, and in their cars nationwide.
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Categories: Local Government, Local News
Pray
How can we disband the supreme Court? Their just judges for hire to the highest bidde
Politicians are only concerned about the homeless when there’s an election happening somewhere. Sad.
How Shameful this country is two there own Americans, seniors young adults that just came out of the foster care system and their veterans. This panel of supreme Court judges is an embarrassment.
All of you should go on a field trip to be homeless to experience losing something to experience a loved one loss in your life there’s so many different reasons why people are homeless because.
The Economy is too High Minimum Wage is Not Going UP… but everything else is going up.
SO THE BEST THING IS JUST TO PUT EVERYBODY IN JAIL ARREST THEM AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU GUYS HAVE TO JUDGE YOUR OWN SELF AND THAT MAN UPSTAIRS IS GOING TO JUDGE YOU TOO I HOPE YOU GUYS CAN SLEEP AT NIGHT EVERYBODY ON THE PANEL OF THE SUPREME COURT THE JUDGES. 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👨🏾⚖️👨🏻⚖️🧑🏼⚖️👩🏿⚖️🧑🏻⚖️🧑🏻⚖️🧑🏾⚖️😱👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻
Not long ago I was 2 days away from living in my car with my dog because a concrete guy leasing a house pocketed over $3,500 causing all of us to be evicted including a nurse who works at Kaiser. Fortunately my so found a place for me
People don’t understand how difficult it is to be homeless. I thank GOD for giving me favor with a friend who is letting me stay at her property otherwise I would be homeless. I wrote a letter to President Obama when he was in office. I then tried to explain the hardship now we’re in 2024 . This doesn’t make any sense, we can’t afford to send money to Ukraine and take care of newcomers and not take care of Americans. People are getting killed and dying just because they are homeless. We need more shelters, everybody’s not on drugs or suffer from a mental illness. My credit score didn’t allow me housing anywhere. HELP PLEASE !!!
That’s 600000 more people they can bust put on probation and pay fine right its really just about.money Gn is dump truck for real
There’s going to be overcrowding in jails even more now, And incarnation on a daily basis is going to cost about $130 per inmate. When the inmates are released where are they to go? On the streets again that’s where, It’s going to be a endless cycle. Crime will kick up, More violent robberies, More assaults, More homicides, More defiance to the law, More home invasions, More of everything bad, California is a cesspool of criminal elements. I wish I could afford to move out of this insane state.
I understand perfectly what you’re saying they will follow suit in every state though because people only think of themselves instead of understanding that not everyone is able to do the things they are able to whole families get ignored and overlooked by state officials and now it’s about to get much worse
It’s about time. Being homeless temporary I can show capassion for. But the majority it’s a way life. Most mental ill refuse to take their meds the other is etoh and drug addiction. That refuse to be sober. It about time people start being accountable for themselves
You’re a real prick whole families are homeless and mine was one of them . I wasn’t a drug addict and we tried for years to get into housing my ex kept trying to get jobs but we kept being forced to move away from those jobs . We got housing but I had to leave him because he became abusive many people you don’t know are now going to be unfairly jailed for something they can’t help and struggle to fix
Alright now community leaders don’t have to hide behind the unlawful trespassers near critical infrastructures. Now they can be neglected again, and return to the safety hazards they were before.
How can they rule to arrest homeless people. I have been homeless because I left my 30 year marriage of abuse. I have not received any help. I have signed up with everything. I live in petaluma, ca. I was the first person project home first came to see in this town. I have not heard anything from anyone. I do not qualify for “domestic violence ” help because I did not put my soon to be ex husband in jail. so, here I sit homeless. no help. I just fall through the cracks. while my own mental health goes down the drain each and every day. I am luck that the local police pretty much know of my husband and my marriage problems. due to all of the help I needed throughout my marriage. they have been pretty lenient with me. thank the lord. my husband gave me an unregistered car. I have absolutely no income. while he is sitting there with three registered cars. I have went and called and asked for help everywhere. NOTHING. absolutely nothing. now. I am still homeless. I still have Mt car. it is broke down now. it has not been registered since 2015.i got a ticket for the registration now. could not get it smogged or registered cause I have no money and no help. I called everywhere trying to get help. I even went to the catholic church I was baptized as a baby at. they turned me to salvation army. they won’t help with any of my car stuff. so now I owe a big fine. my car is broke down. not registered and still homeless. without help. so please… tell me where this billion dollars went. because I don’t see any help from anywhere. I even contacted coc, erea, rapid rehousing, and emergency housing.
If you have seen projects popping up like redoing the roads street lightin, tearing roads up redoing them or any other stuff that pops up new it your town that’s where the money went to and not to help the homeless that’s what is happening in my town of Ukiah California Mendocino county.
The Supreme Court Is a supreme farce….look at them …take a good look at what is really very ugly
It’s the elight god will shut them down when it’s over