Newsom Launches New Task Force to Clear Homeless Encampments

The task force will focus on clearing large encampments on state property in California’s 10 most populous cities.

A homeless individual uses drugs on a public sidewalk in Santa Ana, Calif., on April 23, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the formation of a statewide task force aimed at clearing homeless encampments on public streets and expanding access to housing, shelter, and supportive services for those affected.

“No one should live in a dangerous or unsanitary encampment, and we will continue our ongoing work to ensure that everyone has a safe place to call home,” Newsom said in a statement announcing the task force on Aug. 29.

“Today I am establishing a new task force that pairs urgency with dignity—restoring safe, usable public spaces while providing care for Californians living in dangerous encampments.”

The SAFE Task Force brings together multiple state agencies to focus on clearing encampments in California’s 10 largest cities over the next 30 days, according to the governor’s office.

The effort targets high-priority sites in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, Long Beach, Anaheim, Bakersfield, and Fresno.

The announcement builds on Newsom’s executive order from July 2024, directing encampment cleanups, as well as a recent draft ordinance provided to local governments. It follows reported reductions in unsheltered homelessness in various communities across the state.

The agencies include the California Office of Emergency Services, which will be in charge of logistics and procuring resources; the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, which will be responsible for connecting homeless people with housing and supportive resources; the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, which will assist local governments with how to help the homeless affected; the California Health and Human Services agency which will offer health and behavioral support; the California Highway Patrol for public safety and which will prevent encampments from re-emerging; and the California State Transportation Agency, which will be responsible for physically clearing the encampments.

The task force aims to work with local partners to humanely clear encampments, offer housing, and prevent reoccupation, while expanding mental health and substance-use services funded through voter-approved Proposition 1.

Since July 2021, the California Department of Transportation has removed more than 18,000 encampments along state rights-of-way and collected about 334,440 cubic yards of litter and debris, equivalent to filling 11,950 garbage trucks, according to the governor’s office.

This week, the department reached a new maintenance agreement with San Francisco to improve coordination on state rights-of-way. In the first two days, crews cleared encampments at Cesar Chavez Junction and 13th and Van Ness, connecting 12 individuals to social services and shelter.

Newsom’s broader strategy includes streamlining housing construction, funding shelters and supports, holding local governments accountable, updating conservatorship laws, and establishing a new CARE court system to address the mental health impact on homelessness.

The governor previously filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm state and local authority to clear encampments and issued an executive order urging humane approaches with adequate notice and support.