Local leaders react to Gov. Gavin Newsom's push to end encampments

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- California accounts for nearly a quarter of the homeless population in the United States with more than 187,000 Californians needing housing. Gov. Gavin Newsom is once again pushing for more cities to act on homeless encampments.

Some Fresno City leaders said the encampment ordinances are effective, but advocates for the unhoused say there are still gaps that need to be filled to truly help people get off the streets.

"It is time to take back the streets, it's time to take back the sidewalks, Newsom said. "It's time to take these encampments and provide alternatives."

Gov. Newsom is pushing cities and counties across the state to immediately enact ordinances to address, what he calls, unhealthy and dangerous encampments.

It comes amid growing public outrage and a Supreme Court ruling last summer that cleared the way for people to be arrested for camping on city property.

In the months following, cities across Central California, including Fresno and Visalia, passed ordinances, commonly called camping bans.

RELATED: The impact of the city of Fresno's camping ordinance

Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz said since the ordinance went into effect, 250 citations have been issued.

"Again, our first priority is to get housing and services for individuals, and that is always our first offer, even before arrest and even before we go to trial," said Andrew Janz, Fresno City Attorney.

Adrianne Hillman founded the Visalia non-profit Salt + Light, which helps people at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

She said placing the burden on law enforcement and the legal system isn't the solution.

"I think arresting our way out of it isn't the best because we are already low on resources for our law enforcement, at least here locally," said Adrianne Hillman, Salt + Light.

On Monday, the governor announced more than $3 billion in funding for local governments and organizations to expand behavioral health housing and treatment options for the most seriously ill.

That funding comes from voter-approved Prop 1.

Hillman said services are an important piece of addressing encampments.

"Really making sure people have a place to go and really putting the pieces together to get them there is the best way to get people off the streets permanently," said Hillman. "When resources are going toward programs that say they have wrap-around services that they really are wrap-around. That term is becoming very loose in a way that we can say that we have wrap-around services, and it can look like case management, and here's the phone number to the social security office. That's not really wrap-around services."

Hillman hopes local government leaders will lean on the expertise of advocates like herself before making any decisions.

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