Clearing tents, arresting homeless doesn’t help end homelessness

Like all California residents, I am very, very aware of the state’s homelessness problem. Like most Angelenos, I see it myself when I drive through Venice or downtown LA, past blocks and blocks of tent cities and abandoned buildings that are literally just steps away from gentrified neighborhoods.

If I lived next door to one of these tent cities, would I be concerned about my childrens’ exposure to drug use, unclean living conditions, and so forth? Of course I would. But would I want these obviously-suffering individuals – apart from those engaging in criminal activity – arrested? For…being in pain, and having no real system in place to help them? No, on moral grounds, but also no…because this strategy doesn’t work. 

Putting homeless people in jail makes their situation worse. As Downtown Women’s Center CEO Amy Turk told ABC News, quote, “I’ve never seen incarceration work to end homelessness. I’ve only seen that extend homelessness.” 

And after being “cleaned out”? These encampments either return to where they were, or simply move somewhere else. Mass clearings are simply not a solution. What has been proven, time and again, to work: Outreach. Mental health services. Job training. 

And yet on July 25, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that local governments would be given $24 billion in funding to “address” these camps – in other words, to fine and arrest unhoused people for the crime of sleeping outdoors, on public property. 

See, this sounds like a local issue, but it’s not. It’s about a larger cultural shift towards the understanding of the root causes of homelessness, and the resultant change in how we address it. 

As a society, we have a greater understanding of and compassion for mental health struggles than, I’d venture, any previous time in history. We understand addiction is an illness. We understand that trauma often begets trauma, and that it’s not all about pulling up those metaphorical bootstraps. 

So what did LA County do? The board unanimously voted against Newsom’s order, reinforcing the “Care First, Jails Last” commitment to community investment. LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said, quote, “being homeless is not a crime, and we will maintain our focus on criminal behavior rather than an individual’s status.” 

Why I like this story: Because it shows that even if you agree with a politician’s overarching position – I’m not anti-newsom by any means – you can strongly disagree with individual policies, and can, as it turns out, work to combat them on the local level. 

I’m not saying that the homelessness problem in LA is anywhere close to being solved – but from what I can tell, the very fact that a discussion is happening – and moving the needle in a positive direction – shows that in this case, at least, government seems to be working.