LETTER FROM SAN FRANCISCO
Is this a turning point in the homeless crisis? Since the Supreme Court ruled at the end of June that there is no constitutional right to sleep in the street, municipalities in the American West have begun to dismantle encampments, particularly in California: the state has some 186,000 homeless people – a third of the homeless in the US.
On June 28, the Supreme Court overturned a 2019 case law that prohibited cities from criminalizing sleeping in a public place if they were unable to offer shelter to the homeless, because of the 8th amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits "cruel and unusual" punishment.
The Court ruled that the 8th Amendment did not apply to the homeless situation. This major decision once again allows municipalities to impose fines or even prison sentences on the homeless, even if no housing solution is available.
$24 billion invested
Although criticized by humanitarian associations, the judges' decision was welcomed by elected representatives, particularly Democrats, who have a majority in the major cities of the West and are overwhelmed by the increase in the number of homeless on their territory, while the number of homeless in the rest of the country is falling. At election time, officials cannot ignore the fact that the sight of homeless people prostrate on sidewalks is an increasingly intolerable heartbreak for their fellow citizens.
At the end of July, California Governor Gavin Newsom, one of the spokespersons for the progressive left in the US, issued an executive order instructing his departments to begin removing tents from state-owned land, including parks, beaches, public buildings, roadsides, areas under freeway interchanges. Officers have been instructed to proceed "humanely." Evictees are to be given 48 to 72 hours' notice and put in touch with social services. Furthermore, their personal belongings are to be tagged and kept for at least sixty days.
The governor himself set an example, clearing tents and garbage from under a freeway bridge with municipal transport officials. Since he took office in 2019, the Golden State has spent some $24 billion trying to solve the issue of homelessness and Newsom is getting impatient. The statistics have barely changed: There are still 186,000 people on the streets, according to the census conducted in January, this is 5,000 more than in 2023.
Penalties
Most California municipalities have begun to dismantle tent cities. Fourteen have issued ordinances banning camping. Santa Monica is even considering banning the homeless from carrying sleeping bags and pillows. However, some elected officials, like Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, are worried about the consequences of the Supreme Court's decision. "It shouldn't be used as an excuse to try to solve the homeless problem through arrests or hide the crisis in neighboring cities or in jail," she stated.
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