Cities that ban or criminalize homeless services worsen California’s crisis

The word “accountability’’ continues to be thrown in every direction when it comes to solving homelessness. 

A bill on the governor’s desk, Senate Bill 634 from state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, would be a step forward in holding local jurisdictions accountable for addressing homelessness by stopping cities from chasing away critical, supportive services — along with the people who take on the tough task of helping unhoused people.

In his efforts to hold cities accountable, Gov. Gavin Newsom has rightly castigated some of the worst actors at the local level — from the city of Turlock, which refused to commit $1 in local funding to unlock major state funding to keep an existing shelter open, to the city of Norwalk, which sought to ban supportive housing and shelters in violation of state and federal law. Thankfully, a state lawsuit forced officials there to back down.

I have seen the entire spectrum of local efforts on homelessness — positive and negative — in my role as a city councilmember in Claremont, chairperson of the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust and board member of the LA County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency.

Some localities are good actors, trying to solve the problem but lacking the tools and partnerships required to be effective. Some are bad actors, turning homelessness policy into an indictment of the people who cannot afford housing — suggesting the problem is that they are visible, not that they are unhoused. 

Accountability from state leaders means continuing to provide desperately needed funding for housing and supportive services, to help get our homeless neighbors back into housing. Accountability from cities means, at the most basic level, allowing those lifesaving, supportive services to reach the people experiencing homelessness on our streets. 

Despite reams of evidence that criminalizing homelessness not only fails to solve the issue but actually prolongs homelessness and makes it worse, some cities even tried criminalizing basic supportive services that help people survive the streets and get them back into housing.

In February, Fremont proposed criminalizing people who ‘’aid and abet’’ homeless encampments, as though social workers and good Samaritans handing out sandwiches were driving the getaway car in a bank robbery.  El Cajon, Santa Ana and other cities have tried it, too. 

That makes SB 634 even more critical. As the Trump administration pushes cities to take more draconian tactics, the bill would draw a line, so cities cannot prohibit the delivery of basic outreach and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness.

These services — coupled with access to housing that’s affordable — are ultimately the only long-term solution to homelessness. Everything else is just a shell game. 

Cities can and should do more. They should enact zoning that makes it easier to build affordable housing and shelters. They should partner with counties to make sure behavioral health services are available for people seeking them. The list of best practices goes on. 

At the very least, they should not bar the services needed to address homelessness for which Newsom has consistently provided funding. The governor should take these recalcitrant cities to task and sign SB 634.