City workers in neon safety vests and white protective suits conduct a street sweep on O’Farrell Street in San Francisco. One worker looks into a cart where a dog is lying. Nearby, a person in a black hoodie holds a food container while looking off to the side. Another person in a black jacket and camouflage pants sits on a chair, their head down, with belongings piled beside them. The atmosphere appears tense and somber.
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Move along: Targeting homeless Californians

Shauna Henry, center, stares at a city worker as he removes furniture from the street minutes after she was moved from an encampment in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco on Aug. 8, 2024. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters

In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Grants Pass v. Johnson, that cities did not have to have a shelter bed available before punishing someone for sleeping on the street. That ruling, stemming from an ordinance enacted by an Oregon town, has had huge consequences for California, home to more unhoused individuals than any other state, more than 187,000 by the most recent count.

In the wake of that decision, local governments increased their policing of homelessness, either through new rules or more enforcement of old ones. Gov. Gavin Newsom led the charge, imploring cities to do so and directing agencies under his control, like Caltrans, to step up enforcement.

Every time a homeless person is forced to move, the odds that they lose something increase. That can include identification and documentation critical to obtaining housing and medication the person needs to survive. Moving also makes it harder for someone to stay in touch with case managers and social workers working to get homeless people into housing.
Homeless Californians also have more difficulty getting to jobs and keeping appointments like court dates. Every time they get arrested or forced to move, that gets harder. Missed court dates can eventually lead to warrants and fines: More barriers to obtaining housing and getting off the street.

CalMatters requested records from more than 100 different departments and agencies and worked with news organizations across the state to paint a vivid and accurate picture of how increased punishment of homelessness has affected homeless individuals, housed neighbors, schools, and businesses.

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