Last week, California governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order calling on city officials across the state to remove homeless encampments. The order comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Grants Pass v. Johnson case, which found that citing or jailing unhoused individuals does not constitute “cruel or unusual punishment.”

Across the country, homeless “sweeps” are becoming more common; as homelessness increases, so has its visibility. The Associated Press reported in 2023 that nationwide, officials are being pressured by the public to “clean up” unsanctioned encampments, which involves dismantling tents and informal shelters; garbage trucks haul away personal belongings. After Newsom issued his order, CNN described a mixed reception from the state’s city leaders: In Los Angeles, where the city’s 46,000-plus unhoused population declined slightly in last month’s count, Mayor Karen Bass rebuked the encampment clearance strategy, calling it ineffective. In San Francisco, The New York Times quoted Mayor London Breed, who stated her administration would become “‘very aggressive and assertive in moving encampments’ starting next month,” and could take advantage of the Supreme Court ruling and begin issuing citations.

The order could have broad effects: According to The Guardian, a 2023 count found that nearly 180,000 individuals in California are unhoused, with at least 123,000 of those people living on the streets and without formal shelter. The state has been struggling to manage the crisis; CalMatters reports on a state audit that found that, over the past five years, Newsom’s administration has spent $24 billion to address the issue over the last five fiscal years.

CalMatters highlights only two “cost effective” programs: First, Project Homekey assists municipalities in turning former hotels into temporary housing at the cost of $144,000 per unit and has created an additional 15,000 units of housing as of January this year. The CalWORKS Housing Support Program, which provides cash aid to those at risk of becoming unhoused, “spent an average of $12,000–$22,000 per household, while a single chronically homeless person can cost taxpayers as much as $50,000 per year,” reads the story.

CalWORKS shows promise at a time when working Americans find themselves unable to afford housing. Last week, a Washington Post story revealed that last year’s record-high homelessness rate grew as those who are employed could no longer find affordable housing. Though data on unhoused workers is not collected, the Post used reports from shelter administrators and local organizations, finding that, “a strong labor market and rising wages haven’t been enough to offset the financial strains of inflation.”

Cover Image Credit: Getty Images, APU GOMES