Watch: Gavin Newsom Clears Out Homeless Camp Weeks After Declaring It Was ‘Time for Everyone to Do Their Part’
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California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) was filmed clearing out a homeless encampment in Los Angeles County Thursday just weeks after he signed an executive order compelling state agencies and communities to do something about the state’s issues with rampant homelessness.
Reporter Matthew Seedorff with FOX Los Angeles shared a 31-second clip of the governor, who was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, removing debris from a camp he said was in Mision Hills in the San Fernando Valley.
Seedorff said Newsom had told him he had not seen enough “urgency” regarding clearing out such encampments.
California Governor @GavinNewsom is in Mission Hills, CA helping clear-out a homeless encampment. About 2 weeks ago Newsom issued an executive order telling state officials to take down homeless camps. He tells me cities need to have more urgency. #California pic.twitter.com/Lkamf7B4to
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) August 8, 2024
In his July 25 executive order, Newsom noted that in 2023, an estimated 180,000 people in his state slept either outdoors or in homeless camps on any given night.
In a statement, the governor said, “[It is] imperative to act with urgency to address dangerous encampments, which subject unsheltered individuals living in them to extreme weather, fires, predatory and criminal activity, and widespread substance use, harming their health, safety, and well-being, and which also threaten the safety and viability of nearby businesses and neighborhoods and undermine the cleanliness and usability of parks, water supplies, and other public resources.”
Newsom said in a separate statement:
This executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them — and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same. The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets. There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.
Local governments now have the tools they need to address the decades-long issue of homelessness.
Today, we are issuing an executive order that directs state agencies & urges locals to address encampments while connecting those living in them to housing & supportive services. pic.twitter.com/z9dYwAct5w
— California Governor (@CAgovernor) July 25, 2024
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