I was honored to speak with reporter Rob Hayes of ABC7 News last week to comment on Governor Newsom’s executive order to clean up homeless encampments. This order and the Governor’s stance on homeless encampments are closely connected to the outreach work of Orange County Rescue Mission (OCRM), where we regularly visit encampments to offer people an alternative to life on the streets. In fact, I first became connected with the homeless community in Orange County 15 years ago when I started visiting encampments to serve chili dinners and encourage the people there to seek life-changing services.
Please click the image below to watch the ABC7 report, and continue reading here for a more in-depth response.
If you have not read or heard about it, Governor Newsom issued an executive order (link below) on Thursday, July 25, 2024, which ordered state agencies and departments to “adopt clear policies that urgently address homeless encampments while respecting the dignity and well-being of all Californians.” Governor Newsom announced the order on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “I don’t think there is anything more urgent and more frustrating than addressing the issue of encampments in the state of California.” The order further explains that the expectation is for “state agencies and departments to adopt policies and plans consistent with the California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) existing encampment policy,” citing that since July 2021, CalTrans has resolved more than 11,000 encampments along California highways.
So what does this mean for the day-to-day reality of homeless people and the organizations and nonprofits that serve them? We know from experience that, on average, 85 percent of the people we serve at OCRM are struggling with a drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness, or both. People being moved out of encampments need to be offered help to deal specifically with these issues.
We also know from experience that we see an increase in people seeking services whenever there is an effort to crack down on encampments, such as the Santa Ana River trail in Anaheim in 2018. This is a good thing! We do well as a society to keep our public places orderly and crime-free, while also offering help to people who have been living in these encampments.
In the last few years, Orange County has done a great job of opening emergency shelters to house people who quickly need a place to go. The increased number of shelter beds provided by the county and the individual cities within the county has made it possible for adults to find shelter, provided they’re willing to adhere to the rules of the shelter. But an emergency bed is only the first step.
In the long run, the best outcome for a homeless man, woman, or family is to equip them to achieve self-sufficiency. This doesn’t happen overnight. OCRM’s programs take, on average, 18 to 24 months to complete. Students in our programs receive sobriety coaching, counseling, vocational skills, adult education, legal assistance, and full access to a health clinic that provides mental health services. Most importantly, people witness the love of Jesus Christ in action, hear the truth about a relationship with God, and have the opportunity to learn to put faith into practice in their daily lives. We’ve helped hundreds of people who used to live in homeless encampments achieve self-sufficiency, where they are gainfully employed and able to afford their own housing. By God’s grace, we will continue to do so with people who are seeking an opportunity for help in the wake of this executive order.