Validating Violence

The Western Regional Advocacy Project denounces California state Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order N-1-24 as this policy will only embolden the aggressive and carceral methods used to push unhoused people out of the public eye. 

This executive order comes on the heels of the June Supreme court ruling for Johnson vs Grants Pass: a monumental decision that allows cities to cite individuals if they are unhoused even if no other shelter is made available. By declaring states have their own authority, it signals to the country that there is no baseline for how unhoused people should be treated. The complete disregard for humanity from this decision is deeply felt as organizations and individuals alike had spent months leading up to the decision, asserting a ruling in favor of Grants Pass would only exacerbate the war on the unhoused and the poor. 

Newsom claims “there is now no excuse with this supreme court order” to address the encampments across the state. He attempts to place blame on lawsuits and injunctions for why the methodology to approach this crisis have been lacking. In reality, the negligence of the city and state officials are long standing. From sweeps to budget cuts to treatment and public services to the ever worsening housing crisis, the politically elite and the wealthy continue to push forward initiatives that bolster their own interests. California’s housing crisis, for example, is a gold mine for those who control and profit off of the exorbitant rent. Rent in California is so high that the state holds the second in the nation for highest average cost of rent while the state minimum wage is at $16.00 meaning obtaining and then sustaining housing is unreasonably obtained. 

Criminalizing unhoused people simply for trying to survive and navigate an ill resourced system is not going to solve homelessness. Punishing people via citations or other means will only create more barriers for individuals to break free from the cycle of homelessness. WRAP sees through every thinly veiled appraisal for what has already been done for our community. The solution is simple. Nothing beats homelessness like a home.