Homeless camps cleared in San Diego, Fresno
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — On Friday, the California Governor's office announced homeless encampments in San Diego and Fresno were cleared this past week during a statewide, multi-agency collaboration.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s State Action for Facilitation on Encampments (SAFE) Task Force, California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Caltrans have been collaborating to remove homeless encampments on state property across the state.
San Diego
In San Diego, SAFE Taskforce members on Tuesday cleared encampments along the 805 Freeway, with one that had up to 30 people at times, the governor's office said.
Caltrans workers collected 33 cubic yards of debris and litter, and, in an effort to keep anyone from coming back, will be installing strong fencing and large rocks to deter camping.
“Pairing resources to assist people transiting from street homelessness to shelters or housing before removing unsafe encampments is how we make meaningful progress,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. “I’m grateful Governor Newsom is supporting our efforts by bringing together state agencies through the SAFE Task Force, which builds on our successful new partnership with Caltrans to clear unsafe encampments along our freeways.”
The governor said Caltrans helped people living at the now cleared encampments in San Diego to connect with services and support at a CARE Resource event last week.
The San Diego and Fresno operations this week followed recent actions in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Anaheim, the governor's office said.
Fresno
In Fresno, Caltrans workers cleared an encampment near a residential neighborhood along the Westbound Highway 180 to Northbound Highway 41 Connector, and cleared 6 cubic yards of debris and hazardous waste from the area. The governor's office said they will be installing barriers next to keep people from coming back.
Caltrans workers also installed barriers like rock deterrents to keep people from returning to an encampment that keeps being cleared along a pedestrian footbridge over Highway 180. The governor's office said at times that Fresno encampment had up to 50 people.
Fresno officials will be holding a community outreach fair next week to help people experiencing homelessness with housing, medical care, drug treatment, counseling and other critical services.
"Living in a dangerous and unsanitary encampment should never be someone’s only option and in California, we have built systems of care to provide people with safer, better choices. This week, our teams worked with our local partners in Fresno and San Diego to address homeless encampments on state property — and connect people with support and care," stated Gov. Newsom.
"These ongoing efforts happening up and down the state demonstrate the power of partnership and how together we can address homelessness with urgency, compassion, and accountability — improving safety and quality of life for everyone," Newsom continued.
Since 2021, the governor's office said Caltrans has removed more than 19,000 encampments on state property in California’s most populous cities, and has collected 354,000 cubic yards of litter and debris.
