Newsom Allocates Additional $300M to Clear Homeless Encampments Near Highways

The new funding, aimed at improving safety, adds to the existing $414M from the state's Encampment Resolution Fund, but critics argue it merely displaces the homeless.

• Governor Gavin Newsom has announced nearly $300 million in additional grant money to help local governments clear homeless encampments, particularly those near state highways and interstate highways.
• About half of the funding will be dedicated to clearing encampments on public roads, highways, and interstate highways owned and maintained by Caltrans.
• This new funding adds to the $414 million already awarded from the state's Encampment Resolution Fund, established in 2021 to help local jurisdictions provide more re-housing options for people living in encampments near highways.
• Newsom has stated that the clearing of encampments is motivated by safety concerns, for both the people living in them and the surrounding community members.
• Critics, such as state Sen. Brian Dahle, argue that the governor's efforts merely displace the homeless without resolving the underlying issues, and accuse Newsom of prioritizing optics over real results.

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