Governor Newsom’s SAFE Task Force clears Los Angeles encampment, partners with city to connect people with shelter and care

What you need to know: Governor Newsom's statewide task force to target encampments and fast-track care and support today was in Los Angeles for its first southern California operation - working with Mayor Karen Bass and local partners to clear a dangerous encampment off a state right of way and provide wrap-around services and shelter for those in need.

LOS ANGELES - Continuing California's all-in effort to address the nationwide homelessness crisis, today Governor Newsom's State Action for Facilitation on Encampments (SAFE) Task Force addressed a persistent encampment alongside a busy freeway and neighborhood in Los Angeles. Partnering with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass through her Inside Safe Program and the County of Los Angeles, dozens of people were provided supportive services and housing before state agencies removed the encampment. The task force removed approximately 340 cubic yards of debris from the site, equivalent to roughly three large shipping containers. This work is part of California's effective strategies, which have led to reductions in unsheltered homelessness in communities throughout the state.

Footage and b-roll of the operation and a nearby resources fair can be found here.

"No one should live in a dangerous or unsanitary encampment, and we will continue our ongoing work to ensure that everyone has a safe place to call home. We stand strongest when we stand together - today, we are proud to work with our partners in Los Angeles to pair urgency with dignity and get people the help they need and deserve. California has built a strong system to address homelessness, and it is helping us turn this nationwide crisis around."

Governor Gavin Newsom

Just over a year after the Governor issued an executive order directing encampment cleanups and months after providing a new draft ordinance for local governments, the Governor advanced Californians' statewide strategy to address the homelessness crisis with a new statewide task force to prioritize and remove encampments and bring services and shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness along state rights-of-way in California's ten largest cities.

California's State Action for Facilitation on Encampments (SAFE) Task Force brings together expertise and programs from across state agencies to target encampments, with a particular focus on emergency management, social services, health care, substance use support, resource and land management, and public safety. Working together with local governments to provide shelter and social services, the SAFE Task Force will prioritize encampments on state rights-of-way and assist in finding suitable shelter options for individuals residing there. Locations identified include areas with large encampments and high-priority encampments on state rights-of-way in California's ten most populous cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, Long Beach, Anaheim, Bakersfield, and Fresno.

About today's operation

The operation today targeted a persistent encampment off the 110 freeway in Los Angeles. The encampment, situated adjacent to the freeway on state right-of-way, was blocking traffic and located across the street from a residential neighborhood. Notice and outreach began on Friday, Sept. 19 and the city and county of LA began delivering social services to the 40 people experiencing homelessness on the site on Monday, Sept. 23. With the close coordination between the Governor's SAFE Task Force and the Mayor's Inside Safe Program, all of the people in the encampment accepted shelter and support. Caltrans conducted cleanup of the site, including the clearing of debris, hazardous waste, and the collection and storage of personal belongings, on Tuesday. Caltrans will also install mitigation measures, including landscaping and fencing to prevent repopulation of the area, which is not safe for human habitation.

Nearby, at a local resource fair, people who were formerly experiencing homelessness in encampments were connected with healthcare and supportive services, including new identification from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which is a key requirement for receiving housing assistance and services.

Dismantling dangerous encampments

This announcement builds on the Governor's broader effort to address the homelessness and housing crises affecting the entire nation and reverse a problem that has been decades in the making. Governor Newsom has set a strong expectation for all local governments to address encampments in their communities and help connect people with support. In 2024, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to recognize the need for state and local authority to clear encampments. After the Supreme Court issued a ruling that removed legal ambiguities that had tied the hands of state and local officials, Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state entities and urging local governments to clear encampments using a state-tested model to address encampments humanely, offer housing, and provide people with adequate notice and support.

A strong strategy that works

Governor Newsom is creating a structural and foundational model that will have positive impacts for generations to come by streamlining and prioritizing building of new housing, funding new shelters, housing, and supports, holding local governments accountable, addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness through voter-approved Proposition 1, and creating new pathways for those who need it most through updated conservatorship laws and a new CARE court system.

Reducing homelessness in LA and throughout the state

California's largest communities are reporting substantial decreases in homelessness numbers - indicating that California's comprehensive and strategic approach to reversing this national crisis and getting people out of encampments is working.

Under the Mayor's local leadership, Los Angeles is making strong progress, with initial reporting showing a nearly 8% drop in unsheltered homelessness and overall homelessness is reported to have declined for two years in a row in L.A. for the first time. This progress is thanks in part to strong support from the state and development of initiatives such as Inside Safe, Mayor Bass' comprehensive multiagency program to reduce homelessness. Inside Safe has brought thousands of people inside and resolved more than 100 often entrenched and longstanding encampments in every council district in the city. Last year, LA also increased its total year-round bed count by more than 7.5%.

Los Angeles is also utilizing state funding to enhance behavioral health services, targeting those most vulnerable. Through voter-approved Proposition 1, California has provided Los Angeles approximately $1.58 billion to expand behavioral health infrastructure, access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment and supportive housing for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Reversing a decades-in-the-making crisis

Between 2014 and 2019 - before Governor Newsom took office - unsheltered homelessness in California rose by approximately 37,000 people. Since then, under this Administration, California has significantly slowed that growth, even as many other states have seen worsening trends.

In 2024, while homelessness increased nationally by over 18%, California limited its overall increase to just 3% - a lower rate than in 40 other states. The state also held the growth of unsheltered homelessness to just 0.45%, compared to a national increase of nearly 7%. States like Florida, Texas, New York, and Illinois saw larger increases both in percentage and absolute numbers. California also achieved the nation's largest reduction in veteran homelessness and made meaningful progress in reducing youth homelessness.