Santa Cruz County officials on Tuesday pointed to a shift in the population of people experiencing homelessness from Santa Cruz to Watsonville and said that a new shelter and other services were needed in the southern part of the county before homeless encampments could be targeted as encouraged by an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
homelessness
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Santa Cruz backs ban on other communities bringing homeless to city
In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Santa Cruz City Council threw initial support behind a new law that would ban agents of other governments from dropping homeless people off within the city of Santa Cruz boundaries. The city council will vote in two weeks on final approval.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz wants to ban other communities from sending homeless people to the city
The Santa Cruz City Council will consider a new ordinance next week that would ban other communities from dropping people off in Santa Cruz who are experiencing homelessness. The move comes after police officers from Hanford, a town outside Bakersfield, drove three hours to drop a homeless woman off at a Santa Cruz shelter in June.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Santa Cruz city leaders need to be honest about encampment sweeps
Santa Cruz city leaders claim to oppose criminalization of homelessness, but recent actions tell a different story, writes Santa Cruz homelessness activist Marsa Greenspan. Police-led encampment sweeps on Coral Street are, she believes, inhumane and ineffective. Research-based best practices for addressing encampments exist, yet are ignored by the city, she writes. She challenges city officials and the community to do better.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Santa Cruz remains committed to compassionate homeless solutions, despite Supreme Court decision
The City of Santa Cruz is not changing its homeless policies in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order to clear homeless encampments. Rather, it is moving forward with programs that increase affordable housing, offer shelter and provide outreach, writes City Manager Matt Huffaker. Here, Huffaker outlines the city’s programs, efforts and grants, which he says have led to a 36% decrease in homelessness in Santa Cruz over the past year.
Posted inLatest News
Homeless Garden Project gets $150,000 grant for retail products
The Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz has been selected to participate in the California Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise and will receive a $150,000 grant funded by the state through the California Office of the Small Business Advocate. It’s one of 61 grants awarded to organizations across the state.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
‘We gotta be somewhere’: Homeless Californians react to Newsom’s crackdown
Homeless Californians and activists say authorities are cracking down harder on encampments, after getting the green light from the Supreme Court and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Posted inLatest News
Newsom’s homeless encampment order: What impact will it have in Santa Cruz County?
Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies to develop policies to clear homeless encampments. How that order will affect local jurisdictions across California remains unclear.
Posted inWatsonville / Pajaro
Pajaro levee encampment clearing pushes ahead as crews prep for levee repairs
The Pajaro River levee encampment clearing continued to move forward Thursday as Watsonville public works crews prepared to repair parts of the levee. The entire process is slated to last through next week, but could extend beyond that.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Newsom orders state agencies to clear homeless encampments
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered state agencies to remove homeless camps throughout California, his first major show of force since the Supreme Court granted state and local authorities more power to clear encampments.
