How SLO city and county leaders respond to gov.'s order on homeless encampments

Governor Gavin Newsom is pushing for a crackdown on homeless encampments in California.

While local leaders say they're one step ahead of the crackdown, not everyone in the county agrees.

“Where are we supposed to go?” asked Christina Malmen, a homeless individual in San Luis Obispo.

Malmen says she's struggled with homelessness most of her adult life and she believes the city does not provide enough resources for the homeless population.

“They want you to go to Prado, but when you go to Prado Center they only take so many people. They don't help you when you need it. I've been there a couple of times and I pretty much gave up,” Malmen continued.

Malmen is one of more than 180,000 people facing homelessness in California, according to a 2023 Homeless Assessment Report to Congress from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

She is concerned about the new order.

“My first instinct is I don't think it's going to help much,” Malmen continued.

Governor Gavin Newsom's executive order urges state agencies to move quickly to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the people living in them.

“Currently the County of San Luis Obispo is under compliance with that executive order,” said Suzie Freeman, Communications Program Manager for San Luis Obispo County's Homeless Services Division.

She says that includes providing adequate advanced notice, conducting early outreach through homeless services, and offering temporary storage for personal belongings.

“We want to make sure everyone is on the same page. We want to have a game plan established before we go out and work with the people to make sure they have the resources and housing they need to transition from an encampment to permanent housing,” Freeman said. “We’re also making sure we can expand our housing capacity to make sure that people have someplace to go. We're not interested in shuffling people around.”

KSBY reached out to the City of San Luis Obispo which says its current practices are consistent with the executive order — immediately addressing dangerous or hazardous encampments and working with service providers to refer people to services.

“I hope things get a little better. You have to hope for the best,” Malmen concluded.

The city said it will continue to do outreach for people living in encampments and work closely with state agencies.