Newsom's office says 25 people are now housed after Long Beach encampment sweep last week
More than two dozen people are now staying in a recently opened shelter after an encampment clean-up operation in Long Beach last week, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom's office.
According to Newsom's Office, the SAFE Task Force connected 25 people and eight pets with housing at a state-funded shelter in the aftermath of Wednesday's encampment operation.
"There's nothing humane about letting people languish outdoors without shelter or support," Newsom said. "We've been leaning in with unprecedented state help — real resources for our cities and counties — to turn this national homelessness crisis around and to get people the care they need. We're standing with our local partners like Long Beach to move people out of encampments and into a safe, stable place."
The operation was performed in coordination between the City of Long Beach and PATH homeless services, Newsom's office said.
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson called the operations part of the city's commitment toward providing safety for residents.
"Every person in Long Beach deserves safety, stability, and a real path forward. For too long, our neighbors living along the riverbed have faced dangerous conditions that have been difficult to address because they span multiple jurisdictions," Richardson said. "By strengthening our partnership with Governor Newsom's SAFE Task Force and Caltrans, we're finally able to take a coordinated, compassionate approach that connects people with housing, services, and long-term support."
The 25 people who were provided with shelter are now being housed in a nearby state-funded Homekey site that opened Oct. 29.
Newsom has focused in on California's homelessness crisis in recent years. Last year, he directed local municipalities to act on the issue and cut down on encampments, even threatening to pull state funding from cities and counties that remain inactive.
"We must act with urgency to address dangerous encampments," Newsom said last year.