Antioch aims to clear more areas of homeless encampments
Armed with a Supreme Court ruling and encouragement from Governor Gavin Newsom, cities have become more aggressive about clearing homeless encampments.
And in Contra Costa County, Antioch is looking for tools to make it easier to move people along, while also giving them someplace to go.
On Tuesday morning, Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe met the media at a trail that has become a gathering place for the unhoused. Currently, the city's ban on overnight camping only extends to parks and recreation centers.
The mayor wants it to include all city properties, including trails, creeks, sidewalks and streets. He said the expanded ordinance would allow the city to clear campers without a time-consuming noticing period, but he recognized that it's a makeshift approach to the problem.
"This update to the ordinance is not a solution to homelessness," said Hernandez-Thorpe. "It's a solution to keep our trails and waterways clear, but it doesn't house anybody."
For that, he pointed to the city's own transitional housing facility at the former Executive Inn motel, now called "Opportunity Village." It's been open for 15 months, and of the 126 clients, 90 have found stable affordable housing. But in describing it, the mayor seemed to be speaking directly to the governor.
"In August, the governor made it even more clear that he is now threatening funding for cities if they do not start demonstrating efforts," he said. "I want the governor to know that the city of Antioch has demonstrated in many ways how we can house people."
That's because the city is currently seeking a $6 million state grant to open a second transitional hotel. But Hernandez-Thorpe said there's a reason Antioch's homeless population keeps growing.
"As larger cities like San Francisco, Oakland, and other places continue to dismantle homeless encampments and push people out of their city, I want to be very, very clear that Antioch is not going to be a dump site for the Bay Area's problems," he said. "It's not fair. It's not right. We are going to fight to ensure that people who have been here are still at the head of the line to get services."
But under the terms of the grant those living on the trail would not be eligible for the new housing. Meanwhile, a woman named Christina, who has been in the area for three years, said the proposed expanded camping ban would simply add more stress to her desperate lifestyle.
"It's already overwhelming being in this situation to begin with," she said. "And now, to have to move at least once a week is exhausting. There's no recovering from that. If there was ever a chance of getting some sort of regular life back, how's that going to happen if I have to move once a week, at least?"
And a homeless advocate who attended the press conference also took issue with the proposed ordinance.
"I don't know what money Antioch is trying to get, but I think it should have been flipped around," said Nichole Gardner, director of a group called Facing Homelessness. "We should have focused on housing and getting those beds first, and then if people don't take the opportunity, then we can tell them, OK, you can't be in this space. But just to say that, I really feel bad for our brothers and sisters on the streets."
The mayor said he expects to introduce the expanded camping ban at next week's council meeting. He said, if approved, it could take three to 6 months to go into effect.
It's often said the solution to homelessness is to build more homes. But that could take a generation to accomplish, and in the meantime, the state — and cities like Antioch — are losing their patience over the squalor surrounding the encampments.