The Center for Independent Living (CIL) opposes Governor Newsom’s Executive Order from July 25th, 2024, where he orders state agencies and departments to adopt policies that urgently “address” homeless encampments; the real impact of Governor Newsom’s Executive Order has been for cities to increase and intensify sweeps of our unhoused neighbors, removing RVs while offering no safe place to park, and in San Francisco, even encouraging bus tickets out of town for unhoused residents. Emboldened by the dangerous Supreme Court Grants Pass vs. Johnson decision, Governor Newsom has led cities and counties across California to further criminalize people for being unhoused, with expanded powers to arrest, cite and fine people who sleep outside in public places — overturning six years of legal protections for unhoused residents in California.

Governor Newsom’s Executive Order will exacerbate trauma, unsafety, and displacement of those most marginalized members of our communities. As a cross-disability organization, The Center for Independent Living recognizes the connections between ableism, classism, racism, and houselessness; according to the California Healthcare Foundation, over 42% of people experiencing houselessness identify as disabled. The lack of affordable and accessible housing, as well as the disproportionate rates of people with disabilities living in poverty (due to underemployment ways programs like Medi-Cal and SSI often reinforce cycles of poverty) all contribute to disabled people becoming unhoused at higher rates.

While Governor Newsom’s Executive Order states it will help unhoused people access housing and services, we have seen that the solutions historically offered are inadequate, with unhoused people referred to overcrowded and inaccessible shelters, instead of permanent supportive housing. Further, during sweeps, we have witnessed the destruction and removal of people with disabilities’ mobility devices and durable medical equipment, making it difficult for them to access any kind of services or shelter that might be offered after. We are in solidarity with our unhoused neighbors, and with mutual aid, racial justice, and housing justice organizations like Love and Justice in the Streets, Wood Street Commons, POOR Magazine, and others as they condemn Governor Newsom’s Executive Order and the criminalization of unhoused communities, and demand robust, community-driven permanent and supportive housing for all who need it. Housing Justice is a cross-disability issue! We urge Governor Newsom to retract his Executive Order and work with communities who are most impacted to develop dignified Housing First solutions.

If you are a person with a disability or older adult who has questions about housing, please reach out to CIL’s peer Housing Counseling Program for resources and tools at 510-841-4776. We are linking CIL’s Housing Resource Guide and East Bay Housing Organizations’s Immediate Housing Resource Guide.

• CIL’s Housing Search Guide.
• EBHO’s ‘Immediate Housing Resources’ Guide: https://ebho.org/looking-for-housing/direct-support/ and EBHO’s ‘Steps to Find Affordable Housing’ guide: https://ebho.org/looking-for-housing/#steps-to-find

In Solidarity,
The Center for Independent Living