Editor’s note: Today, our newspaper joins forces with nearly a dozen other north-state publications for our fourth annual “State of Homelessness” edition. Since our first joint collaboration in 2021, our aim has been to report on what is happening in the always-complicated world of homelessness in cities from Santa Cruz to Vacaville and the Vallejo to Butte County. Each of the MediaNews Group newspapers in our area have contributed a story with the latest look at what’s happening with homelessness in their towns; as always, our hope is to show that this is not problem confined to the boundaries of of any one city or county. Together, our reporters and editors learn something new from this project every year; we trust you will, too.
When it comes to homelessness, Times-Herald readers don’t need a smart introduction to open their eyes to the issue. For Vallejo residents, both off and on the streets, the issue has never been clearer.
The Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson has turned this year into one more crucial than ever for the city. By stripping recent precedent prohibiting cities from enforcing anti-camping laws on public property without having shelter to offer, government agencies across the country are now forced to confront the limits of their compassion.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom was quick to set the tone. An executive order issued July 25 gave the green light for local agencies to clear encampment sites located on state property, including freeway ramps, highways and government buildings.
Local agencies, like Vallejo, were given permission from the get go with the SCOTUS ruling, but with the emboldenment of the state’s chief executive, and arguably one of the most influential politicians in the country, it wasn’t long before the city started clearings of its own.
By the numbers
In January, the Solano County Community Action Partnership Joint Powers Authority, or CAP Solano JPA, released its biennial Point in Time count. The Point in Time count derives its namesake from the practice — the county organizes volunteers to systematically count the number of homeless people on the streets of Solano County cities on one given night. The count is intended to be a best estimate on a count of its randomness, but is often seen as an undercount.
This year, Vallejo’s homeless population grew substantially since the 2022 count, putting in the spotlight the glaring lack of shelter space available.
Of the 727 individuals experiencing homelessness in Vallejo on the night of the January count, 665 were unsheltered. Across Solano County, 28% were living in their car, 19.9% in recreational vehicles, 7.1% in vans, 4.5% in tents, 5.8% on the street, 3% in parks, 2.8% under bridges or overpasses, 1.5% in abandoned buildings, 0.7% on boats and 0.4% at bus stations. Six point eight were listed as others.
According to the 2024 Point in Time Count, individuals in custody in Solano County Correctional facilities are not included in this count. However, 22% of incarcerated at the time of the count are said to have been experiencing homelessness at the time of their arrest. At the time of the count in January, only one bed of 121 was available across the county.
The San Francisco Bay Area’s distinct twist to homelessness is that a high percentage of people living on the streets have their own self-provided shelter. And while this provides several benefits, including shelter from the elements and travel when necessary, it also opens new issues which have been at the forefront of Vallejo’s confrontations.
Nowhere to go
Yes, the city is legally within its right to remove encampments on their property. However, without any access to shelter, the city council is playing what one resident called at Thursday’s mayoral debate a “game of whack-a-mole.”
At the Aug. 7 clearing by the city at the dead-end of Sereno Drive off Sonoma Boulevard, this was the case. Residents moving out their belongings, packing their vehicles and driving off told the Times-Herald that they were just going to move to another spot in the city.
Even assistant to the city manager Natalie Peterson said she tries to encourage folks to let her know where they are going, so she can give them a heads up if it’s a site she knows is going to be cleared soon. For the family of seven living between two RV’s at the site, including four children, it was on to another street.
Police on site, however, couldn’t do anything about Vicki, a severely disabled elderly woman living out of her immobile car. With no available emergency shelter, an officer from the Solano County Sheriff’s office convinced another homeless resident and activists on site to call in a 5150.
A 5150 is an involuntary mental health hold that puts individuals in the care of a medical facility for at least three days. The Times-Herald could not track down the whereabouts of this woman as of press time.
The following week on Aug. 12, the city began clearing the encampment under the JFK Library in Downtown, and immediately built a fence around the Georgia Street side of the building. Residents living under the library didn’t move far at all, and set up camp either just on the lawn facing the ferry building or across the street.
At both of the clearings, the Times-Herald asked city officials on-site whether there was shelter space that day available for the residents being moved out. The Times-Herald also asked if the city had a strategic plan yet for homelessness. The answer both times, to both questions, was no.
Plans haven’t changed, but the discourse has
There still has yet to be a strategic plan unveiled for how the city is organizing its response to the SCOTUS green light. Multiple officials have told the Times-Herald to expect the presentation of a plan at Tuesday’s city council meeting, but the most recently posted agenda has no mention of such plan.
The only word from City Manager Andrew Murray regarding shelter so far has come from a community announcement in the city’s digital magazine, Vallejo Weekly, banking on the Navigation Center and the Broadway Project to be the city’s saving grace.
Both projects have been delayed for years, and notoriously marred with financial setbacks, however the city says both sites will be ready by the end of the year. Objectively, these sites may put a dent in the issue, but won’t solve all the city’s woes.
The Navigation Center would only have 125 shelter beds available, and the Broadway Project is a supportive housing project, which already has a full waitlist according to former housing commissioner Joey Carrizales.
“We understand that will not be enough,” City Councilmember Verder-Aliga previously told the Times-Herald. “Temporary locations for encampments are being explored and hoping it will happen soon not just in Vallejo but other cities and county-wide.”
Temporary camping sites gained regional traction during the start of the COVID pandemic, as a way of clearing potential hotbeds for infection, and designating public spaces for homeless camping where resources and amenities could be centralized.
Vallejo staff initially proposed their version of the idea in May 2020, and formally proposed 11 sites later that year. The council at the time rejected the proposal, largely to concerns of aesthetics, encroachment on parks and potential concerns from neighbors. Another effort in 2021 at a church parking lot in South Vallejo was again rejected.
However, with soaring numbers across the city, and neighbors becoming increasingly upset with smoke from encampment fires and poor health conditions, the proposal is again gaining popularity. It will likely make an appearance in the strategic plan, if and when it is formally presented to the city council.
Meanwhile, residents of Vallejo on both sides of the ideological issue about how the city should deal with its growing homelessness agree that these clearings are undignified.
“We want to make sure you give them a safe place to go, and do it with some dignity, instead of just ‘you have to go,’” said Darrell Conley, president of the Vallejo Heights Neighborhood Association, who’s members implored the city council to address encampments near they’re neighborhood in July.
