Stockton’s homeless community ponders effect of Supreme Court ruling

As Stockton faced its 10th day over 100 degrees this year, Gerald Wallace and Elsa Pina rested in chairs Tuesday North Commerce and West Oak streets.

“The Supreme Court says they can remove us,” Wallace said. “But are they at least going to give us options?”

Wallace is referring to the June 28 U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a lower court’s ruling that found that cities enacting and enforcing punitive measures, such as issuing fines or making arrests, against homeless individuals camping overnight on city land, even when no adequate shelter was available, were in violation of the “cruel and unusual punishments” clause of the Eighth Amendment.

Wallace, 48, and Piña, 53, are among about half a dozen people who make their home in the area at an encampment across the street from the Stockton Civic Memorial Auditorium. Wallace, who has been homeless since 2020, has been staying at the encampment for about a week.

I’d like to see the city put up some type of housing for us,” Wallace said.

The Stockton City Council discussed the implications of the court’s ruling at its meeting later that evening, just a six-minute walk from the encampment where Wallace and Piña are living.

Stockton City Attorney Lori Asuncion briefly highlighted the city’s accomplishments dealing with homelessness, including investing $72 million in housing units, for a total of 878 “affordable” housing units to date, and removing 128,000 tons of waste from homeless encampments in the city last year. She concluded by suggesting the Council begin a series of study sessions in August on homelessness and implementing the Supreme Court ruling.

“The Grants Pass decision was historic,” Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln said during the meeting. “I agree wholeheartedly that we need to continue to provide housing, shelter and services.”

Moving forward, Lincoln said the city will take “a proactive, measured approach to enforcement.”

“It’s not compassionate to allow people to wither away under bridges,” he added. “I do support the Grants Pass decision.”

The Take Back Our Parks Initiative, spearheaded by the Stockton Police Department, will focus on cleaning up parks and public spaces.

The Stockton Police Department issued a news release Tuesday afternoon stating the department “will be reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision to determine its implications with respect to existing related policies and procedures with an eye towards aligning city policy and procedures with the court’s decision.”

The department cautioned that the review process “will take time in that it will involve a collaborative effort between multiple city departments. It will be important that we approach this in the most responsible and practical way possible.”

Aligning policies and procedures with the Supreme Court ruling is of little help to Piña, who sought respite from the heat Tuesday afternoon on the shaded sidewalk, with a shirt over her mouth. She returned from the hospital Monday after battling pneumonia for two days.

“It’s been a rough time,” Piña said. “Things are not going good. I don’t know what the city can do.”

District 2 Councilmember Dan Wright said at the meeting Stockton needed to act quickly on the Supreme Court’s decision.

“If we wait too long, we will be reacting,” Wright said. “We’ve done a lot for our homeless community, and we will continue to do it. Don’t say that Stockton isn’t doing anything for the homeless — we’re doing a ton.”

However, Wright acknowledged he has fielded calls from residents saying they can’t go to the parks due to homeless encampments.

“I wish this [ruling] had come down a little differently because it’s going to create chaos, especially here in California, where there has been a hodgepodge of laws,” Wright said.

Vice Mayor Kimberly Warmsley said the city needs the support of nonprofits “who have the capacity to consume what is about to happen” regarding the implied removal of homeless people from public places.

“It’s critical – vital – in these sessions that unhoused members are attending,” Warmsley said. “We need to ensure we are moving in a robust and quick way.”

Looking at the issue from an economic angle, District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua said he was mostly concerned for business owners.

“That’s our economy, that is our future,” Villapudua said. “We have to take this city back that we love.”

Concluding the Council’s comments, District 3 Councilmember Michael Blower echoed his colleagues’ concerns.

“This is an issue we can’t wait to react to. We need to get it right and think it out,” Blower said. “We’ve done a lot to help our unhoused population. With this (Supreme Court) decision, it really opens up some options.”

Councilmember Michelle Padilla, who represents District 1 and heads the council’s Ad Hoc Homelessness Committee, offered no public comment.

The homeless population in San Joaquin County has more than doubled over the last two years, according to preliminary summary data from the San Joaquin County Continuum of Care’s 2024 Point in Time Count, a biannual tally of people living unhoused in the county mandated across the country by the federal government.

In 2022, the PIT Count found that there were just over 2,300 homeless individuals living in San Joaquin County in January. That number has risen to more than 4,700.

The continuum submitted its 2024 count data to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development but has not yet released the full report, which was originally anticipated to be available in June.

The 2022 Point in Time Count recorded nearly 900 homeless people in Stockton. However, that number is expected to grow sharply due to a continued lack of affordable housing according to recent data.

State housing costs is the leading cause of homelessness in California, according to a 2023 study by the UC San Francisco Benioff Housing and Homelessness Initiative, described as “the largest representative study of homelessness in the United States since the mid-1990s.”

The study also found:

90% of survey participants lost their last housing in California, and 75% live in the same county where their housing was located

The average length of homelessness among participants was 22 months.

82% of survey participants reported a period in their life where they experienced a serious mental health condition

65% reported regular use of illegal drugs

62% percent report heavy drinking

As the Council deliberated over what to do with the city’s homeless population, William Denny, 59, sought shelter outside his tent at the homeless encampment at North Commerce and West Oak streets. He filled his water bowl for his two dogs, Gizmo and Athena, both 1.5 years old.

Athena, a pit bull, gave birth to ten puppies on May 17. Only five survived.

“We don’t need a handout, we need a hand up,” said Denny, who has been homeless since 2019. “It’s not easy being out here, dumpster hustling just to survive.”

Read published article: https://stocktonia.org/news/uncategorized/2024/07/10/stocktons-homeless-community-ponders-affect-of-supreme-court-ruling/