Democrats and advocates criticize Trump’s executive order on homelessness

By JANIE HAR and CHARLOTTE KRAMON SAN FRANCISCO AP Leading Democrats and advocates for homeless people are criticizing an executive order President Donald Trump signed this week aimed at removing people from the streets possibly by committing them for mental wellness or drug restoration without their consent Related Articles House ethics panel tells Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to pay more for Met Gala attendance Judge blocks Trump s birthright citizenship restrictions in third ruling since high court decision FACT FOCUS Trump insists cashless bail increases crime but records is inconclusive Epstein ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell finishes interviews with Justice Department representatives Trump administration investigates Oregon s transgender athlete policies Trump directed a few of his Cabinet heads to prioritize funding to cities that crack down on open drug use and street camping with the goal of making people feel safer It s not compassionate to do nothing the order states Shifting these individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane medicine is the preponderance proven way to restore populace order the order reads Homelessness has become a bigger predicament in latest years as the cost of housing increased especially in states such as California where there aren t enough homes to meet demand At the same time drug addiction and overdoses have soared with the availability of cheap and potent fentanyl The president s order might be aimed at liberal cities such as San Francisco Los Angeles and New York which Trump views as too lax about conditions on their streets But a multitude of of the concepts have already been proposed or tested in California where Gov Gavin Newsom and Democratic mayors have worked for years to get people off the streets and into medication Last year the U S Supreme Court made it easier for cities to clear encampments even if the people living in them have nowhere else to go Still advocates say Trump s new order is vague punitive and won t effectively end homelessness Newsom has directed cities to clean up homeless encampments and he s funneled more money into programs to treat addiction and mental healthcare disorders His office stated Friday that Trump s order relies on harmful stereotypes and focuses more on creating distracting headlines and settling old scores But his imitation even poorly executed is the highest form of flattery spokesperson Tara Gallegos reported in a declaration referring to the president calling for strategies already in use in California San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has also emphasized the importance of clean and orderly streets in banning homeless people from living in RVs and urging people to accept the city s offers of shelter In Silicon Valley San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan in the past few days pushed a initiative change that makes a person eligible for jail if they reject three offers of shelter Trump s executive order tasks Attorney General Pam Bondi and the secretaries for physical condition housing and transportation to prioritize grants to states and local governments that enforce bans on open drug use and street camping Devon Kurtz the inhabitants safety plan director at the Cicero Institute a conservative program group that has advocated for several of the provisions of the executive order revealed the organization is delighted by the order He acknowledged that California has already been moving to ban encampments since the Supreme Court s decision But he reported Trump s order adds teeth to that shift Kurtz noted It s a clear message to these communities that were still sort of uncomfortable because it was such a big change in strategy Kurtz stated But Steve Berg chief protocol officer at the National Alliance to End Homelessness called parts of the order vague He disclosed the U S abandoned forced institutionalization decades ago because it was too expensive and raised moral and legal concerns What is problematic about this executive order is not so much that law enforcement is involved it s what it calls on law enforcement to do which is to forcibly lock people up Berg announced That s not the right approach to dealing with homelessness The mayor of California s majority populous city Los Angeles is at odds with the Newsom and Trump administrations on homelessness Mayor Karen Bass a Democrat opposes punishing sweeps and says the city has reduced street homelessness by working with homeless people to get them into shelter or housing Moving people from one street to the next or from the street to jail and back again will not solve this issue she explained in a declaration Kramon stated from Atlanta She is a corps member for The Associated Press Description for America Statehouse News Initiative Assessment for America is a nonprofit national operation project that places journalists in local newsrooms to record on undercovered issues