In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom became the first California governor to make
homelessness a top state priority, implementing a bold strategy to expand
housing, strengthen support services, reform mental health care, ensure
accountability and address encampments to reverse decades of neglect.
“No one in our nation should be without a place to call home. I am proud of the work we are doing together to reverse this decades-old crisis. Together, we are turning the tide on homelessness, but we have more work to do. We have a moral obligation to assist every single Californian in need and that means ensuring that everyone has a roof over their head.”
— Governor Gavin Newsom
In 2025, Governor Newsom launched the State Action for Facilitation on
Encampments (SAFE) Task Force, maximizing state resources and working with
local partners to coordinate encampment removals and connect unhoused
individuals with housing, health care and services. Focused on major cities
and state rights-of-way, the initiative aims to restore public spaces while
helping people transition off the streets and into stable, long-term
solutions.
State Action for Facilitation on Encampments (SAFE)
Encampments removed from the state right-of-way in California’s largest cities.
Cubic yards of debris removed: enough material to fill over 47 garbage trucks
Installed fencing, rocks and other deterrence to improve safety, prevent re-encampment, and increase quality of life for everyone.
Power of Partnership
SAFE is a whole-of-government effort that brings together expertise and programs from across state agencies to target encampments. The SAFE Task Force not only clears encampments but leverages emergency management, social services, health care, drug treatment, and public safety. SAFE has now cleared encampments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Fresno, San Diego and Long Beach — with more to come.
SAFE has now cleared encampments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Fresno, San Diego and Long Beach — with more to come.
Below: The SAFE taskforce works closely with local officials and outreach partners to help connect people experiencing homelessness with housing, medical care, drug treatment, counseling, and other critical services. Living in a dangerous and unsanitary encampment should never be someone’s only option in California. The photos below are from a SAFE encampment removal in the city of Long Beach, where 25 people accepted shelter as part the Governor’s Homekey Program.
Safer and Cleaner Communities
Caltrans is responsible for protecting and maintaining the state’s
infrastructure for the traveling public and the communities it serves. For
safety, Caltrans removes encampments, collaborates with local partners who
are funded and trained to help individuals experiencing homelessness, and
cleans state rights-of-way to protect the traveling public and the state
highway system.
Caltrans and cities have agreed to remove litter and debris as well as encampments on the state highway system, with certain costs reimbursable.
Removed 19,520 encampments
(enough to fill about 155,000 garbage trucks)
Along with local partners, collected 3.4 million cubic yards of litter and debris from highways and public spaces, as part of Clean California
Collected 349,059 cubic yards of litter from encampments
Offered services to more than 61,000 individuals experiencing homelessness
As of December 10, 2025
Clean California
Governor Newsom’s $1.2 billion Clean California effort has provided a
visible and lasting environmental impact in local communities, while
supporting climate resiliency, economic equity and public safety.
Since the start of the program, enough litter has been collected to
fill 77,405 shipping containers.
Bringing California Home
Caltrans is working with local partners and state agencies such as the California Department of Housing and Community Development to help ensure that people experiencing homelessness at encampments are connected to the services they need. Since 2019, California has worked to create more housing and supports for local governments to address homelessness.
California Interagency Council on Homelessness provides an all-government approach to address housing and homelessness. Learn more about Cal ICH
Supporting Local and Regional Solutions
Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Program
Investment: $3.3 billion
1,469 projects funded statewide
303,901 people accessed services
80,982 people placed in permanent housing
Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) Program
Investment: $856 million
209 projects funded statewide
15,723 people accessed services
2,881 people placed in permanent housing
What’s Next
Governor Newsom is launching the first-ever state agency focused only on housing and homelessness: the California Housing and Homelessness Agency. This new agency will help scale up the progress already underway.
State housing leaders are working to:
Give local governments the tools and funding they need
Help move people out of encampments and into housing
Provide extra mental health support for those in crisis
“I love living here … I would still be sitting in my truck down
along the American River if it wasn’t for this place.”
Mike Felt
Homekey Program
$3.6 billion to support 261 housing projects
These projects will provide housing for over 175,000 vulnerable Californians, including 15,926 affordable homes
Learn more about HomekeyThanks to Proposition 1, approved by voters in 2024, an additional $2.14 billion is now available through Homekey+. This funding will support permanent housing for:
Veterans
People with behavioral health needs
People experiencing or at risk of homelessness
Media
Links to Recent News Stories
Governor Newsom’s SAFE Task Force partners with Long Beach to address encampments
Fox11LA: Bulldozers move into Marina del Rey encampment after months of complaints
Homeless encampment cleared from under freeway overpass in Long Beach
California to help San Jose lower its unsheltered homelessness through new cooperative agreement
Caltrans clears Highway 99 encampment, collects 3 cubic yards of debris in Bakersfield
Governor’s SAFE Task Force and local partners clear homeless encampments in Fresno and San Diego
Lemon Grove homeless encampment cleared as part of state housing initiative – NBC 7 San Diego
Caltrans clears Highway 99 encampment in Delano, offers outreach services by partners
Task force clears South Los Angeles encampment
State and city team up to clear out homeless encampment in South LA
South Los Angeles homeless encampment cleared by state task force
City and state crews combine forces to cleanup homeless encampment along 110 Freeway in South LA
State and city team up to clear out homeless encampment in South LA
Retiran campamento de indigentes cerca de la autopista 110 en el sur de Los Ángeles
California’s Push to Clear Homeless Encampments
Newsom’s New Statewide Encampment Taskforce Ramps Up Operations in San Francisco
To report a community concern on the state right-of-way, including for
safety, litter or graffiti,
submit a Customer Service Request