Gavin Newsom’s Neighborhood Faces Challenges with Homeless Encampments Along Riverbanks

Governor Gavin Newsom is adamant about maintaining momentum in tackling homelessness, yet critics argue he should pay closer attention to the unsightly aftermath left behind—as recent distressing images of Sacramento’s river encampments surface.

The California Post has unveiled photographs capturing heaps of debris left by homeless encampments last month along the banks of Steelhead Creek in Sacramento. The images display everything from makeshift dams cobbled together from shopping carts to piles of refuse, including bicycles, tires, a baby carriage, cardboard, and trash bags.

A complex web of local, state, and federal entities, such as the state’s Department of Water Resources, oversees the creek.

In contrast to these alarming visuals, on Wednesday, Newsom’s office highlighted a 9% reduction in unsheltered homelessness while announcing over $145 million in fresh funding aimed at alleviating California’s persistent homelessness issue. The governor declared in a statement that his administration is yielding “real results.”

However, there are dissenting opinions.

Democratic political strategist Steve Maviglio criticized the governor’s office on social media by sharing a photo of trash along the American River. He further elaborated on his stance in an interview with The Post.

“Literally, this is a human and environmental tragedy in the governor’s backyard, and we’ve got nothing but finger-pointing and zero action,” Maviglio told The Post.

He added that state Assemblymembers Angelique Ashby and Maggy Krell have implored the governor’s office to take greater action with little effect.

“If this were a highway underpass, Gov. Newsom would be there in five minutes for a photo-op,” Maviglio said.

In 2024, Newsom joined Caltrans workers to clear out a homeless encampment in Los Angeles County in a made-for-TV appearance as he wore Ray-Ban aviator shades.

Newsom’s new round of funding to address homelessness will go to eight regions — Lake, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Solano, Yolo and Yuba counties — in an effort to move people off the streets and into interim and permanent housing, as well as provide supportive services. 

“We’re making critical investments through programs to help local communities expand housing, strengthen services, and better support people experiencing homelessness,” Newsom said in a statement.

“But just investing money is not enough — we have to invest in programs and local governments that are producing real results.”

Local environmentalists say Newsom should also take a closer look at holding his own departments accountable.

David Ingram, president of the River City Waterway Alliance, noted that his group has fished out 3.85 million pounds of trash and debris from rivers and creeks since it started organizing cleanups in 2023. 

The haul for Steelhead Creek alone has included 724 shopping carts, 897 tires, and 172 mattresses.

“I’d say 90-95% of the debris we remove is from homeless encampments,” Ingram said, adding that the health of Steelhead Creek is vital for repopulating the local chinook salmon population.

“Ultimately, some of the state policies that came down from the top ranks created some of these problems in the first place,” he added. “The state should be more involved in trying to abate some of the problems.”

Joseph Countryman, a member of the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, was furious during a recent meeting when informed of how local waterways are being inundated with trash, feces and other debris — and no agency is stepping up to the plate to solve the issue.

“We’ve seen significant damage to the levees, we’ve seen defecation and urination in the river itself, untreated,” Countryman said. “These are things I personally can’t accept.”

He added, “The problem is it’s multi-jurisdictional. It’s a really complex thing, and I am 100% for finding our way through the maze and removing the homeless from the floodways.”

Ryan Endean, a spokesperson for the state Department of Water Resources, issued a statement to The Post saying the agency “does not have general authority over illegal dumping, encampments or abandoned property.” 

“That responsibility typically falls to local city or county agencies unless a condition directly impacts flood control infrastructure or significantly obstructs flood flows.”

Endean and Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, did not respond to pictures of the trash and debris along the banks and inside the water of Steelhead Creek.

Gallegos told The Post in an email that the state has cleared 21,103 encampments on “state right of ways” since 2021, adding that Newsom’s office has “provided unprecedented financial support and partnership to local communities.”

Ingram suggested that these investments are important for addressing California’s “humanitarian crisis,” but he’d like to see the governor’s office and Sacramento’s city and county agencies act on homeless encampments with greater unity and urgency.

“In our opinion,” he said, “progress is still not fast enough, and there are still large encampments causing issues in terms of pollution and infrastructure damage.”

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