Nowhere to Hide: Colusa Homeless Encampment Sweeps Continue

BREAKING NEWS

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08-27-2025-(COLUSA)-Local authorities are continuing to clear small homeless encampments in the City of Colusa, sources say. Unhoused residents report seeing large scale drones in the sky, as they attempt to relocate.

One man, who asked not to be named, said that after relocating to a new site to avoid trespassing charges, police were aware of his new location and issued another directive to move. "The police were very professional, even polite," he said, "but made it clear that I could not camp on private or public land. I don't know where to go?"

One unhoused couple also impacted by this week's sweep alleges they were denied emergency housing assistance on Monday at Health and Human Services (HHS) because they had no children. They immediately reached out to a local community advocate.

"HHS policy prioritizes housing for families, which significantly limits access to assistance for single unhoused adults," said Susan Wagenaar, Director of Colusa County Recovery. "While the agency has a dedicated team and has demonstrated progress in other areas of housing insecurity, its approach to single adult homelessness lacks innovation," says Wagenaar. "We believe this is a systemic, top-down issue that extends beyond the housing department itself."

ENCAMPMENT POLICY

The latest application for state homelessness funding requires counties to submit a link to their encampment policy. If no such policy exists, they are required to commit to following the state’s guidance.

 "Colusa County does not appear to have its own comprehensive, county-wide encampment policy at this time," reports Wagenaar. “Nor are we aware of any contingency plan to temporarily shelter or connect the unhoused impacted by sweeps to supportive services."

Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for the governor's office, stated that while the governor cannot mandate that local jurisdictions adopt a specific ordinance, he has called on every local government to implement local policies without delay.

US SUPREME COURT RULING

A major US Supreme Court ruling on homelessness was the case of City of Grants Pass v. Johnson (June 2024), where the Court allowed cities to enforce bans on sleeping and camping in public spaces.

This 6-3 decision, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, overturned the previous Martin v. Boise precedent and found that these ordinances do not violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, even when no shelter beds are available.

Advocates have expressed concern that the ruling enables more aggressive enforcement of anti-camping laws, potentially leading to more fines, arrests, and criminal records for people experiencing homelessness.