A Major Step to Restore Compassion and Safety in Our Communities

Media
6 days ago
2 min read

A new executive order, “Ending Vagrancy and Restoring Public Safety,” marks a long-overdue shift toward real solutions—focusing on treatment, recovery, and restoring order in our communities.

For too long, California’s policies have allowed lawlessness to flourish, while those struggling with mental illness or addiction are left to suffer and die on our streets. This is not compassion. Real compassion means getting people off the sidewalks, into treatment, and onto a path toward recovery and dignity.

Watch "Local Leaders React to Exec. Order on Homelessness" NBC San Diego video with Supervisor District 5 Jim Desmond

The executive order takes meaningful action by:

Focusing on Root Causes: Recognizing that the majority of homeless individuals suffer from addiction or mental health issues, and directing resources toward treatment and recovery.
Expanding Treatment Options: Encouraging states to create civil commitment programs that move people—especially those who pose a danger to themselves or others—into safe, supportive rehabilitation facilities.
Restoring Order: Prioritizing cities and states that enforce laws against urban camping, squatting, loitering, and open drug use, ensuring our neighborhoods are safe and accessible for everyone.
Protecting Vulnerable Populations: Ensuring federally funded shelters can prioritize women and children, and preventing sex offenders from being housed with children.
Redirecting Funding Toward Accountability: Moving federal resources away from failed “housing first” policies and illegal drug-use facilities, and instead supporting mental health courts, recovery programs, and accountability.

This approach is long overdue. I talk to families every week who tell me they wish their loved one struggling with addiction or mental illness could get real help, rather than being left to live and die on the streets. We cannot keep stepping over people passed out in front of stores or watching encampments grow outside schools. It’s not safe for our children, and it’s not humane for those who need help.

This is why I’ve made mental health treatment a top priority in North County. I’m proud to have established three Crisis Stabilization Units, which act like emergency rooms for people suffering severe mental health episodes. These facilities are saving lives by getting people the immediate care they need—exactly the kind of solutions we need more of across California.

This executive order is a major step in the right direction, but it will take leadership at every level—local, state, and federal—to see it through. I will continue fighting for common-sense policies that restore safety, hope, and dignity in our communities.