Supporting Protections for Unsheltered People and Homeless Service Providers During the COVID-19 Emergency

Updated March 25, 2020 @ 5:05pm

Bay Area Legal Aid has joined the ACLU of California and 86 other legal services, civil rights, and homeless services organizations in asking Governor Newsom to clarify that:

1. Executive Order N-33-20’s (the shelter in place order’s) requirement that California residents stay in their homes does not apply to unhoused people;
2. People who provide outreach and other essential services to unhoused individuals are performing an essential activity exempted by Executive Order N-33-20; and
3. Local jurisdictions must comply with the CDC Interim Guidance for the duration of the COVID-19 State of Emergency, and must (a) halt encampment sweeps and property confiscation including tents, and (b) provide outdoor encampments with CDC-recommended hand-washing and other sanitation facilities.

Read the full text of the letter to Governor Re EO N 33 20 And CDC Guidance.

Read the CDCs People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness Interim Guidance.