FRESNO — On a recent October afternoon, Dez Martinez greeted homeless residents on Santa Clara Street with open arms and a warm smile. As she walked down Fresno’s version of Skid Row, homeless residents waved and greeted her from tents and tarps lining both sides of the street.

“I need help,” one man said, offering her a hug. She gave him her cell phone number and email address.

She also warned, “He should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.” The city was preparing to clear the streets of encampments and would now arrest people under the law. new ordinance It prohibits camping in public places.

Martinez has been an advocate for Fresno’s homeless population for a decade. She is angry and depressed by the city’s aggressive move to criminalize homelessness. Since the ordinance took effect in September, more than 160 people have been arrested and charged with misdemeanors, which could result in up to a year in prison or a $1,000 fine for refusing protection or treatment. .

At the same time, two affordable housing projects have stalled, infuriating advocates who say the government is leaving homeless people with little choice but to leave town or go to jail.

“Homelessness is getting worse in Fresno. It’s going up every day,” Martinez said. “We are hurting, suffering and losing all hope.”

City officials, on the other hand, defend the camping ban, saying it removes trash from public spaces and increases the number of homeless people who can be connected to treatment and shelter beds. A person with an outstanding arrest warrant was taken into custody during the sweep. And there has been “overwhelming support” from residents, Mayor Jerry Dyer said.

“For the past four years, we have valued compassion and devalued accountability,” Dyer said. “We have to deal with them, and without the ordinance, it’s going to be difficult for us.”

In some ways, Fresno, home to more than 500,000 residents, is a test case for what happens when cities crack down on homelessness without making systematic efforts to increase their affordable housing stock. It has become.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Fresno has become one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, with rent increases outpacing those in large cities nationwide. Although agriculture makes up nearly half of Fresno County, the city of Fresno is California’s fifth largest city and long ago shed its identity as a quaint rural town.

In the process, Fresno’s homeless population exploded. Approximately 1,400 people are homeless in mainland Fresno, and an estimated 4,500 people are homeless across Fresno and Madera counties, up from 2,500 in 2019, according to the city.

Prior to 2020, Fresno had no city-run shelters. Currently, there are over 800 beds.

As part of its strategy to fight homelessness, the city has used state and federal funds to buy motels and convert them into affordable housing. Prior to 2021, the city did not have a housing department. Currently, there are 16 staff members.

Still, some homeless advocates say the past year has seen dramatic changes, with elected officials scrapping or canceling affordable housing projects that had already secured competitive state funding. Some people say they have seen significant changes.

One of the proposed projects is libre commonsis envisioned as a four-story, 86-unit project. The project has a price tag of $56 million, with $14 million secured in state funds. Although the project falls within city limits, it is the county’s responsibility to provide support services through its Department of Behavioral Health Services. The city of Fresno originally pledged $3 million to the project, but withdrew the funding in February, citing budget shortfalls.

In August, County Supervisor Steve Brando surprised developers by asking the board to vote to withdraw county support for the project, which would jeopardize state funding. He said the city’s withdrawal of funds led him to believe the project was not financially viable, but the developers disputed that claim.

Instead, the board gave the developer until January to secure the full amount. At the same meeting, the county approved its own homeless camping ban introduced by Brandau.

One of the speakers, a mother, said she was on the verge of becoming homeless again after taking a timeout from the county shelter. “Many of us don’t use drugs. Many of us actually try,” the woman said. “Where are you going?”

Brandau said in an interview that he doesn’t have an answer to that question. Instead, it cited residents’ concerns that the Libre Commons project would cause congestion on roads adjacent to the project. The Old Fig Garden neighborhood is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Fresno County. The home is valued at more than $1 million.

“This is not NIMBYism,” Brandau said. “If they moved it across the street, 100 yards, I think we’d all be fine with that, because they’re not supposed to drive down these tiny little roads. .”

Jessica Hoff Berzak, president of UPholdings, which developed the project in partnership with Self-Help Enterprises, said she was frustrated by the reversal by officials who had originally supported the plan. Libre will provide permanent housing for people at risk of homelessness and in need of mental health services.

Hoff Berzak’s company has worked with the county before. UPholdings, just two miles south of the unpaved land where Libre is planned, has secured state and local funding for the renovation. Crossroad VillageThe former inn has been converted into 143 permanent housing units, which opened in January and features a pool, playground and multi-bedroom units. Another project, butterfly gardens In Clovis, it received state and county funding.

“I don’t understand why they would aggressively lock down housing,” Hof-Bersak said. “That could delay the creation of these units for years.”

At some level, Fresno leaders are reacting to the same voter revolt taking place across the state, from Orange County to Bay Area cities. Residents are fed up with the vast tent encampments and associated drug use and street crime. And they want their city to be less welcoming.

During the pandemic emergency, the Fresno City Council enthusiastically participated in state policy. project home key The program is a multi-million dollar effort to convert underused motels into housing for homeless people.

But last December, the City Council made a surprising about-face and blocked the latest proposed change.

In April 2023, the City Council unanimously approved a developer’s request to apply for state funding for a project to renovate the Quality Inn on a quiet tree-lined street surrounded by medical clinics. Eight months later, after securing $16.4 million in Project Homekey funding, the developer returned to council for final approval.

But at a Dec. 7 City Council meeting, medical office officials denounced the project, saying it was already unsafe due to the high number of homeless people in the area.

City Councilman Miguel Arias, who had been an advocate of motel conversion, led the opposition. He cited concerns from residents who said they felt left out of the conversation.

City Manager Georgian White warned the council that rejecting the proposal could result in the state punishing the city in its next application for Homekey funding. The vote was 5-2 against the proposal, effectively canceling the project.

Arias said in an interview that he has concerns about partnering with a private developer. The former motel renovation remains a public asset, he said.

“We’ve been very intentional about this because we want to ensure that after the transition to affordability, we continue to be affordable,” he said. That’s not always the case, he said, because private developers are involved.

In his district, 27 motels have been converted into housing projects. Once known as Motel Drive, the area was once rife with illegal sex and drug sales, but the city changed its face when it bought up dilapidated motels.

Still, Arias said the city needs to set limits on charity. He has family members who struggled with drug addiction and homelessness for years before finding their footing, and he said the city can’t wait years to take back the streets.

“We have accomplished more than ever before, but we know there is more to do,” Arias said. “But just like any other family, we have to draw the line.”

It remains to be seen what the consequences of the camping ban will be. Udom Tamavong, a longtime homeless resident, said he plans to flee for fear of being imprisoned. But he said he had tried to live in a city shelter before, but found it difficult to sleep in a small room with three other men.

Advocates said they are continuing to gather resources for families struggling to find housing.

Jimmy Morris and his three children, two teenage sons and a teenage daughter, are one family that could be in danger. They were staying at Crossroads Village but had to move out due to renovations. For the past few weeks, they had been spending their nights behind a dumpster at a Family Dollar store.

Mr. Martinez’s nonprofit organization we are not invisible The petition was posted on Facebook in the middle of the night as temperatures dropped below 50 degrees to raise funds to support the needs of the homeless. Within an hour, residents showed up with hats, gloves and pillows. Arias asked city officials to find housing for her family, but her three dogs made her ineligible for a shelter.

On Santa Clara Street, city workers cleared out piles of tents, belongings and trash on November 1st. Dyer said 42 people were admitted to the shelter that day.

Similar to L.A.’s Skid Row, Santa Clara Street has long had a high concentration of homeless campers due to its proximity to residential neighborhoods. Poverello Housea nonprofit organization that provides access to three meals a day and services. Clinica Sierra Vista employees regularly head there to find customers and distribute medicine to people suffering from terminal illnesses. Some have been camping on Santa Clara Street for years.

Mr Dyer promised that would change.

“Street sweepers and sweepers have removed all of the property and much of the trash that was on it, and as of this morning it remains clean,” Dyer said in early November. “And as long as I’m mayor, the city will remain clean.”