SAN FRANCISCO, California (NewsNation) — A judge on Friday night banned San Francisco police from clearing homeless encampments in the city, NewsNation local affiliate KRON reported.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu granted an emergency order prohibiting San Francisco from removing tents and confiscating the belongings of people who lived in the encampments, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Rev. Andrew Bales, president and CEO of Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles, said on “Morning in America” that the judge made the right decision.
Both San Francisco and Los Angeles focus resources on creating expensive housing units, that take a long time to develop, he said, while they leave many out on the streets. Instead, what should be worked on is getting people a shelter bed and focusing on their recovery, Bales said.
“The problem with the cities is they don’t have opportunities for shelters for people,” Bales said. “And then they want to go clear the encampments because of the whim of an angry neighbor or a wealthy business person.”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, in a statement to the Chronicle, said the city is already spending significant money to shelter people, and the judge’s ruling hampers her ability to address homelesslessness.
Watch the full interview with Rev. Andrew Bales in the video above.
