During last night’s special meeting about homeless services, the Davis City Council voted to approve the recommendations proposed by the Davis Police Department and the Social Services and Housing Department to: promote the proposed Encampment Response Protocol, make changes to the encampment reporting system for community members, introduce revisions to the camping regulations ordinance that would better protect public and private properties and come back at a future meeting with options and costing for potential expansion of services. These additions will become part of the ecosystem of services that the City and its partners have worked hard to develop, to assist the unsheltered or housing insecure population with compassion and human kindness while maintaining the safety of local businesses, public spaces, downtown and the general community. 

Homelessness and housing affordability continue to be areas of concern in Davis, our State and the nation. Recent, substantial legal changes to federal laws regulating encampments have led to an increase in displacing the homeless. In June 2024, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the City of Grants Pass, Oregon, did not violate the Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment when enforcing camping ordinances. Following the change in law, California’s Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-1-24 in July that directed State agencies to immediately enforce camping restrictions on State property. Shortly after, many jurisdictions began following the guidance of the State and increased enforcement of local encampment ordinances, including jurisdictions in the Bay Area and Sacramento region. As a result, Davis and many other agencies have seen an influx of homeless individuals setting up encampments and sleeping in tents, vehicles and other places that are not fit for human habitation and have led to increased concerns from the public for the health, safety and economic impacts to the community. 

To help bridge gaps in the already diverse ecosystem of services while continuing the thoughtful and humane approach to the multifaceted issue of homelessness and encampments, the following items were approved last night.  

Davis Municipal Code Changes Related to Encampments 

Revisions to the existing no camping ordinance were made, including better defining camping and camping paraphernalia and including additional prohibited areas, such public and private properties, whereas the previous ordinance language only covered parks and open space areas. No changes to the ordinance were made regarding how a person’s personal property with value is to be handled and stored.

Law enforcement will prioritize dialogue and utilize other tools and approaches before considering this ordinance. The proposed change is intended to be a measure of last resort, aimed at addressing situations with care and minimizing the criminalization of the homeless whenever possible while balancing the health and safety of the public. The camping regulations ordinance will require a second reading at an upcoming council meeting before going into effect 30 days later. 

Encampment Response Protocol 

The City and its partners will be working together to inform the community about the various changes and explain how staff will maintain the safety of downtown, local businesses, community and public spaces. A team of representatives from the Davis Police Department, the Department of Social Services and Housing, Public Works, Parks and Community Services, Davis Fire Department as well as partners in the community on an as-needed basis, such as Fourth and Hope, Davis Community Meals and Housing, Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency and others, will be assisting with activating an encampment response, deploying outreach staff, posting notices, clean-up coordination and more. This process will help create a clear and transparent process, easily understood by the unhoused community and others, to ensure the homeless encampment response is balanced and equitable. 

Calls for service from the community requesting a response to unsheltered homelessness will initiate the following protocol: 

• Step 1: Outreach and Engagement: The City-staffed Homeless Outreach Team will be the first point of contact deployed to encampment sites throughout Davis to offer services and connection to basic needs to the unsheltered. Engagement is the initial path to services and self-sufficiency for the unsheltered, who are often experiencing trauma and for whom trust requires time. The City has strengthened partnerships for a soft-touch response with Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency, Davis Community Meals and Housing, Turning Point Community Programs and others, as mentioned above, for a coordinated and balanced response.
  
  For example, in January 2024, Yolo County initiated a pilot program for mobile crisis services that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year to everyone in the community. Also, the Davis Police Department is currently participating in transferring mental health-related calls to the Yolo County Mental Health Crisis and Access line, which provides a rapid response for individual assessment and community-based stabilization to individuals experiencing a behavioral health or substance-use crisis.


• Step 2: Compliance: If the situation requires an additional level of support, the Homeless Outreach Team will partner with the Davis Police Department and work with an embedded mental health clinician for crisis assessments and referrals. If someone appears to be in crisis or disoriented, the embedded mental health clinician will co-respond with an officer to make an assessment and referral to the appropriate agency. Code Enforcement will also respond if needed to enforce City ordinances related to illegal camping and abandoned materials. 


• Step 3: Enforcement: If engagement and compliance are ineffective, law enforcement will be called in to protect people and property, maintain public order and enforce the law. Currently, the Police Department has two code enforcement officers responsible for vehicle abatement, bike abatement, blight in the public right-of-way, wood burning, illegal signage, health and safety violations, nuisance investigations, water waste enforcement and Davis Municipal code enforcement. These limited resources are often reassigned to encampment clean-up, which prevents them from addressing their primary code enforcement responsibilities. 

Encampment Reporting System for Community Members

The City has received feedback from community members regarding reporting of encampments and concerns for unsheltered individuals. Currently, the community has multiple ways to report related issues to the City, unintentionally creating confusion about the appropriate reporting method for specific situations. Staff have developed a refined reporting process which includes two contact options.

• Non-urgent response (My Davis): Community complaints regarding abandoned property, trash, grocery carts, encampments, vehicles and recreational vehicles will be submitted through the My Davis portal. Complaints received will be forwarded to all appropriate departments. At the conclusion of the complaint, a disposition will be sent to the complainant advising them of the outcome.


• Urgent response (Public Safety Dispatch): Urgent responses require immediate action. Complaints may include individuals sleeping in front of the business doors, aggressive behavior or erratic and concerning behavior. Depending on the circumstances, community members will be directed to call either the Police Department’s non-emergency number or 911 for emergency situations. Upon receipt of a complaint, public safety dispatchers will triage the situation and can either dispatch homeless outreach, a mobile clinician, or a police officer.

By streamlining the process, it will allow staff to more quickly, efficiently and appropriately respond to issues while providing tracking for all parties involved. This also ensures that the right staff and departments are responding to an issue and able to navigate or call on partners or resources as needed. 

Options and Costing for Potential Expansion of Services

The City Council also asked for costing, timeline and resource outlines for potential expansion or addition of services to be added to the homeless services ecosystem including, but not limited to: additional or revised Respite Center hours, sanctioned camping, loitering ordinance, community navigators, a Downtown Streets Team “Peer Support Program” providing outreach and support to members of the unhoused community who are not availing themselves of services provided at the Daytime Respite Center and Promotores with DJUSD that includes Spanish-speaking community navigators chosen from within the Spanish-speaking Davis community to actively share information about homelessness prevention in a way that is culturally appropriate to community members who are often marginalized.

The Social Services and Housing Department is also working with the faith-based community about engaging with the unhoused on an organizational level. This potential strengthening the ecosystem of care in Davis is dependent on local congregations determining if they have the capacity to create and sustain the infrastructure required serve as an access point for outreach and services to Davis homeless.

Additional information on homelessness is available on the City’s Social Services and Housing and the Police Department’s webpages at www.cityofdavis.org.

Press contact: Barbara Archer, barcher@cityofdavis.org, 530-400-3418

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The following list shares the current and ongoing programs and services available to the unsheltered in Davis.

City Projects

• City of Davis Homeless Outreach Team that proactively responds to the needs of unsheltered individuals in Davis and works with others in the community to deploy daily resources and services to the unsheltered that offer a path to meeting basic needs, health/mental health care and employment.


• Downtown Streets Team flagship work experience program provides employment and case management to those experiencing homelessness in exchange for provide litter and clean-up services in high visibility/high traffic areas. To date, this program has collected over 45,000 gallons of trash.


• Davis Winter Shelter is a collaborative program with city-based nonprofits and typically operates from November through March to offer refuge from cold and wet weather. The program offers between 18-20 beds nightly and prioritizes Davis residents, those with underlying medical conditions, seniors or people subject to predatory behavior.


• Davis Daytime Respite Center is Downtown Streets Teams’ second Davis program and is a one-stop shop where unsheltered individuals can receive a wide array of services. Case managers build trust by offering guests the opportunity to shower, rest, do laundry and have a meal, all while receiving case management, housing navigation and employment coaching.


• An Embedded Clinician at the Davis Police Department improves the response to mental health calls, which can help reduce the use of force, decrease arrests and reduce officer time on scene. Embedded clinicians are mental health professionals who work with law enforcement agencies to respond to calls and provide follow up.


• Downtown Beat is a Davis Police Department pilot program for patrolling the downtown area. In September 2024, two patrol officers were committed to the downtown area during high-visibility, four-hour shifts to address quality-of-life issues, and proactively solicit feedback from business owners regarding safety concerns. The Police Department received good feedback from the business community, expressing the benefit of direct and personal communication with officers regarding ongoing issues.


• City’s Three-Year Homeless Strategic Plan offers a unifying vision and roadmap to address homelessness and homelessness prevention in Davis. It offers a framework for meaningful action and progress through a formal work plan prioritizing three areas paired with goals and objectives.

Community Partnerships

• Davis Community Meals and Housing – Paul’s Place is an innovative, multi-use, four-story building that includes a day-use resource center and emergency, transitional and permanent supportive housing. This community is designed to help those who are homeless and at-risk of homeless to move from the streets to stability, with a goal to improve individual and community health and wellbeing.


• Short Term Emergency Action Committee (STEAC) provides assistance to low-income residents by offering homelessness prevention programs including eviction prevention, rent or long-term housing deposits, utility assistance and food aid.


• Yolo County Children’s Alliance provides assistance to enroll and maintain MediCal and CalFresh eligibility for families and children to prevent or reduce homelessness. YCCA’s work focuses on three family-strengthening pillars: Family Support, Parent Education, and Community Collaboration.


• Yolo Community Care Continuum provides services to low-income resident clients who have a severe mental illness. The services provided teach residents the skills necessary to maintain housing, including managing symptoms of mental illness, navigating health care needs, and developing independent living skills. This program aims to keep clients out of institutional environments.


• Meals on Wheels stabilizes the elderly in their homes, functionally serving to prevent senior homelessness by providing nutritious meals to home-bound seniors, age 60 and older. With eyes-on provided by volunteers, seniors receive regular contact and well checks, thereby promoting their health, well-being and independence.

County-Initiated Partnerships

• Crisis Now is a proposed 24/7 Receiving Center designed to expand short term behavioral health treatment capacity, offering crisis stabilization services as an alternative to long term psychiatric hospitalization or jail. Per prior City Council direction, the City of Davis is contributing approximately $930,000 in one-time American Rescue Plan Act funds to assist the County in fully launching Crisis Now. Other cities and hospitals in Yolo County are also expected to make contributions.


• CommuniCare+OLE offers comprehensive care, including medical, dental, behavioral health and substance use treatment, nutrition, optometry, pharmacy, care coordination, referrals and enrollment assistance. The Mobile Medicine Team (MMT) provides preventive screenings, wound care, health education, prescriptions and primary care follow-up. The team also offers referrals for behavioral health, stress, depression, anxiety and substance use services.


• County Prop 47 Specialty Court, in partnership with the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency and District Attorney’s Office, this program uses Proposition 47 grant funds to reduce recidivism by expanding access to mental health treatment, wrap-around supportive services and housing for adults charged with misdemeanors and struggling with mental illness.


• Fourth and Hope Regional Shelter operates a 100-bed emergency shelter, which is the largest shelter in Yolo County and operates 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Program participants have access to restrooms, showers, laundry, transportation, phone, mail services and case management that offers personalized support with long-term goals for each client.


• Yolo Homeless Poverty Action Committee provides leadership on homelessness and poverty in Yolo County and maintains a coordinated response among service providers to ensure continuity of county services. The organization is responsible for assessing needs and identifying gaps in services for persons facing homelessness in Yolo County on an ongoing basis. The City of Davis is a participating partner.


• Yolo County Executive Commission on Homelessness works in collaboration with County government, City governments, philanthropy, business sector, community and faith-based organizations and other interested stakeholders to focus on regional policy and implementation strategies, affordable housing development, data and gaps analysis, best practice research, social policy and systemic change to promote an effective response to homelessness within Yolo County.


• Yolo County Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is an annual snap shot of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. Davis participates in the process through the Homeless Poverty Action Committee (HPAC CoC), which leads the annual census. Though widely acknowledged as an undercount, the unsheltered number in 2024 was 161 people.


• Yolo County Housing Authority (YCH) establishes and maintains quality, affordable housing and provides community development support to the Yolo region.