Credit: John Cudal/St. Joseph Center
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent encampment executive order mandating the clearing of homeless encampments on state property, coupled with the start of the school year and a new Supreme Court decision, shines light on an often-overlooked crisis — the devastating impact that both homelessness and the criminal justice system can have on our youth.
I know firsthand how housing insecurities, combined with a broken criminal justice system, can destabilize the lives of young people, pushing them further into systems that fail to support their complex journeys.
As a high school student growing up in Los Angeles, I remember coming home after a full day of classes to find something unexpected on our door — an eviction notice. My mom, an educated single mother who worked tirelessly to afford our Culver City condominium, looked at me with sorrow in her eyes.
She handed me trash bags and told me we had a day to leave the home we had spent a decade making our own. Uncertain of the future, I packed all my belongings in those bags, making sure to grab my grandfather’s wooden cane, which I needed for my leading role in the school’s upcoming Black History Month assembly.
As my mother and I slept in an acquaintance’s living room, I convinced myself to keep going to school, clinging to the fact that I had a play to complete. On the day of the play, I woke up early, grabbed the cane, and walked to Culver City High from our new neighborhood. On the way, the police stopped me and questioned why I was carrying what they considered a weapon.
Confused, I explained that the cane was for my role in the school play. They handcuffed me, searched my belongings, and asked where I lived — a question I couldn’t answer. They interrogated me about gang affiliations and potential tattoos while noting my information, likely for future stops.
Although they eventually let me go, I realized then that my reality had shifted — I was now a young Black man navigating systems not designed for my success.
Unfortunately, my story is far from unique. Black and Latino people are overrepresented in both the criminal justice system and the unhoused community. Although Black youth make up about 6% of California’s population, they account for roughly 29% of the homeless youth population.
A 2021 report from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice indicated that homeless youth are more likely to be criminalized for “survival behaviors” such as loitering, panhandling or sleeping in public places. These interactions can lead to arrests, fines or incarceration, further entrenching them in the justice system.
The Supreme Court’s misguided Grants Pass v. Johnson decision this spring allows cities and counties to criminally charge people who sleep in public. This will disproportionately affect youth and families of color — those who have historically been displaced from their housing due to redlining, rising costs, gentrification and lack of access to resources. Communities of color find themselves pushed into a criminal justice system designed to marginalize and penalize rather than support and serve them.
Intertwining the brutal inequities of homelessness with those of the criminal justice system has devastating long-term impacts, particularly for youth. The lack of stable housing often leads to repeated interactions with the criminal justice system, as these youth may be detained for minor offenses or for violating terms of probation that require them to maintain a stable address.
Criminalizing our unhoused youth further exacerbates homelessness, creating a vicious cycle of jail, debt and inevitable future homelessness. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, people who have been to prison even just once experience homelessness at a rate nearly seven times higher than the general public. A criminal record can also reduce the likelihood of a callback or job offer by almost 50%.
We must address the root causes of youth homelessness, including economic instability, lack of affordable housing, and inadequate support systems for those aging out of foster care. Let’s not place undue burdens on the youth most impacted by our systemic failures — those who have the least power to do anything about it.
While there is much work to be done, we’ve seen progress from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles in moving people inside humanely with tangible results. The recent Los Angeles Housing Services Authority Homeless Count showed declines in the number of people living outside across LA, including a nearly 20% decrease in homelessness on the Westside of LA, where I experienced housing insecurity growing up. This decline is the product of homeless service providers and community-based organizations working with policymakers to provide quality case management, interim and permanent supportive housing, mental health supports, and workforce development opportunities for our unhoused neighbors.
Gov. Newsom and other leaders should seize this moment to end the youth homelessness-to-prison pipeline once and for all. LA County’s Office of Diversion and Reentry Housing program has successfully housed thousands of people, including youth, through diversion and development programs tailored to both young people and adults.
Also, organizations like Safe Place for Youth and Covenant House California provide a comprehensive range of services, including housing support, education, employment resources, and mental health care for homeless and at-risk youth. The SJC Santa Monica Youth Resource Team, a collaborative network that connects youth with essential services like shelter, counseling and job training, is doing everything possible to end youth homelessness in this generation.
It’s not just about what we do, but how we do it. Los Angeles and all of California must continue to lead with compassion, confronting the roots of this crisis with the care and dignity that all our neighbors deserve.
Even though I nearly gave up on high school, I had a counselor who was ,committed to helping me apply to colleges and then assistant principal Leslie Lockhart, who paid for my application to UCLA. Because of their efforts, I completed my undergraduate and graduate studies at UCLA.
We overcame our challenges because of support systems that focused on my family’s needs with healing and dignity. Now is the time to double down on resources and evidence-based practices for the communities we serve.
We must prioritize care, not cages.
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Ryan J. Smith, who holds a doctorate in education, is the president and CEO of the St. Joseph Center, a homelessness services and poverty alleviation agency, and an affordable housing commissioner for the city of Los Angeles.
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