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State commission hears 20-year review of violence against people experiencing homelessness
Summary
At a Dec. 5 meeting, the California Commission on the State of Hate heard a presentation from Donald Whitehead Jr. of the National Coalition for the Homeless outlining thousands of reported violent incidents against unhoused people over two decades, discussed shelter safety and possible protections for housing status, and took routine minutes approvals.
OAKLAND, Calif. — The California Commission on the State of Hate on Dec. 5 heard a 20-year review of violence against people experiencing homelessness and discussed policy steps to reduce those attacks.
Donald Whitehead Jr., executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, told commissioners the coalition’s review of incidents from roughly 1999–2022 found more than 1,900 reported violent incidents against people experiencing homelessness and 588 deaths tied to those acts. "This report is a severe undercount of the actual number of violent events that happened," Whitehead said, citing limits in how medical examiners and some law enforcement agencies track victims by housing status. He also noted nationwide point-in-time estimates of homelessness exceed 770,000 people.
The presentation linked spikes in violence to criminalizing rhetoric and local…
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