I went to California while homeless for my health. I knew from living there as a military wife that the climate was good for my respiratory condition.
I floated around California for a few years looking for someplace cheap enough to get back into housing. Ultimately, finding someplace cheap enough to get back into housing meant leaving the state.
Homeless people travel to California for the lovely campable weather and then are unlikely to find housing they can afford in California. It's a recipe for remaining trapped on the street long term.
If they have any kind of portable income, such as social security or a retirement check, the reality is their money will go farther almost anywhere else in the US and housing will be cheaper almost anywhere else in the US. So for most homeless people who chose to travel to California while homeless, their quality of life will likely be higher while homeless and the odds of getting back into housing will go up if they leave California.
It's a win for them and a win for California.
A couple of challenges:
1. California is almost like an island state. The largest cities are all coastal and it can be surprisingly hard to get away from them and go to another state in the lower 48 if you have no car.
When I left San Diego County years ago, I traveled from Oceanside to Victorville by commuter bus. Amtrak and Greyhound are also options for getting out of the state.
Some homeless people can cover some bus or train tickets and some can't. Helping people just FIND a way to leave at all and, secondarily, helping them finance it will help get homeless people out of California.
2. People may fear losing their food stamps and access to other services.
Start by educating people about the food stamp program. Their food stamp card can be used in ANY state at any establishment that takes them and different states cover different things with food stamps. So their California card can be used until it expires and they can establish food stamps in another state after it expires.
If they have need of other services, make a list of what they need and see if you can help them find it elsewhere. Keep in mind that simply moving someplace cheaper may reduce their need for services. If they can afford to buy it themselves, most people prefer that to what is typically available for free via services.
However, some people homeless in California can afford and qualify for a $600 a month rental but cannot find that anywhere in California. A quick search tells me average social security is around $1900 and years of talking to homeless people keeps landing on "I could afford housing if it were $600 or less."
If you want to help homeless Americans leave California and get back into housing:
1. Find rentals in that price range.
2. Find homeless people willing to relocate who qualify.
3. Get them pre approved and housing lined up before they leave.
4. Pay bus or train fare if necessary.
It's legal to ship them elsewhere if they have housing lined up or a job lined up or family willing to take them in.
You can search for phrases like "cheapest states" or check the Cost of Living calculator on bestplaced.net to find cities with low average rents. Oklahoma and North Dakota should make that list.
California is drowning in homeless people because the nation as a whole has a shortage of affordable housing. It shouldn't be California's responsibility to house all those people.
A lot of people homeless in California traveled there to be homeless. No one should balk at helping them travel elsewhere and actually get back into housing.
This approach is legally and morally defensible, pragmatic and humane. Shipping people to housing elsewhere solves their lack of housing and gets them out of California's hair.
When I was in Fresno, a homeless woman bought train tickets to a city in Nevada and left. I bought train tickets to Washington to get out.
Look for:
1. The cheapest places.
2. The nearest places that have some hope of being affordable.
3. Places you can live without a car.
In northern California, look at towns in Oregon, Washington and potentially even Alaska.
Alaska has a housing shortage BUT able bodied young people willing to take seasonal jobs may be able to get a job in a cannery or something.
R/northtoalaska was started because of seeing a post about "what's a job where I can work all the overtime I want so I can get back into housing"
I once spent several hours on a bus next to a guy with a thick Cuban accent who was returning home from a cannery job. If you last out the season, they pay your plane ticket home. He was taking the bus and pocketing the difference.
In line with that, helping homeless people get jobs elsewhere is another legitimate reason to pay for a bus ticket out of there. It doesn't have to be high paying seasonal jobs in Alaska.