Hilton Announces Plan to Clear Every Homeless Encampment by End of 2027

Candidate for governor Steve Hilton shared at a press conference on October 17, his solution to end homeless encampments in California.

On​ Saturday's press conference, at San Diego's Sunbreak Ranch, Hilton announced Off the Streets and Back on Track, his plan to end street homelessness in California by the end of 2027.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2025 count found California has 181,934 homeless people, including 115,583 living without shelter. The state has allocated nearly $24 billion to homelessness and housing in recent years, yet the state auditor found it failed to consistently track spending and results.

“No one is going to get their life back on track living on the streets,” Hilton said. “We are going to get people off the streets and into places where they can actually get help.”

The plan calls for a network of Homeless Recovery Centers, using the Sunbreak Ranch project in San Diego County as the prototype. The centers would provide beds, meals, showers, medical care, drug treatment, psychiatric care and job training. Each person would have someone responsible for helping them get into stable housing, with continued care for those who need it.

Hilton says he will meet with mayors and county leaders in his first month as governor to set public deadlines for clearing encampments, with a Labor Day 2027 deadline for local leaders and a final deadline of Dec. 31, 2027, for every encampment to be cleared.

He also plans to declare a homelessness emergency to waive permitting barriers, enforce public camping bans once suitable facilities are available, and audit homelessness spending through Operation Zero Waste to redirect money from failing programs. If local leaders do not act, he said the state would step in.

“Leaving people to deteriorate in tents is a disgrace,” Hilton said. “By the end of 2027, every encampment will be cleared, and Californians will have their sidewalks and parks back.”