\u201cWe\u2019re making headway and I think we have to remember that,\u201d Dyer said during the press conference. “Today we have zero encampments in the city of Fresno, and we judge an encampment by 10 or more people staying in a location for 10 or more days.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no one universally accepted definition of a homeless encampment. Some say the city\u2019s encampment definition of 10 or more people staying in the same place for ten or more days obfuscates the issue of homelessness in Fresno.<\/p>\n
Others agree with Dyer that the city has eliminated the major large-scale encampments in the city, but the unintended consequence has been that the unhoused are being pushed into neighborhoods and in front of businesses.<\/p>\n
Homeless advocate Dez Martinez said \u201cthe public deserves transparency, honesty, and policies based on reality, not word games.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A homeless encampment sits along Highway 41 near Bullard Avenue in north Fresno in this February 2021 file photo. CRAIG KOHLRUSS Fresno Bee file <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat concerns me most is the message being sent to the public,\u201d Martinez said in a statement. \u201cWhen officials say there are no encampments, it creates the impression that homelessness is being solved when many people on the ground know that is not the case. We continue to see unsheltered individuals, including seniors, people with disabilities, families, and people struggling with serious medical conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dyer acknowledged that the problem hasn\u2019t yet been solved and that there are still people living in the streets and canal banks who are in need of services.<\/p>\n
The latest official tally of homelessness in Fresno and Madera counties, known as the point-in-time count, shows that the region experienced a 9.2% increase in its homeless population in 2025<\/a>. Dyer said homelessness appears to be declining in Fresno based on preliminary data for 2026, though officials also cautioned against comparing the numbers to past years due to a new survey-based approach to measuring the tally.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we have made progress, but we remain challenged, just like every city in America,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Fresno\u2019s encampment definition<\/p>\n An encampment is a when people stay in temporary structures such as tents or enclosed places that are not intended for long-term continuous occupancy on an ongoing basis, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development<\/a><\/p>\n The National League of Cities<\/a> has a similar definition. Living on the street, and in encampments, can pose \u201cdeadly risks of hunger, disease, extreme weather, and violence, re-traumatizing people already suffering from ongoing and past trauma,\u201d according to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fresno has used the 10-people-for-10-days encampment definition for about 20 years, according to city records.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s Administrative Order 6-23<\/a> dated Aug. 30, 2007, which outlines policies and procedures for cleaning up areas in which individuals have constructed temporary shelters states that for encampments of 10 or more individuals, which have been in place for more than 10 days, the city gives a seven-day advance notice before conducting a clean-up operation.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s Homeless Assistance Response Team<\/a>, a team comprised of police and code enforcement officers that responds to complaints about the unhoused, follows the 2007 guidance<\/a> when responding to encampments and carrying out clean-up operations.<\/p>\n Bob McCloskey, an activist and reporter for Community Alliance, said that during the coronavirus pandemic several large encampments formed, some that had up to 100 people.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s right,\u201d McCloskey said of Dyer\u2019s comments. \u201cThey did break up the encampments.\u201d<\/p>\n For McCloskey, the problem is that disbanding these encampments and the controversial anti-camping ordinance<\/a> are pushing more people into neighborhoods and in front of businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why they\u2019re roaming around aimlessly looking for a place (to stay),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Occasionally, McCloskey said, some encampments with about 20 to 30 people will form, \u201cbut they (the city) will inevitably get in there and break them up.\u201d<\/p>\n Martinez \u2014 who previously ran a \u201csafe camp\u201d for about 32 people during the pandemic<\/a> \u2014 is concerned with the decline of available emergency shelter bed space, since many of the shelters are being converted to permanent affordable housing per the terms of the state funding. The city currently has around 700 shelter beds, Dyer said.<\/p>\n The question should not be whether a camp has enough people to qualify under a specific definition, Martinez said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question should be why so many people remain without safe, stable housing. Until every person has a place to go, homelessness remains a crisis in Fresno, regardless of the terminology being used,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 5:23 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/FRS_EPZ_HOMELESS.JPG\" "\\"FRS_EPZ_HOMELESS.JPG\\"")
Two homeless men take shelter from the rain in a doorway in Fresno’s Chinatown Wednesday morning, Dec 24, 2025 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com Homeless advocates weigh in<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/FRS_EPZ_HOMELESS_03.JPG\" "\\"FRS_EPZ_HOMELESS_03.JPG\\"")
A woman stares as homeless gather on a sidewalk along G Street Friday, Dec. 26, 2025 in downtown Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n
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