Governor Newsom pushes to cleanup homeless encampments while in Bay Area

(KERO) — Governor Gavin Newsom is working to address the homelessness problem in California by taking to the streets to help clean up parts of the Bay Area.

Newsom was in Berkeley helping cleanup encampments along freeways.

The governor was talking about continued efforts to remove encampments throughout the state as California works to curb the homelessness problem.

"200 encampments the last few months we've cleaned up up and down the state," said Newsom.

"And we're stepping up our efforts. What you see here is unacceptable. We had a big fire here, it's a safety risk, public health risk and there are quite literally hundreds and hundreds of rats running around. People should not live in conditions like this. They've accepted it too long."

The governor also discussed joint efforts with Caltrans to not only clean up encampments but also beautifying freeways with updated landscaping and providing security to help keep encampments from returning.