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Governmental czars have been appointed, ambitious plans crafted and billions of dollars spent, yet California’s homeless crisis still grows.

Roughly a quarter of the nation’s homeless — about 118,000 people — live in California.

Frustration over the lack of headway has some city leaders now embracing a strategy once considered unthinkable: Sanctioned homeless camps.

“The entire West Coast is in a housing crisis,” said Joe DeVries, an assistant city manager in Oakland. “What we really need is housing. But as we build it, we need something to make people’s lives better.”

Oakland plans to open two camps for roughly 80 people within the next month or so, Mr. DeVries said. The sites will have prefab sheds, round-the-clock security and social services.