Governor proposes $12B to house state’s homeless
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proposed $12 billion in new funding to get more people experiencing homelessness in the state into housing and to “functionally end family homelessness” within five years.
“As governor I actually want to get something done. I don’t want to talk about this for a decade,” he said at a former San Diego hotel that’s been converted into housing for the homeless.
Newsom’s proposal includes $8.75 billion to expand a California program created during the pandemic that converts hotel and motel rooms and other properties into housing for people in need. Roughly half of that money would go toward creating housing where mental health and other behavioral services are provided on site to people living there.
The nation’s most populous state has an estimated 161,000 people experiencing homelessness, which is more than any other state.
Beyond the money for converting hotels, Newsom proposed spending $3.5 billion on new housing and rental support payments for families.
If Newsom’s plan wins support from the state Legislature, it’s implementation would depend heavily on the willingness of local governments to go along. Local leaders showed support for the plan during the pandemic by converting 94 hotels, motels and other properties across the state into housing for people experiencing homelessness, said Jason Elliott, a Newsom adviser who works on housing and homelessness.
Still, San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, a fellow Democrat, acknowledged that tackling the issue is challenging and urged Californians to step up efforts to solve the politically difficult problem.
“Every community group that you go to demands that you solve the problem of homelessness, and then in the exact same meeting they’ll demand you don’t solve it anywhere near them,” he said.
The new pending proposal came as part of a $100 billion pandemic recovery plan Newsom is rolling out this week. The massive amount comes from an astounding $76 billion estimated state budget surplus and $27 billion in new funding from the federal government’s latest coronavirus spending bill.