California governor pauses $1B in homelessness spending

Local governments not aggressive enough

California has the nation’s largest unsheltered population with an estimated 173,346 people experiencing homelessness in 2021

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he will delay $1 billion (U.S.) in funding to local governments because he says they are not being aggressive enough to curb homelessness in their communities.

California’s 58 counties, 13 largest cities and groups of public and private service providers were in line to get the money from the state if they submitted plans showing how they would reduce the homeless population in their community while increasing people in permanent housing.

Thursday, Newsom said the plans that have been submitted weren’t good enough. Together, Newsom said the collective plans by local governments would reduce homelessness statewide by just two per cent over the next four years. Some plans even showed double-digit increases in the homeless population over that same time period, Newsom said.

“At this pace, it would take decades to significantly curb homelessness in California — this approach is simply unacceptable,” Newsom said in a news release. “Everyone has to do better — cities, counties, and the state included.”

State lawmakers committed to spending $15.3 billion over the next three years to combat homelessness, including the grant program Newsom is pausing. Newsom said he would hold the money until after a meeting with local leaders later this month to “review the state’s collective approach to homelessness and identify new strategies to better address the homelessness crisis.”

California, the most populous state with more than 39 million residents, also has the nation’s largest unsheltered population with an estimated 173,346 people experiencing homelessness in 2021, according to the state’s Homeless Data Integration System. For decades, California has mostly considered homelessness to be a local issue, with the state government handing out billions of dollars in assistance each year to local communities.

JAE C. HONG THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO People ride their bikes past a homeless encampment set up along the boardwalk in the Venice neighbourhood of Los Angeles.