CALIFORNIA FEINSTEIN APPALUDS $1.4 BILLION HOMELESS INITIATIVE BY GOVERNOR NEWSOME

California Senator Dianne Feinstein yesterday issued the following statement on Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order to address the homelessness crisis in California and on San Fransisco Mayor London Breed (above)  who recently secured funding to tackle homelessness:

“Governor Newsom is absolutely right to treat homelessness as the all-hands-on-deck crisis that it is. “I applaud his leadership on homelessness in devoting $1.4 billion in his budget. This will help build homes and shelters and fund the kinds of supportive service programs we know must be part of the solution.

“I also fully support the executive orders he signed today. Using excess state land for shelters is a step forward, as is providing trailers for temporary housing to get people off the streets. He will also create a fund to help families avoid eviction as well as a task force to help coordinate state and local actions on homelessness.

“I’d also like to applaud the cities across the state that are rising to this challenge.

• Yesterday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the conversion of 151 units in former hotels to keep the recently homeless from returning to shelters.
• Earlier this week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti opened the city’s first HHH-funded permanent supportive housing project, one of many the city has planned to address the needs of the chronically homeless.

“Homelessness will require additional measures from local, state, and the federal government. I’m heartened that California is stepping up; I will continue to fight for additional tools at the national level as well.”

Background:

• Governor Newsom’s executive order directs state agencies to repurpose state-owned land for emergency shelters, provides 100 trailers for temporary housing, creates a new fund to help people pay rent and avoid eviction, creates a system to track local progress on homelessness and creates a strike team to help localities confront homelessness. Last year, Governor Newsom’s budget included $1 billion for homeless services.

• Mayor Breed has set a goal of opening 1,000 new shelter beds in San Francisco by the end of 2020. To date, the city has already added more than 500 new beds. Additionally, voters recently approved a $600 million bond for affordable housing projects in San Francisco.

• The Los Angeles project is part of Proposition HHH, a $1.2 billion bond to build homeless housing that was approved by voters. Los Angeles County has also implemented a sales tax expected to raise more than $3.5 billion over 10 years to address homelessness.

In a statement, Governor Newsome said, “The State of California is treating homelessness as a real emergency – because it is one. Californians are demanding that all levels of government – federal, state and local – do more to get people off the streets and into services – whether that’s housing, mental health services, substance abuse treatment or all of the above. That’s why we’re using every tool in the toolbox – from proposing a massive new infusion of state dollars in the budget that goes directly to homeless individuals’ emergency housing and treatment programs, to building short-term emergency housing on vacant state-owned land.”