SACRAMENTO— Gov. Gavin Newsom announced new funding to get people off the streets and into housing. He held a virtual press conference on Monday, along with Meghan Marshall, the Executive Officer for the California Interagency Council on Homelessness; and Alisa Becerra, the Caltrans Deputy Division Chief over Homelessness and Encampments.
“The number one issue in the state of California, and surprisingly the issue that continues to be top of mind everywhere I go, is homelessness and all its forms and manifestations, but most acutely what’s happening on the streets and sidewalks. We can all agree that we need to do more to clean up encampments in California. A number of years ago, we initiated for the first time in state history a strategy to focus exclusively on the issue of encampments. We refer to it as an ‘encampment resolution grant program’, the idea being that we weren’t just cleaning up encampments out of sight, out of mind, and displacing people or moving people, but that we’re trying to resolve the underlying issues in the first place and actually support people to get them back on their feet to self-sufficiency,” the Governor started by stating.
According to Newsom, that initiative began with a $50 million grant to cities and counties, “a grant program that was wildly successful and oversubscribed. The response we got was extraordinary. It was exactly the kind of set aside that they needed in order to derive strategies and solutions to clean up their communities. It has been a huge success. We have accountability plans with the cities and counties. We’re not just writing a blank check and hoping things get better. We actually have specific numeric goals, minimum expectations and standards that must be met.”
Since July 1, 2021, California has cleared 5,679 encampments from the state right-of-way. Now, the state is making nearly $300 million available to locals to help move even more individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness from encampments into housing. This new round of funding builds on the $415 million the state has already awarded to cities, counties and continuums of care to clean up encampments and house people living on the street. In total, the Administration has budgeted $750 million to help an estimated 23,000 individuals living in dangerous conditions on the streets.
Newsom said he was very passionate and enthusiastic about the Interagency Council on Homelessness “to end chronic homelessness in the state, in the work that they’ve done to make sure these grants are effective, targeted and produce the results that taxpayers deserve. Those results we want to see in real-time. There’s a lot more to come on this issue, not just with the behavior health reforms, but a lot of other announcements we’ll be making over the coming weeks as well.”
“These funds will provide resources for intentional and very deep engagement and also real and immediate services which will result in transformation in the lives of California. That is a real opportunity for communities to evolve in projects with a focus on lasting permanent results. The highest-scoring proposals ultimately selected demonstrate the ability to immediately address the safety and wellness of persons in the encampment, resulting in a meaningful pathway to permanent housing,” Marshall said.
“These grants are critical in creating meaningful solutions in the form of places for people to go. Caltrans has encampment coordinators in all of our districts who are available to answer questions, provide information and collaborate to develop proposals that result in substantial solutions for people sheltering on the state. We’ve been working to create a roadmap to help our partners navigate that application process,” Becerra added.
“Caltrans remains committed to creating partnerships that foster new ways of thinking and to build bridges to innovate solutions. Together we can work to keep our Californians experiencing homelessness from returning to unsafe areas along our roads and under our structures because they have more suitable stable housing options supported by this program. People are dying. They’re suffering on the streets and sidewalks. We have to move with ideas, not just idealism, and we’ve got to share those and spread those good ideas. We want to replicate success with no interest in failure. We want to hold folks accountable to make sure these dollars move out efficiently and effectively. You’re gonna be hearing that from me nonstop the next three years: accountability, accountability, accountability,” Newsom concluded.
