Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, agreed to transfer $1 billion in state funds for homelessness that he had testily stopped earlier this month, but only if local governments promised to increase the aggression of their future plans to reduce the state’s poor or homeless population.
The Democratic governor stated that his afternoon meeting with around 100 mayors and local authorities on Friday, both in person and online, was helpful, with participants coming to a solution on what needed to be done and being motivated to go ahead with their goals.
It was good to hear of their development. And it was good to hear that they understood that we needed to move on to a higher level,” he told reporters after more than two-hour of discussions. “Everyone wants to see the streets of California cleaned, and that is what I want to see. We want to see camps cleaned up and people with homes.”
Newsom, who easily won reelection last month, must show decreases in the rising number of homeless people, some of whom sleep overnight on footpaths and under flyovers, upsetting even the most liberal voters in the nation’s most populated state. He shocked the state two weeks ago when he declared that he would withhold $1 billion in funding until cities and counties developed more plans, calling the plans that had been posted “simply unacceptable” because they would reduce the state’s homeless population by 2% over the coming 4 years.
On Friday, he highlighted the total amount of money his government has spent on homes and homelessness, highlighting the current decision by the state legislature to invest $15.3 billion over the coming three years. Tens of thousands of people had been kept housed thanks to the money, he declared, but he also confirmed that many were still sleeping on the streets/footpaths of California.
Because of the state’s expensive housing costs and historically low level of home construction, there were an average of 161,000 citizens without a place to live in California as of 2020, and this total is expected to increase this year. The number of people losing their homes continues to rise, according to advocates for the homeless, who say they are struggling to keep up.
After state authorities confirmed on Wednesday that California will definitely have a $25 billion budget total amount next year after a record of historic profits, the possibility of a new funding source for homelessness this week is unclear.
Also, the Newsom government is taking strong actions against Californian counties and cities that are unsure to develop new housing, especially affordable homes.
