Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a significant initiative on Thursday aimed at addressing California's persistent homelessness crisis, announcing the allocation of nearly $200 million in grant funding to assist cities and counties in relocating homeless individuals from encampments into stable housing.
The governor, a Democrat, outlined plans to enhance oversight of local efforts to combat homelessness, emphasizing the need for tangible results from allocated funds. As part of this strategy, Newsom revealed the transfer of 22 state personnel from a housing enforcement unit to support local governments in executing homelessness reduction projects and to enforce accountability measures if progress falls short.
Furthermore, Newsom emphasized that cities and counties must develop concrete plans to construct new housing for homeless individuals, with potential legal consequences from the attorney general's office looming for those who fail to comply.
This announcement follows a critical state audit released last week, which revealed significant shortcomings in California's approach to addressing homelessness despite substantial financial investments totaling $24 billion over the past five years. The audit highlighted a lack of comprehensive tracking mechanisms to assess the impact of these expenditures on reducing homelessness.
California currently grapples with an estimated homeless population of 171,000 individuals, a figure that has continued to rise despite considerable state funding initiatives. Governor Newsom, who previously served as the mayor of San Francisco before assuming the governorship in 2018, has made homelessness and housing central priorities of his administration. One notable initiative includes a novel plan to acquire and repurpose motels into permanent housing for homeless individuals.