California cities urge Newsom and state to provide $3 billion in homelessness crisis funds
Eden Villalovas
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California cities are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) administration to grant $3 billion a year in homelessness funding. In a rally at the California Capitol on Wednesday, around 100 city officials made their funding demands.
As of 2022, 30% of the country’s homeless population resides in California, and numbers have continued to grow since 2020. California is disproportionately affected by homelessness compared to other states.
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“The state’s homelessness crisis is so severe that the Governor has called in the National Guard, and several city leaders have declared emergencies in their jurisdictions. However, lasting progress will be out of reach without an ongoing source of state investment in local communities,” Cal Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman said in a statement.
The League of California Cities represents 447 cities helping to expand resources from the local and federal government to areas in need.
Following the rally, the League met with the California State Association of Counties, a group that represents county government to the the California legislature. The joint discussion gathered county and city leaders from across the state to converse about creating a statewide plan to address homelessness.
A survey from the League of California Cities last month found that while 85% of the 479 member cities have implemented programs to prevent and reduce homelessness, nearly 90% express fiscal concerns over providing the long-lasting homelessness services in the existing plans.
While the demand for extra funding is high, the state is facing a $22.5 to $25 billion deficit, a drastic shift from the surplus held in the last two years.
Tensions between Newsom and local and state leaders have varied — he withheld $1 billion in state homelessness funding late last year, claiming local governments and providers need to come up with better strategies for addressing the crisis. Two weeks after that announcement, in November 2022, Newsom went back on his remarks and said most cities and counties will receive the funds.
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“We believe every single person deserves housing,” said Erica Stewart, mayor of San Luis Obispo, at the rally.
“The cities alone are not going to be able to do this forever,” she added. “We can’t do it. But we are your partners in action. … We want the state legislature and the governor to act and provide permanent, long-term, stable, ongoing funding.”