{"id":15385,"date":"2023-07-12T03:38:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T08:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=15385"},"modified":"2023-07-12T03:38:18","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T08:38:18","slug":"california-has-spent-billions-to-fight-homelessness-the-problem-has-gotten-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=15385","title":{"rendered":"California has spent billions to fight homelessness. The problem has gotten worse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

California has spent a stunning $17.5 billion trying to combat homelessness\u2002<\/u><\/a>over just four years. But, in the same time frame, from 2018 to 2022, the state\u2019s homeless population actually grew. Half of all Americans living outside on the streets, federal data shows, live in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the country, homelessness is on the rise. But California is adding more homeless people every year than any other state. More than 170,000 unhoused people now live here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe problem would be so much worse, absent these interventions,\u201d Jason Elliott, senior adviser on homelessness to Gov. Gavin Newsom, told CNN. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not what people want to hear. I get it, we get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with $17.5 billion, the state could, theoretically, have just paid the rent for every unhoused person in California for those four years, even at the state\u2019s high home costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is reductive \u2026 Perhaps that would work for me, because I don\u2019t have significant behavioral health challenges.\u201d said Elliott. \u201cIf two thirds of people on the streets right now are experiencing mental health symptoms, we can\u2019t just pay their rent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The admittedly reductive math would leave nearly $4 billion for services like mental health treatment. But even if California did want to pay rent for every homeless person, there just isn\u2019t enough affordable housing to go around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need 2.5 million more units in California,\u201d said Elliott. \u201cThis is a problem that is decades and decades in the making because of policy choices that we\u2019ve made. We are not blameless. And when I say we, I mean Republicans and Democrats alike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of $20.6 billion has been allocated through 2024 to combat homelessness. Nearly $4 billion went to local governments to spend on anti-homelessness initiatives. $3.7 billion went to a program called Project Homekey, which also funds local governments, but specifically to buy properties like motels and commercial buildings to turn into permanent, affordable housing. So far 13,500 units have been finished. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough,\u201d said Elliott. \u201cBut reversing the slide is the first step to creating an increase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cristina Smith recently moved into one of the new affordable units in Los Angeles. After five years without a home she had, like many, given up hope. \u201cI thought it was fake,\u201d she told CNN affiliate KCBS<\/u><\/a>. \u201cUntil they gave me the keys and then I was like this is real. You don\u2019t believe it after a while.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A further $2 billion from the huge pot went toward tax credits for developers to build affordable housing, which has seen 481 new units completed so far, with thousands more anticipated. Another $2 billion went to kick-start affordable housing projects, stalled by funding shortfalls. And nearly $2 billion was spent on emergency rental assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California has, in recent years, suffered devastating wildfire seasons and, of course, the Covid pandemic. Both put extra pressure on housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating, it\u2019s frustrating \u2026 It\u2019s frustrating for us,\u201d said Elliott. \u201cAt the end of the day if we want to truly solve homelessness in America. We need to build more housing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Margot Kushel, who worked with Elliott to formulate a pandemic plan for the state\u2019s homeless population, just published a hefty report<\/a>, the results of a survey of nearly 3,200 unhoused people across California she hails as \u201cthe largest representative study of homelessness since the mid-1990s.\u201d Kushel, who is director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations<\/a>, was commissioned by the state to find out who is homeless in California and why, in the hope her data might help fine-tune the state\u2019s response to what Newsom has called \u201ca disgrace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politicians, and many voters, want solutions. Newsom devoted his entire State of the State speech in 2020 to the issue. In a recent poll, 84% of Californians said they think homelessness is a \u201cvery serious problem.\u201d In Los Angeles, the issue dominated last year\u2019s mayoral race<\/a> with the winner, Karen Bass, declaring a state of emergency on homelessness on her very first day in office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kushel\u2019s report dispelled some myths. Number one, that many people on the street don\u2019t want a home. Not true, says Kushel. \u201cParticipants overwhelmingly wanted permanent housing,\u201d she concludes in the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Number two, that many people on the streets of California are not from California. There\u2019s a widely held belief that many people become homeless elsewhere, and come to California for the weather and the more liberal approach to homelessness. And therefore, California does not owe them anything. Not true, says Kushel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNine out of 10 people lost their stable housing here. These are Californians,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to create the housing for all Californians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myth number 3: that mental illness is the driving force behind homelessness. Yes, 66% of respondents did report, \u201csymptoms of mental health conditions currently,\u201d which is the statistic quoted by Elliott, the governor\u2019s adviser, to argue a solution is more complicated than just writing rent checks. But Kushel questioned if mental health problems led to homelessness, or the other way round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of that, half of people, had severe depression or severe anxiety \u2013 not surprising if you were experiencing homelessness,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, tackling mental health issues among the unhoused is a major plank in the Newsom administration\u2019s effort. \u201cWe\u2019re taking a new approach,\u201d he said last spring when unveiling his mental health plan, \u201cRather than reforming in the margins a system that is foundationally and fundamentally broken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the new approach is, controversially, to effectively force some people into mental health help \u2013 allowing relatives, social services or medical personnel to refer people to be considered for a court-ordered treatment program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust tackling the mental health side can\u2019t solve the problem,\u201d says Kushel. \u201cNot when the median rent is $2,200 for a two-bedroom apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings us back to the need for 2.5 million more homes. The state does have a plan to build them all by 2030. But here in California, like elsewhere, housing and zoning decisions are down to local governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got communities in this state that are refusing to build low-income housing,\u201d Elliott, the governor\u2019s adviser, told CNN. \u201cBecause they say it\u2019s all just rapists and child molesters. So that\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s the dynamic that we\u2019re facing, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state is suing a number of wealthier cities for thwarting the construction of affordable housing within their borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There aren\u2019t enough affordable houses in California, therefore rents are too high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe primary problem for homelessness is economics,\u201d said Kushel. \u201cPeople just don\u2019t have the money \u2026 to pay the rent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how much money would people need to make up the shortfall and stay in their homes? \u201cOne of the surprising things was how optimistic people were that relatively small amounts of money would have prevented their homelessness,\u201d Kushel said of the people surveyed. \u201cFor a lot of them, that $300 or $500 a month would do the trick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Newsom administration is spending more to combat homelessness than this state ever has before. Prior to 2018 there was no coherent statewide plan or funding structure. But, they say, the state needs help. \u201cThe federal government needs to get in the game and do what it used to do, which is provide housing as a guarantee,\u201d said Elliott. He says for every four Americans in need of a housing voucher, there is just one voucher available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFood stamps are a guarantee. Health care is a guarantee. Public education is a guarantee,\u201d he said. \u201cHousing? 25% chance. Spin the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked how state officials have reacted to her report and recommendations, Kushel replied, \u201cI think they\u2019re on board. I hope, I think they\u2019re relatively on board. I don\u2019t agree with everything, but I think they\u2019re trying.\u201d Asked what she doesn\u2019t agree with, Kushel demurred, \u201cOh, gosh, I don\u2019t know. I mean, as you can hear, I really want to have a single-minded focus on getting people into permanent housing and I think that is the root of how we end homelessness.\u201d She did agree some politicians might be more focused on the window dressing of getting people off the street, into shelters or motels, rather than actually into permanent housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t disagree more with that characterization,\u201d said Elliott. \u201cWe\u2019re facing a tidal wave and we\u2019re doing the best we can \u2013 to mix metaphors a little bit \u2013 to paddle out from that and to try to tread water and do as best we can while we try to make the fundamental change necessary both in California and at the national level to truly address homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Los Angeles, the epicenter of the homelessness crisis in the Golden State, Mayor Bass launched a program called Inside Safe, to clear street encampments. At a roundtable with reporters recently, she was keen to trumpet the success of moving more than 1,300 people off the streets into motels but refused to even estimate how many of those people have been moved into permanent housing. The 2023-2024 city budget includes $250 million for Inside Safe. From the total, $110 million will be used to pay for temporary motels. $21 million will be used for permanent housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know one woman in Los Angeles who was moved from a tent into a motel room nearly 200 days ago under Inside Safe. She is still there and says there is still not even a plan to move her into a permanent home. She says she\u2019s frustrated and losing hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no silver bullet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re trying really hard to keep people alive,\u201d said Kushel. \u201cAnd they\u2019re kind of stuck in this vicious cycle of not having the housing to send people to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edition.cnn<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California has spent a stunning $17.5 billion trying to combat homelessness\u2002over just four years. But, in the same time frame, from 2018 to 2022, the state\u2019s homeless population actually grew. Half of all Americans living outside on the streets, federal data shows, live in California. Across the country, homelessness is on the rise. But California is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":15386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5780,1154],"tags":[9700,1189,1491,2021,4727],"class_list":["post-15385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-livehood","category-trending","tag-big-spend","tag-california","tag-homeless","tag-increase","tag-solution"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15387,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15385\/revisions\/15387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}