Newsom Plans to Cut California’s Homeless Crisis by 15 Percent

California’s homeless crisis is growing as the state tries to find solutions for the community.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the Golden State will continue to build tiny homes in four of its largest urban areas and will reward cities who reduce homelessness with a share of a $1 million prize.

Newsom made a stop in Sacramento as part his statewide tour to announce key policy developments. Newsom spoke to the Cal Expo crowd about homelessness.

He stated that at least 1,200 tiny homes would be made available for interim housing to unsheltered persons. They can be assembled in under an hour, depending upon the brand and their size. The state will assist with installation and identifying suitable land.

Two hundred will travel to San Jose, 500 in Los Angeles, 350 to Sacramento and 150 to San Diego County.

“We’re hoping to get them constructed in a matter of months, not years,” He stated. “The press may attack us if we fall short, so we’re saying in the fall.”

Newsom said that cities, counties and regional agencies throughout the state submitted plans to reduce homelessness to 2 percent to 15% by 2025. They will be held responsible to receive a portion of the $1 billion they have promised to use towards their plans.

Tiny homes became a popular solution for cities seeking to rapidly shelter homeless populations during the pandemic because of the relative ease and cost-effectiveness of using prefabricated, modular units.

Jason Elliott, Newsom’s top advisor, indicated that funding will come from funds not used in the state budget for behavioral healthcare programs.

Brian Jones, Republican state Senate Leader, condemned the proposal, calling it another example Newsom. “throwing money” at the problem without solutions.″

“While I appreciate the governor’s creativity to construct 1,200 tiny homes, that is a drop in the bucket,” He made the statement in a statement.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (pdf), California has 171,000 homeless persons. (pdf) That’s a 6.2 percent increase since 2020.

“California accounted for half of all unsheltered people in the country,” According to the 2022 report of the department on homelessness, it was submitted to Congress. “This is more than nine times the number of unsheltered people in the state with the next highest number, Washington.”

Between 2019 and 2022, the number of unsheltered homeless people in Sacramento grew to 6,664 from 3,900.

Data released Wednesday by the San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness showed 725 individuals were housed in February, with most renting places themselves, while 1,036 individuals experienced homelessness for the first time.

In Los Angeles, where skid row is located, newly elected Mayor Karen Bass declared a state of emergency in the City of Los Angeles on Dec.12, and the Board of Supervisors pledged a week later to support those efforts. The Board declared a state emergency in Los Angeles County on Jan. 10.

“My mandate is to move Los Angeles in a new direction, with an urgent and strategic approach to solving our city’s toughest challenges and creating a brighter future for every Angeleno,” Bass said. “Today, on my first day in office, we hit the ground running, with a sea change in how the city tackles homelessness.”

Since her first day in office, Bass launched the Inside Safe program to quickly move unhoused Angelenos indoors. Most are currently in temporary hotel rooms or motels, but the goal is to move them all into permanent housing and provide mental health services or other support services.

Bass is not alone in her concerns about the growing homeless population, despite all of her efforts.

“(With) the eviction moratorium ending, I’m very, very worried that we’re going to see another spike in homelessness,” Bass said. “Now, you know the City Council passed tenant protections, but … I’m worried that a lot of people won’t know that the tenant protections actually are there, so we are setting out to do outreach to make sure that tenants know.”

Bass’s goal is to house more than 4,000 homeless Angelenos will have been housed, including more than 1,000 through her Inside Safe initiative, by next week when she hits her 100-day mark in office.