California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces funding for anti-homelessness programs

More than $827 million has been awarded during the fifth round of California grants to help homeless people, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced at a news conference Tuesday morning in downtown Los Angeles.

The money will go to 37 regional grantees serving more than 100 communities and organizations statewide, Newsom said outside the Downtown Women’s Center, which assists homeless women and gender-diverse individuals with housing and health care.

The Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Grant requires cities, counties, and continuums of care to coordinate with each other in a regional approach to address homelessness, the Governor’s Office said in a news release on its website. The money goes toward creating permanent housing and providing help with rents, case management and the move into a new home.

Region-by-region support to tackle homelessness

The grants include:

• $380.36 million for the Los Angeles region, which includes Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Long Beach, Pasadena and Glendale.
• $43.46 million for the San Francisco region.
• $58.84 million for the San Diego region.
• $6.88 million for the Ventura region, which includes Ventura County.
• $5.32 million for the Santa Barbara region.
• $25.76 milllion for Fresno and Madera region.
• $11.82 million for the San Bernardino region.
• $4.14 million for the Kings and Tulare region.
• $14 million for the San Joaquin region.
• $11.17 million for the Kern region.
• $4.67 million for the Humboldt region.

The complete list is at the California Housing and Community Development Department’s website.

During the previous four rounds of funding, more than $2.4 billion was awarded, the department said.

Mayor, governor: Money makes a difference

The HHAP grants have helped to reduce homelessness for the first time in years in Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass said at the news conference, which live-streamed on YouTube.

The progress is proof of what cities, counties and the state can accomplish by working together, said Bass, who was joined at the conference by officials such as members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

“We are seeing progress in many parts of the state,” Newsom said, but added homelessness remains a crisis throughout California.

“People are dying on our watch. Kids are struggling. How many seniors do we see on the streets?” the governor said.

Newson noted he saw schoolchildren walking past homeless people on a Los Angeles street as he drove to the news conference.

He said the kids will never be able to “unsee” the sight of people struggling to survive.

“That’s not who we are. It’s not who we should be,” Newsom said. “We are committed to doing more and doing better.”

The role of the state and local jurisdictions

The state government didn’t begin to invest in solutions until a few years ago, Newsom said. “When I was mayor of San Francisco, the state provided no measurable support.”

In recent years, the state has significantly increased the amount of money it spends to help local jurisdictions, Newsom said.

But homelessness must be tackled from the bottom up, not the top down, with local governments addressing it directly with the state’s support, the governor said.

The HHAP grants come with reporting, accountability and transparency requirements to ensure grantees are using the money efficiently, Newsom said.

“These new measures will help enhance the ability for these state investments to drive real, measurable results and will help improve the tracking of data and outcomes,” the Governor’s Office said in its news release.

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.