No State Has Done More Than California To Address 'Pernicious' Problem Of Homelessness: Gavin Newsom

3 months ago

On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) delivered his 2024 State of the State address and spoke about California’s actions to tackle the homelessness crisis.

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00:00When it comes to America's homeless problem, California's detractors have similarly offered

00:06nothing but rhetoric, moaning and casting blame.

00:10No state, by the way, has done more as California in addressing this pernicious problem of homelessness,

00:15plaguing cities and towns, not just across the state of California, but increasingly

00:19across the United States.

00:22Too many politicians for too long have ignored this problem.

00:25Let me remind you, just as an example, when I got here in 2019, there was no state homeless

00:30strategy, no state homeless plan.

00:32There was no significant investment.

00:34Sure, there was a half a billion dollar contribution one time made to local government, but there

00:39was no expectation of anything in return, accountability.

00:44There was no demonstrable results expected.

00:48When I came into office, we wanted to change that paradigm.

00:51That's why I presented a state of the state exclusively on the issue of homelessness and

00:55mental health.

00:57This was my commitment to California.

00:58We would no longer ignore this most pressing and distressing problem.

01:02Since then, by the way, we've cleared now over 9,300 dangerous encampments and we're

01:07helping tens of thousands of people move from tents and freeway underpasses to shelter or

01:11housing.

01:12Our innovative HomeKey program has revitalized former motels, hotels and apartments and provided

01:18more than 15,300 units of housing.

01:21Combined with Project RoomKey, California has now provided shelter for more than 71,000

01:29people.

01:30While the causes of homelessness are indeed complex, the solution is rather simple.

01:36Housing and supportive services.

01:38Housing and supportive services.

01:40That's why we've focused our reform specifically to address the housing needs as it relates

01:46to reforming CEQA.

01:47I've signed now 32 CEQA reforms to build more housing faster, at the same time creating

01:54more accountability by establishing a housing accountability unit to hold cities and counties

02:00accountable to following the law.

02:03Here are the results.

02:04Just in the last year or two, we've seen some 442 actions against local government, including

02:10lawsuits to compel them to follow the law.

02:13The success of accountability in the housing space is why we're adding similar accountability

02:20and oversight for homelessness.

02:22We're requiring cities now and counties to account for how they spend taxpayer dollars

02:27to get people off the streets and sidewalks, out of tents and into housing.

02:32So long as there are people living outdoors, so long as people are suffering from bipolar

02:38disorder, schizophrenia, paranoia, self-medicating with drug or alcohol addictions, our work

02:43clearly is not done.

02:45Most importantly, though, we have created a mosaic, a mosaic of extraordinarily transformative

02:52and impactful mental health reforms.

02:55Started with a new paradigm of thinking, Care Corps, a nation-leading effort that provides

02:59treatment and housing for people with the most serious untreated mental health challenges.

03:03This is critical to help exhausted and financially stressed families that have been trying to

03:08help relatives, loved ones stuck in the dark and unimaginable pain, suffering so often

03:14alone.

03:15Thanks to Susan Eggman, Tom Umberg, this program is moving out of the pilot phase.

03:20It'll be up and running every county in the state of California by the end of this year.

03:25We also took on the difficult and politically fraught task of conservatorship reform.

03:30How many decades have we been discussing the issue of conservatorship reform, saying it

03:35was necessary but increasingly impossible to achieve?

03:39Well, we achieved it.

03:40Now for the first time, we're helping to find meaningful solutions for families with relatives

03:45suffering from acute mental health and substance abuse disorders.

03:49Perhaps the steepest hill to climb was tackling the changes that were necessary, as well,

03:54the Mental Health Services Act.

03:57This year, we made a dramatic shift to focus the law on those struggling the most, to shift

04:02resources to housing and supportive services.

04:06This is the biggest effort in our lifetime to combat substance abuse and mental health

04:11as well.

04:12And this is a future that was advanced because of all of you.

04:16Proposition 1 is the future that you provided us.

04:19With the support of the California voters, we were able now to build over 11,000 new

04:23beds and housing units for those with the most challenging mental illness.

04:27And we're requiring counties and cities in the state to focus existing money on housing

04:31and treatment for the toughest cases.

04:34And critically, we're guaranteeing a portion of those homes will go to veterans living

04:38on the streets, many of them suffering from PTSD.

No State Has Done More Than California To Address 'Pernicious' Problem Of Homelessness: Gavin Newsom

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