On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new $286.4 billion plan to build on the state’s ongoing work to combat “existential threats”, including confronting homelessness and tackling the cost of living.
The California Blueprint aims to allocate $2 billion for mental health housing and services and clearing encampments. This plan expands on a $12 billion package, creating 55,000 new housing units and treatment slots for people experiencing homelessness.
Days after announcing the plan, Newsom visited a homeless encampment in San Diego, joined by the city's Mayor Todd Gloria in a news conference to highlight a $14 billion package to the state's multi-year plan to confront the homelessness crisis. City Net, an organization contracted through the city, worked to clear the encampment which is one of the local efforts Newsom’s plan supports.
The organization will work with San Diego at least through June 2022 to deploy three outreach teams working alongside the city’s housing commission and its network providers for shelters and supportive services such as case management, mental health support, and transportation.
According to Newsom, California has been able to move 58,000 individuals off the streets and into housing and treatment this past year. He said the plan aims at “setting the groundwork for long-term systematic change with significant investments” in issues that impact unhoused communities such as mental health and substance abuse.
“We have to do more and we have to do better,” said Newsom, who was joined by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.
The California Blueprint is intended to bolster last year’s investments with an additional $1.5 billion for behavioral health bridge housing to get people off the street and into treatment, and $500 million toward “encampment resolution grants for local jurisdictions to implement short- and long-term rehousing strategies for people experiencing homelessness in encampments around the state,” a statement from the governor’s office read.
The proposal will expand the Returning Home Well program, which provides transitional housing and mental health services to people leaving prison or jail. The plan will invest $1.4 billion over five years to expand Medi-Cal benefits and include a mobile crisis response to ensure those experiencing homelessness may receive behavioral healthcare.
According to Gloria, there are more than 1,300 shelter beds in the city and will continue to grow through state and federal funding.
“That means more people on their way to permanent housing, ending this nightmare,” Gloria said. “I thank [Newsom] for coming to San Diego today to highlight our program to reach out to residents living alongside our freeways and connect them to the safety of our shelters and the help they need to end their homelessness.”
In addition to providing assistance for unsheltered Californians, the state launched a $1 billion California Mortgage Relief Program for homeowners who have fallen behind on home payments or reverse mortgage arrearages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
