SACRAMENTO (KNX) - Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined a dozen other California mayors in Sacramento today to advocate for more state funding to combat homelessness.
The mayors of 13 major cities including San Diego, Irvine, Long Beach, and San Jose came together to urge the state to prioritize funding for programs like Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention and Project Homekey.
“More than 4000 Angelenos have been brought inside since I took office, and we’re just getting started,” Bass said. “But I can’t do this work alone. No mayor can do this work alone. That’s why recent state investments and partnerships have been so critical.”
Bass called homelessness “the number one crisis we are facing in California,” and said the only way to solve it is for cities and the state to work together.
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson added that there also needed to be a focus on jobs programs for disadvantaged young people, like the Californians For All Youth Jobs Corps.
“When we hire youth, we invest in neighborhoods, we invest in families, we invest in opportunities,” he said.
The mayors also urged lawmakers to fund more substance abuse programs and mental health services.
Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised 2023-24 budget proposal last week, which puts $15.3 billion toward addressing homelessness — the biggest annual investment in state history. The legislature will vote on a final budget this summer.
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