SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Gov. Gavin Newsom is meeting with local leaders, including the mayors of 13 of California's largest cities to coordinate a statewide approach to deliver more substantial support for homelessness.
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This meeting follows the freezing of $1 billion in state funding for homelessness just weeks ago.
Newsom initially earmarked $15.3 billion to address the state’s homelessness crisis, an unprecedented amount.
But according to Newsom’s office, the 75 plans submitted so far to the state on the issue by local entities are not enough.
The current plans would collectively reduce homelessness throughout California – from the baseline of 2019 through to 2024 – by just 2%.
"It's not an indictment of any individual plan," said Newsom. "Some plans were extraordinary, some plans were disappointing."
"Rather than cast blame, pointing fingers, I decided to take a different approach," he said.
This is where the meetings come in.
Meeting with local leaders throughout the state will hopefully add a better understanding of the key issues facing communities.
"I'm deeply appreciative of the hard work and the responsibility," said Newsom. "But I'm also mindful we can't continue on the path we've been on."
"We've got to do more, we've got to do better," he said.
While local officials are meeting with Newsom, some have said that shutting off state funding will severely hamper their current efforts.
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