On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state will award $827 million in grant money to 37 cities and counties to invest in programs aimed at ending homelessness.
The grants are part of the state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant program.
Of the $827 million, the Los Angeles region will receive $380.6 million, with the city getting $160 million and the county getting $97 million.
“No one is naive about the public's perception of our progress in this state. No one is denying how angry people are, how frustrated they are,” Newsom said during the press conference in Skid Row. “No one is naive about the challenges that we face, not just here in Los Angeles, but throughout the state of California.”
During the press conference, Mayor Karen Bass thanked Governor Newsom and called him a “terrific partner.”
“As we've gone about this work, we know that the system is complex,” she said. “We know that there's many areas of dysfunction and one of the historic areas of dysfunction was bickering and finger-pointing between different levels of government. But this is an example what you see today of work that we have been doing for the last couple of years, which is bringing every level of government together.”
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The grant money requires local governments to send California monthly reports on spending and outcomes. Newsom said those reports will be available online and will provide greater accountability.
Republican California State Senator Roger Nielo told KNX News he thinks Newsom used the wrong approach to addressing the homelessness crisis.
“No matter how much money he throws at it, it's not going to be effective if there is no accountability,” he said. “If the state is not tracking the results of the programs that are being implemented, that's number one But back to the point of is it too much, over $20 billion in a four year period that strikes me as certainly a candidate for being too much. But it also coincidentally resulted in an explosion of the homelessness numbers.”
Nielo added that substance abuse and mental health issues need to be addressed as well.
For a full breakdown of how much each region is getting, CLICK HERE.
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