State’s fight against homelessness is an uphill battle

California is struggling in its effort to reduce homelessness.

That’s the verdict of a survey released this month by the League of California Cities, which found that cities are ramping up their efforts to reduce homelessness, and in many instances are having some success.

On the other hand, the state’s homeless problem is so severe that, despite the state’s efforts to speed up the construction of affordable housing, the demand for such housing is so strong that it can’t be built fast enough.

So strong, in fact, that cities are calling on the state legislature to add $3 billion to its efforts to fight homelessness, said Carolyn Coleman, the league’s executive director, and chief executive officer.

“The state’s homelessness crisis is so severe that Gov. Gavin Newsom has called in the National Guard, and several city leaders have declared emergencies in their jurisdictions, Coleman said in a statement released April 12, the day the survey’s results were announced.

However, “real progress” won’t be made until the state invests more money in local communities, Coleman said.

“City officials are doing their part to be a strong partner to support unhoused residents and keep Californians in their homes, and dedicated state funding is critical if we’re going to reverse this decades-in-the-making crisis.”

Sacramento is also doing its part, having vowed to reduce unsheltered homelessness in the state by 15 percent within the next two years. The original goal was two percent, but Gov. Gavin Newsom said that number wasn’t ambitious enough, and he threatened to cut funding used by local municipalities to battle homelessness if that number wasn’t raised.

“We are using every tool in our toolbox, including the largest-ever deployment of small homes in the state, to move people off the streets and into housing,” Newsom said in a statement March 16, the day several new homeless initiatives were announced. “The crisis of homelessness will never be solved without first solving the crisis of housing, [because] the two issues are inextricably linked.

“We are tackling this issue at the root of the problem by addressing the need to create more housing, faster in California.”

Newsom then ordered the National Guard to help prepare and deliver 1,200 small homes – mostly to homeless encampments operated by local governments – in Los Angeles, San Diego County, San Jose, and Sacramento, at no charge. All of the houses were ready to be occupied immediately.

At the same time, Newsom announced he was releasing $1 billion in Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention funding to help cities and counties step up their efforts to end homelessness.

The League of California Cities survey does show that cities are making serious efforts to keep pace with their homeless problem.

Eighty-four percent said their city had put into place programs intended to fight homelessness, but 87 percent said they believe their city has “concerns” about long-term spending on such programs

Nearly 80 percent reported that their hometown has spent general fund money during the past five years trying to find shelter for homeless people.

More than 25 percent of all California cities have either reduced or eliminated funding from other programs and used that money on homeless programs and services, the survey found.

“Homelessness is the most pressing social issue of our time,” said Chuck Washington, Riverside County supervisor and president of the California State Association of Counties. “It’s that serious.”

About 30 percent of the U.S. homeless population is in California, and 40 percent of that is in Los Angeles County, Washington said.

The Inland Empire had a homeless population of 6,649 – 3,316 in Riverside County and 3,333 in San Bernardino County – in the winter of 2022, according to that year’s point-in-time count, the most recent data available.

The point-in-time count measures the nation’s homeless population on one night in January every year. It is conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

California had 171,521 homeless people living within its borders at that time, while the national homeless population was estimated to be 582,000. Sixty percent of the U.S. homeless population was in shelters, and the remaining 40 percent “were in unsheltered locations such as on the street, in abandoned buildings or in other places not suitable for human habitation,” HUD wrote in its 2022 report to Congress on homelessness.

Washington attended the League of California Cities press conference, at which league members met with members of the counties association met and discussed what they might do together to fight homelessness.

“The cities alone can’t solve the problem, and the counties alone can’t solve the problem,” said Washington, who is serving a one-year term as president of the counties association. “But if we collaborate and present a plan to the state we can get something done. But we need steady funding.”

Washington believes that is the key to reducing homelessness: the state legislature and the governor’s office must approach funding the problem the same way it approaches transportation, economic development, or any other state agency:  as something that requires constant attention.

One shot of funding – even as much as $1 billion – helps for a year or two, but well-organized and sustained funding is the only way to solve the problem.

“[Cities and counties] need metrics that establish how the money will be spent, and we need to be held accountable by Sacramento,” Washington said.  “Any money that comes from the state should have strings attached. If you can’t show that you’re fixing the problem, then you don’t get the money.”