A $6.38 billion bond measure on California’s March poll would offer $2 billion to counties to construct houses and switch motels, motels and different buildings into housing for homeless residents.
Gov. Gavin Newsom landed in Los Angeles this week to trumpet Proposition 1, which might fund housing throughout the state and open hundreds of psychological well being therapy beds, the Los Angeles Day by day Information reported.
The governor stated the measure would tackle the state’s homelessness and dependancy crises and remodel psychological well being and drug and alcohol therapy packages.
“You’ve obtained to help an initiative that may create 11,000 new items of housing (and) 27,000 new therapy slots in outpatient alternatives that promotes not simply options, however promotes spending billions of {dollars} particularly for veterans,” Newsom informed a crowd at Los Angeles Common Medical Middle in Lincoln Heights.
If handed, Prop. 1 would require counties to take a position round a 3rd of their Psychological Well being Companies Act tax {dollars} — about $1 billion based mostly on final yr’s income — on housing packages, based on the Day by day Information.
It might require the state’s 58 counties to spend half of that cash on the chronically homeless or folks residing in tents.
Proposition 1 would give $2 billion to the state program that offers cash to native governments to assemble new housing and switch motels, motels and different buildings into houses, based on a state Legislative Analyst Workplace evaluation.
Native governments would get both grants or loans from the state to offer houses for homeless residents, these liable to residing on the road, or folks with psychological sickness or substance abuse issues.
Simply over half of the $2 billion can be put aside for houses for veterans.
Over a 30-year span, the practically $6.4 billion bond would value $9.3 billion, together with curiosity, based on the LAO report.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stated anybody who hesitates to vote on Prop. 1 wants to consider how a lot it prices to incarcerate folks.
“If it’s important to spend a few weeks in a tent, would you employ medication? When your psychological well being deteriorates?” the mayor requested throughout the press convention. “We are able to’t separate these issues, and it isn’t sufficient to get a mattress for an individual.
“We are able to get folks off the road,” she stated. “We demonstrated that persons are prepared to return off the road. However it’s important to tackle why they weren’t housed to start with.”
California is now house to just about a 3rd of the nation’s homeless residents. The state’s homeless inhabitants grew 6 p.c final yr to greater than 181,000 folks, the biggest estimate of any state.
— Dana Bartholomew
