Gov. Newsom awards select communities new funds to combat homelessness crisis

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday the issuing of $131 million of state funding to aid a list of approved communities to address homeless encampments.

The awarded money, a portion of a larger state initiative to get people off the streets and connect them with care and housing across the state, came with strict guidelines and accountability measures.

"The state has committed more than $27 billion to help local governments tackle the homelessness crisis — and we want to see $27 billion worth of results," said Governor Newsom.

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The new accountability measures mandate local governments to maintain a 'compliant housing element and adhere to all planning, permitting, entitlement, fair housing, and homelessness laws.' This, in addition to previous measures that require all grantees to adhere to 'state and federal laws, rules, and regulations related to construction, health and safety, labor, fair employment practices, environmental protection, equal opportunity, and fair housing.'

Newsom said, "What we're asking for is a sense of urgency, a sense of resolve, and, more importantly than anything else, we are demanding results."

To help streamline the process, Newsom also announced a collaborative program that establishes an agreement between the state and local communities, allowing them to address encampments on state property and receive reimbursement for their efforts.

The 12 cities, four counties, and two CoCs awarded are:

-City of Antioch - $6,812,686
-City of Berkeley - $5,395,637
-City of Carlsbad - $2,994,225
-City of Los Angeles (total for two ERF awards) - $11,351,281
-City of Palm Springs - $5,106,731
-City of Petaluma - $8,098,978
-City of Redlands - $5,341,800
-City of Richmond - $9,336,746
-City of Sacramento (total for two ERF awards) - $18,199,661
-City of San Jose - $4,821,083
-City of Victorville - $6,365,070
-City of Visalia - $3,000,000
-County of Contra Costa - $5,708,516
-County of Riverside - $12,612,779
-County of San Bernardino - $11,000,000
-City and County of San Francisco - $7,975,486
-Humboldt County CoC - $3,784,294
-Pasadena CoC - $2,772,801

L.A. County did not make the cut, but Governor Newsom says that for those left out this round, there are more rounds to come, and applications must be strong.

The initiative known as the Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) Program started as a pilot a few years ago. Newsom says that since then, the state has removed about 1,000 high-profile encampments and 12,000 overall.

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