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NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOGov. Gavin Newsom
By MADISON HIRNEISENTHE CENTER SQUARE STAFF REPORTER
(The Center Square) — Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted more than $1 billion in new funding on Monday to expand mental health housing and treatment options for people transitioning out of homelessness.
Speaking from a new housing and treatment facility in Los Angeles, Gov. Newsom highlighted $1.1 billion to help homeless Californians move off the street and into housing and mental health treatment. The new funding is available through Homekey, a statewide program that provides funding to expand housing options and mental and behavioral health services for homeless individuals.
“We’re taking unprecedented action to rebuild California’s mental and behavioral health infrastructure, getting folks the help they need to get out and stay out of homelessness,” Gov. Newsom said in a statement. “Up until this point, our pandemic-response homeless programs have helped provide housing and shelter to more than 58,000 Californians — we’re doubling down on these efforts, providing more services in record time and at a fraction of the price.”
The $1.1 billion in funding comes as part of the governor’s $14 billion homelessness package. In 2021, the state budget invested $12 billion to help address homelessness and move people off the street and into housing or treatment. The governor’s proposed Budget Blueprint for the coming fiscal year will add another $2 billion to continue this work.
Through Homekey and Project Roomkey, which provided housing for homeless individuals during the pandemic, the governor’s office estimates the state could shelter 58,000 individuals and create 6,000 new units. With the state’s multi-billion dollar investment in addressing homelessness moving forward, the governor estimates the funding will create 55,000 new housing units and treatment slots in the coming years.
“We are systematically building the housing and treatment programs that California needs to better provide services to people with acute behavioral health issues,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, the California Health and Human Services secretary, said in a statement Monday. “That is where our focus has been, and today’s new funding is exactly what we need to be doing.”
Madison Hirneisen covers California for The Center Square.
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