The best reporting on the issue is from the California Globe and this article continues that.
An excerpt.
“Despite spending nearly $23 billion on California’s homeless housing, homelessness continues to grow in California. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, “nationally, California has topped the list for the state with the largest homeless population for more than a decade. As of 2022, 30% of all people in the United States experiencing homelessness resided in California, including half of all unsheltered people (115,491 in California; 233,832 in the US).”‘
“This is a solvable problem made impossible by a corrupt government,” a Sacramento source told the Globe.
“Since 2020, California’s overall homeless population has increased about 6%, compared to just 0.4% in the rest of the country, the PPIC found. The more California spends, the more homeless transients we get.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office has recent totals on homeless housing-related spending of the $22.3 billion breakdown:
“The same Sacramento source said, “Oh my God, what a f***ing waste of money.”
“Think about what we could have used that money for… improving the public’s safety by hiring more police officers, street and road repairs, local levee repairs, public park improvements… all issues our city officials have told us for years ‘we don’t have the budget for.’”
“Overall, the state has increased its role in addressing homelessness by providing significant, albeit one-time and temporary, funding towards infrastructure and flexible aid to local governments in recent years,” the LAO reported.
“The Legislative Analyst also did breakdowns by ethnicity/race, age, and gender, but did not include data on the thousands recently let out of prison, living on the streets.
“Gov. Newsom’s astronomical spending isn’t done yet. With homelessness still on the rise statewide, Newsom made it the subject of his new California tour and first speech on Thursday at Sacramento’s Cal Expo event center, the Globe reported Thursday. “According to Newsom, he aims to reduce homelessness 15% across the state by 2025, spend another $1 billion for homelessness funding, and push for more tiny homes to be given to the homeless in key locations across the state.”
“What an amazing goal – instead of seeking to eradicate homelessness, Gov. Newsom has aimed even lower at a 15% reduction over the next two years – and another $1 billion of taxpayer funds – at a time when the people of the state are begging for increased police presence and protection.
“After four years in office, spending $23 billion on housing and homelessness, only to dramatically increase it in California, Gov. Newsom plans on spending another $1 billion.
“That’s $1,000,000,000 – nine zeros, on top of $23,000,000,000.
“Of the 1,200 tiny homes planned, Los Angeles will receive 500, San Diego 150, Sacramento 350, and San Jose 200. San Francisco already has a tiny home program.
“Sacramento has more than 11,000 homeless living on city streets, in parks, along the rivers and bike trails, and under freeway overpasses and off-ramps. 350 tiny homes won’t make a dent in the homeless transient population.
“In July, the Globe reported the number of homeless living on Sacramento streets has increased over the past three years, according to a Point-in-Time count released by Sacramento Steps Forward, the City of Sacramento reported. However, based on interviews with homeless, they were living on the streets prior to the Covid virus pandemic, so this increase can’t be blamed on the pandemic.
“Conducted over two nights in February, the PIT count found 9,278 people living without homes in Sacramento County — a 67 percent increase from the last PIT count, conducted in 2019.” Yet in April we also reported, Sacramento County has more than 11,200 homeless living on the streets and in the parks, and all shelter beds and spaces are full on any given night. And those were numbers provided by Sacramento Steps Forward.
“Sacramento’s homeless even surpassed San Francisco’s.
“In 2019-2020, Sacramento Steps Forward received $25,990,012 from the State, and $23,349,292 from the Federal government (above). Most of the nearly $50 million was earmarked for housing. They spent nearly $802,000 on “administration.”
“Nearly $50 million earmarked for housing, and we still have 11,000 homeless drug addicts living on the streets? How is this possible unless they are incentivized to come to Sacramento? And some non-profits are finding homeless programs quite profitable.
“In February, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg sent out an official email announcing the city was providing brand new travel trailers (RV quality) for Sacramento’s Homeless drug-addicted transients to live in, located in Sacramento’s former public park, Miller Park.
“The Mayor and city gave over the public park and boat ramp on the Sacramento River to the homeless transients, who have rendered it unsafe, noxious, toxic and unusable for the city residents who pay taxes to sustain it. There were 60 tents provided, but with the January storms, the city removed the tents promising fancy new RV trailers.”
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