Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced $920 million in newly available funding to help local communities clean up encampments and fight homelessness, as well as new measures he said were meant to ensure state homeless dollars are spent wisely.
The vast majority of the funds — $760 million — will be available through the sixth round of the state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program and can be spent on permanent and interim housing, outreach services and other efforts.
To access these funds, the governor’s office said local municipalities must meet certain requirements, including that they have moved to clean up encampments, have spent or obligated previous funding and have met state requirements to plan for new housing.
The governor’s office further announced a new website that will allow Californians to see the progress their counties have made in building new housing and reducing homelessness. It also tracks how much money each county has received from the state to get people off the streets.
“As we continue to support our communities in addressing homelessness, we expect fast results, not excuses,” Newsom said in a news release. “While we are pleased by the progress many communities have made to address the homelessness crisis, there is more work to do.”
In addition to the $760 million in funds that local communities can apply for, Newsom announced the awarding of about $160 million in grants that local governments can start spending now.
This includes millions for the city of Los Angeles to clean up three encampments near the I-10 Freeway, Hollywood Boulevard and the L.A. River.
In the future, the governor has proposed attaching further strings to state homeless funds, including the ability to “claw back” distributed funds when local governments haven’t made enough progress on solving the crisis.
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