California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is ready to spend another $1 billion to combat homelessness in California. He predicts the state’s homeless population will decrease by 15% by 2025 under the new plan.
While he’s already spent more than $22 billion on the problem since 2019, he’s hoping this money will be better spent by immediately providing the state with 1,200 tiny homes, using about $30 million of the new funding.
The homes will be around 120 square feet and cost a fraction of what it takes to build permanent housing. The state’s National Guard will deliver 1,200 new tiny homes split among Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Jose and San Diego. The cities will decide where to build them.
“We have laid out a vision, a strategy and a plan, at least another option, in terms of the alternatives to living out in the streets and sidewalks in these extraordinary and horrid conditions, which so many are struggling and suffering through particularly around this time of year,” Newsom said.
California is home to one third of all homeless people in the United States. And despite tens of billions of dollars funneled in to reduce the homeless population, the state’s homeless population has continued to rise.
In 2020, the number of homeless in California increased by 6%, outpacing the rest of the country at just a 0.4% increase year-over-year.
Critics of Newsom’s $1 billion plan say California needs a new approach to address homelessness.
