2023 - Page 22 of 153

Homeless tents at an encampment near the PATH apartment complex in Los Angeles on Nov. 17, 2021.

Commentary

California needs to change its homelessness policies, not spend more money

Despite spending by Democrat lawmakers, California's homeless population kept growing over the last five years. The current approach of throwing money at the problem is clearly not working.

By Brian Jones • November 6, 2023

Army veteran Latoya White at her home on Treasure Island in San Francisco, on Oct. 24, 2023. A third of the nation’s homeless veterans live in California, where the state has spent several billion dollars creating more housing specifically for former military service members since 9/11. Photo by Loren Elliott for CalMatters

Homelessness

One-third of homeless veterans live in California. Newsom is backing a new plan to help them

California’s population of homeless veterans has plateaued despite billions of dollars in state spending to create housing for former military service members. Now, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to shift the state’s resources to focus on veterans with serious mental health conditions.

By

Shreya Agrawal

• November 6, 2023

Inside the Newsroom

California Voices is an expanding CalMatters forum for civil discourse on core community issues

The California Voices commentary section will provide the best place in the state to read and contribute thought-provoking editorials from a variety of perspectives.

By

Sonya Quick

• November 6, 2023

Alard Gavorkian, an unhoused woman in downtown Los Angeles, tends to her belongings on Jan. 29, 2022. Photo by Shannon Stapleton, Reuters

Commentary

Shifting how California funds its mental health system is critical to getting more people off the streets

To reach tens of thousands of people living in tent encampments, California must prioritize and focus the billions generated through the Mental Health Services Act. Proposition 1, going before voters in March, is a major step towards the original law's promise.

By Darrell Steinberg • November 6, 2023

Fernando Maya in his room at the PATH apartment complex in Los Angeles on Nov. 17, 2021. Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Commentary

Housing alone won’t solve homelessness. California must expand its mental health system

California can't solve homelessness without vastly improving the public mental health system. Without treatment and interventions, those with a serious mental illness deteriorate and lose housing.

By Patricia Fontana • November 6, 2023

A small homeless encampment in Houston, Texas on May 5, 2023. Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar for CalMatters

Commentary

How Houston curbed homelessness and what California can learn from it

The conditions surrounding homelessness in Texas and California are different, but Houston's success offers lessons. The first step requires setting aside individual priorities and committing to collective impact.

By Sara Martinez • November 6, 2023

An unhoused person sleeps on a sidewalk in Los Angeles, on Feb. 13, 2023. Homelessness remains hugely visible throughout California with people living in tents and cars and sleeping outdoors on sidewalks and under highway overpasses. Photo by Jae C. Hong, CalMatters

Commentary

Once homeless, California makes it needlessly difficult for people to regain housing

It's incredibly difficult for someone experiencing homelessness to regain housing in California. With consistent funding, equal distribution and stronger rental protections, it would be easier to keep people housed.

By Zella Knight • November 6, 2023

In this photo illuminated by an off-camera flash, several homeless people stand next to their tents across the street from a luxury apartment building in Los Angeles on Jan. 17, 2023. Photo by Jae C. Hong, AP Photo

Commentary

It will take big solutions to overcome decades of bad homelessness policies

Decades of bad policy means it will take bigger, more expensive solutions to deliver the results on homelessness that struggling community members need and the public demands.

By Tomiquia Moss • November 6, 2023