The Governor Gavin Newsom convened local leaders on Friday to discuss their plans to address the homeless crisis and identify new strategies and opportunities to more ambitiously address street encampments across the state.
Earlier this month, Newsom announced that the state would conduct the third round of Housing, Homeless Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grants to local governments whose plans, taken together, would only reduce statewide homelessness by 2 percent by 2024.
In response, the governor, in partnership with cities and counties, has laid out a path forward for applicants to receive their third round of HHAP funding, with grants set to go live next week, provided local governments agree to more ambitious reductions in homelessness.
In the face of poor results, Newsom challenged local leaders to come up with more ambitious plans for their next round of funding; so far, 21 have pledged to step up in writing. The state expects the remaining applicants to do the same.
“This was an important conversation that allowed us to speak candidly and share some good ideas,” said Gavin Newsom. “Local leaders talked about the need for more collaboration between the city and county, more land use reforms to build housing faster, and a focus on keeping people housed who may be on the brink of homelessness – these leaders are our partners, and we all recognize that we are in this together.”
The third round of HHAP grants provides a portion of the $1 billion committed to each county on the condition that each local government has a state-approved plan that will reduce homelessness and increase permanent housing.
The Governor's Office highlighted that so far, the state has provided more than $1.5 billion in flexible emergency assistance to address homelessness through the Homeless Emergency Assistance Program and the first two rounds of HHAP funding.
HHAP Round 4 applications must be submitted by November 29, 2022.
You may be interested in: Million Dollar Strategy to Avoid Evictions in San Mateo County Announced
