Reaction to: “California Governor Signs Series of Laws Aimed at Homeless Crisis,” (Associated Press, October 1, 2021).
There is exciting news from California–or at least potentially exciting news. Governor Gavin Newsom has signed laws to help the homeless get out of their crisis—seven laws in fact. This Associated Press article does not mention numbers of homeless in California or tell of their specific locations and instead focuses on the funding, purposes, and processes that all relate to the new laws (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/california-governor-signs-series-of-laws-aimed-at-homeless-crisis-01632967338?siteid=yhoof2).
One law deals with funneling dollars directly into services for housing the people who are currently living in situations with “no roof” and other related laws will serve especially the homeless individuals who are suffering from serious illnesses. As is mentioned in the article—and known by housing advocates everywhere—housing and health go hand in hand.
The laws will serve all homeless persons—and the dismantling of the current encampments—so that issues and crises related to the word “homeless” will be handled. As the article explains, part of the funds will be used to “clean up the encampments” and get rid of them.
It is hoped that persons who are non-housed will actually be helped and supported in their transition—not just lose their spot in the encampment where they are currently dwelling.
This paragraph is important: “Nearly all of that funding will go to local governments. But a law Newsom signed Wednesday will, for the first time, give the state more say over how local governments spend that money. Newsom signed the law authored by Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, a Democrat from Arleta, that creates a new governing body to dole out up to $2 billion in homelessness funding to local governments.”
It is important to note the state will oversee the spending and activities—with a “new governing body.” The California Interagency Council on Homelessness, will replace an existing homelessness council and will include “the directors of half a dozen state agencies that must review and approve local governments’ plans for spending the money.”
It will be interesting to see how successful this new council will be in getting dollars to where it is needed and then overseeing the tasks and activities needed—in a comprehensive way—to get people housed and counseled. Simply dropping people off at a shelter, a church, an apartment, or a hotel does not provide the myriad of support services needed by homeless people transitioning into housing.
The article does not reference numbers of adult or families who are currently unhoused. Nor does the article mention how many of the unhoused persons have asked for assistance from the new programs that will be put in place with the new laws—and via the increased funding to reach the state.
What about the children? The article states that Governor Newsom has also signed a bill into law requiring all of the state’s 1,037 school districts, including charter schools, to identify their homeless students and refer them for services to assist them and their families. “In California, there are enough homeless children to fill Dodger Stadium five times,” said Rivas, a reference to 2020 UCLA study (“State of Crisis: Dismantling Student Homelessness in California,” UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, http://transformschools.ucla.edu/stateofcrisis/). Rivas pleads about the high number of homeless children: “We have to end that.”
The study found, in fact, that there are over 269,000 homeless children in California (which is ironically called The Golden State).
In Illinois, there were almost 53,000 homeless children, according to the Census—figures for two years ago. Chicago Public Schools already have a program in place – and advocates for them in several schools – so we are a little ahead of California. (“There are 52,000 Plus Homeless Children in Illinois: Some Solutions for CPS Students,” by Thomas Hansen, Second City Teachers Blog, October 14, 2020, https://secondcityteachers.blogspot.com/search?q=homeless+children). In this program, run by the Office of Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS) advocates for homeless students in 14 different buildings are providing a variety of essential services (https://www.cps.edu/services-and-supports/crisis-support/students-in-temporary-living-situations/). Schools with more than 75 students who appear to be “STLS kids” are served in the schools with funds for the advocate positions.
Programs such as the STLS office’s advocacy project for the homeless students—and their families could come to be models for school districts in other cities and states in the nation—small and large.
Governor Newsom made the announcement and shared his great hopes for the success of his plans. In his presentation, the article states, he was “pleading with a skeptical public to have patience as the nation’s wealthiest and most populous state struggles to keep people off the streets.”