Over the last five years, the state government has spent some $24 billion to ameliorate homelessness, which, according to polls, is California’s most troublesome issue .
Despite that immense financial commitment —and billions more in spending by local governments and philanthropic organizations — the number of homeless people continues to grow.
The latest federal homelessness count found 186,000 Californians living on the streets or in shelters, up 5,000 from the previous year and 36,000 since 2019, the year Gavin Newsom became governor . California has the highest homelessness rate of any state and more than a quarter of the nation’s homeless population.
Despite the crisis, we have no hard data telling us how the money was spent, much less which programs, if any, have been successful. Not surprisingly, given the evident lack of results, official and private agencies that administer the programs are reluctant to disclose such information.
In fact, Calmatters.org and other groups have resorted to lawsuits to compel homelessness agencies to release information on what they have done with the funds.