CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

OPINION: California can solve the homelessness crisis, it just can't keep doing more of the same

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - 3/26/2023

Mar. 26—The state of California has spent roughly $20 billion to address the crisis of homelessness, and now Gov. Gavin Newsom wants taxpayers to go into debt to pay even more.

Speaking in San Diego last Sunday, Newsom proposed a $3 billion to $5 billion bond to build residential facilities where 12,000 people suffering from mental illness or substance use disorder could live and receive treatment. He said these facilities would include "campus-style" housing with services.

The governor also wants to "modernize" the California Mental Health Services Act, which was an initiative approved by voters in 2004 to raise the state income tax on high earners and spend the money on mental health services. Newsom wants to make that money available for housing.

Except for the newly constructed buildings and the interest payments on the bonds, this plan sounds a lot like Project Roomkey. In that supposedly temporary pandemic-era program, the government leased hotels and paid for onsite services to house and support people who were living on the streets. Similarly, while the new facilities would provide mental health and addiction treatment services, there likely would be no requirement for residents to use them.

That's because it's written into California law that all housing programs must adopt the Housing First model. Senate Bill 1380, enacted in 2016, defined Housing First as having certain "core components," like this one: "Participation in services or program compliance is not a condition of housing tenancy."

Housing First also means, "The use of alcohol or drugs in and of itself, without other lease violations, is not a reason for eviction." In fact, it's fully accepted: "Services are informed by a harm-reduction philosophy that recognizes drug and alcohol use and addiction as a part of tenants' lives, where tenants are engaged in nonjudgmental communication regarding drug and alcohol use, and where tenants are offered education regarding how to avoid risky behaviors and engage in safer practices, as well as connected to evidence-based treatment if the tenant so chooses."

As long as SB 1380 is the law in California, taxpayers could spend twice the budget of the war in Ukraine and never see any improvement in the homelessness crisis.

A better use of a $3 billion bond would be to build state hospitals for the in-patient treatment of mental illness and substance use disorder. Hospitals don't have to comply with Housing First requirements, and California can receive federal funds to cover a share of the cost of treating low-income patients.

To get this funding, the state has to request a waiver from the federal government's exclusion of Medicaid reimbursement for mental illness and substance use disorder treatment in a large residential facility, defined as one having more than 16 beds.

The exclusion dates to 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the law that enacted Medicaid. It's the reason that today, the largest mental health facilities in California are the county jails.

There are signs that some lawmakers have had enough of the endless spending with no improvement to show for it. On Wednesday, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee held a hearing and approved a request for an audit. The independent State Auditor will examine how state and federal funding to address homelessness has been spent over the last three fiscal years. The audit will focus on spending by the state, the city of San Jose, and one city to be chosen by the auditor.

If the electric grid goes down this week, it's probably because too many shredders are running at the same time.

San Jose was chosen because it's in the district of state Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat who serves on the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. Cortese told KCRA news that the last state budget had $13 billion in it to address homelessness, but he is hearing from constituents who are concerned that they are not seeing improvements or progress. Instead they're seeing "more tents on the streets, more encampments."

According to the latest count, there are more than 173,000 people who are homeless in California, an increase of about 22,000 over the last three years.

The audit was also supported by Sen. Roger Niello, a Republican representing an area near Sacramento. "We need to know what the money has accomplished," he said, "There's been like $20 billion spent on homeless efforts in the last five years or so, and the numbers have gone up. So, clearly, there's something wrong."

Yes, something's wrong. Here's how the Legislature can fix it:

Repeal Senate Bill 1380 and remove the failed Housing First requirements from state law. After seven years of this social experiment, it's time to try something else.

Forget about treating mental illness in "campus-style" housing with services. Ask the federal government for a waiver from the outdated IMD exclusion so the state can receive Medicaid reimbursement for treatment provided to patients in mental health facilities with more than 16 beds, then fund the construction and staffing of high-quality mental health hospitals and large residential treatment facilities.

Build short-term and long-term shelters with enough beds to accommodate everyone who is living on the streets. Then cities may enforce an anti-camping ordinance, in compliance with the Ninth Circuit's decision in Martin v. Boise.

The cost of this crisis goes far beyond the $20 billion spent on it directly. It's also paid in the effect on public transit systems, businesses, city sanitation budgets, police and fire departments.

California can solve this problem. Unfortunately, it's not easy to break an addiction to bad policy.

Write Susan@SusanShelley.com and follow her on Twitter @Susan_Shelley

------

___

(c)2023 the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.)

Visit the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.) at www.dailybulletin.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.