Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he will convene local leaders in mid-November to review the state’s collective approach to homelessness and identify new strategies to better address the growing homelessness crisis. Until this convening, the state will hold on providing the remaining third round of Homelessness Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grants.

“Californians demand accountability and results, not settling for the status quo,” said Governor Newsom. “As a state, we are failing to meet the urgency of this moment. Collectively, these plans set a goal to reduce street homelessness 2% statewide by 2024. At this pace, it would take decades to significantly curb homelessness in California – this approach is simply unacceptable. Everyone has to do better – cities, counties, and the state included. We are all in this together.”

All together, the plans result in just a 2% decrease of homelessness over four years statewide. While some plans show local leaders taking aggressive action to combat homelessness, others are less ambitious – some plans even reflect double-digit increases in homelessness over four years. The Governor is calling all local jurisdictions together for a meeting in mid-November to coordinate on an approach that will deliver more substantial results. This meeting will be an opportunity to learn from one another about what works, as well as to identify barriers that inhibit the progress we all want to make and strategies to remove them.

The third round of HHAP grants provides a share of $1 billion to every county, Continuum of Care, and the 13 largest cities in the state, on the condition that each local government has a plan approved by the state that reduces the number of unsheltered homeless individuals and increases permanent housing.