State Republican leaders seek to address root causes of homelessness — mental health and addiction — with new bills aimed at “bold changes” and solutions
California represents 12% of the US population, but has 48% of the nation’s homeless. State lawmakers have agreed that the situation constitutes a crisis, but what action are they taking to solve it?
Today, Republican leaders in the California State Legislature introduced the “ACT on Homelessness (Accountability, Compassion and Treatment),” a package of 17 proposals that aims to finally address the root causes of homelessness: mental health and addiction issues. In announcing the package, they stated it will “emphasize results over dollars” — a critique of California Democrats spending $17 billion on costly and ineffective government-subsidized housing initiatives in the last four years that have achieved minimal results.
Carl DeMaio, chairman of Reform California, praised the package as a crucial step toward solving the homeless crisis.
“California Democrats have been throwing good money after bad — they’re literally funding failure and exacerbating the homeless crisis in our state,” said DeMaio.
“The root causes of homelessness, which these bills finally address, are mental health and addiction problems — which then result in an individual not being able to hold a steady job and therefore not being able to afford housing,” he explained.
But Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and Democrat legislators remain focused on spending taxpayer funds on free government housing programs that require no accountability for homeless to seek treatment. The governor has refused to call a special legislative session to work on alternative solutions such as the ACT on Homelessness.
“You can’t solve homelessness by throwing billions of taxpayer dollars into government housing projects with housing like the Democrats do — that’s just addressing a symptom of the real problem,” DeMaio said. “You have to handle the underlying causes with a tough-love approach and the ACT proposal begins to do that,” DeMaio explained.
DeMaio has long advocated for change to the state’s policies on homelessness, and he received notoriety in 2020 for his 4 point plan for reform: fully enforce the laws, expand treatment programs, implement an integrated case management system, and impose work requirements.
The “ACT on Homelessness (Accountability, Compassion and Treatment)” proposed by Senate and Assembly Republicans addresses several of these same ideas. The key points are as follows:
- 2 Accountability Bills: ensure funding gets to programs that keep people off the street and deliver the help they need; require the governor to make an annual report to the Legislature on homelessness efforts; begin an audit of state homelessness spending and outcomes.
- 4 Housing and Shelter Bills: support programs that help keep people off the streets; provide resources for those caught in the cycle of homelessness beyond shelters; streamline shelter construction; protect faith-based organizations that provide shelter; fund local government efforts to increase shelter capacity.
- 6 Mental Health and Substance Abuse Bills: provide addiction services for the homeless using opioid settlement funds, provide prompt treatment to people having a mental health crisis; ensure those with severe mental illness are placed into treatment instead of left on our streets.
- 3 Prevention for At-Risk Populations Bills: incentivize homeless to seek and maintain work; create incentive and training programs to provide at-risk youth with employment opportunities; establish reentry programs for jail inmates at risk of becoming homeless upon their release.
- 2 Budget Proposals: increase investments in the infrastructure needed to treat the seriously mentally ill
In addition to these measures, DeMaio argues that solving the homeless crisis requires enforcing current laws. Unfortunately, California’s liberal politicians have prohibited law enforcement from enforcing laws regarding panhandling, petty theft, loitering, trespassing, public indecency, and drugs.
“The homeless crisis is also a law and order issue — if you stop enforcing the laws, you will not be able to deal with the homeless,” said DeMaio. “We have to empower law enforcement to enforce our laws and be the compassionate stick to drive homeless into these treatment programs, which will force them to address their mental health and substance abuse issues,” he continued.
That’s why DeMaio and Reform California are working to support a number of public safety initiatives, such as the repeal of Prop 47, which will allow law enforcement to enforce existing property and quality-of-life crimes in the state.
DeMaio is asking for all Californians to join the campaign today to support public safety measures that will supplement the ACT on Homelessness and help solve the homeless crisis.
Join the Campaign: Restore Public Safety to Solve the Homeless Crisis
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