California Mayors Seek $20 Billion for 5 Years to Address Homeless Crisis
Mayors from California asked for a $20 billion budget that will address the state's homeless crisis. The said budget is sought by the mayors from the 13 largest cities of the golden state, Fox News reported.
The $20 billion budget over five years, sought by the California mayors were raised when the officials held "nightly conference" calls with Governor Gavin Newsom and his administration, The Sun reported. The conference call was made to garner additional insights and feedback from the state's chief executive.
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California Mayors on Homeless Crisis
The mayors from the "big cities" are pushing Newsom to commit to a massive budget for five years that will maintain and build shelters for the homeless in California.
"It's going to take that repeated commitment of state, federal, and local leadership to get the job done," said Todd Gloria, a Democratic mayor from San Diego. He emphasized that the crisis will not be over after a year.
Meanwhile, Mayor Karen Goh from Bakersfield shared that homelessness in California continues to be an issue "that requires bold action." Goh added that the success in responding to the issue such as "adding emergency bed space and creating permanent housing solutions" was demonstrated.
"Now, we must address and sustain the next phase of the challenge, including providing housing," said Goh in The Sun.
Mayor Kevin Lincoln from Stockton's "behavioral health challenges" among the city's homeless population has highlighted the need for expanding the amount to be spent on the homeless crisis.
Other Views on Homeless Crisis
Meanwhile, other gubernatorial candidates have also retaliated against the homeless crisis evident in the state of California.
We need bold solutions on homelessness.
I’m the only candidate with experience reducing homelessness. I’m going to take our successful approach in San Diego statewide as Governor. https://t.co/LiIps5yHKV— Kevin Faulconer (@Kevin_Faulconer) April 24, 2021
In a tweet, former San Diego Governor Kevin Faulconer noted that bold solutions are needed in responding to the homeless crisis, emphasizing that he is the only candidate with experience on the issue.
The comment of Faulconer on Twitter comes as Governor Gavin Newsom faces a recall election after the signature threshold was reached.
Secretary Weber earlier said a recall election will be held later this year unless a sufficient number of signatures are withdrawn. Apart from Kevin Faulconer, Newsom is set to compete against reality show star Caitlyn Jenner for the post.
Meanwhile, federal reports estimate that California's homeless population is about 161,548 as of January 2020, CBS Los Angeles reported. The outlet noted that before the pandemic, the recent count has a seven percent increase from 2019.
Meanwhile, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer noted that they plan to replicate a project from his administration, that aims to transfer homeless people into housing.
"In order to do so, we need long-term flexible funding to provide services and alternative housing models for the homeless population," said Dyer.
Meanwhile, Fox News noted that Republicans and other critics have blamed the homeless crisis in California on the migration of local businesses to other states.
READ MORE: Los Angeles to Spend Nearly $1 Billion to Address Homelessness
WATCH: Coalition of California mayors seek $20 billion for homeless funding - from Fox 11
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