The Los Angeles region will receive more than $380 million for efforts to reduce homelessness, part of a program providing $827 million in grants across California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.
Appearing with Mayor Karen Bass at the Downtown Women's Center in the city's Skid Row area, the governor said the funding is part of the fifth round of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program. A sixth round was approved in June, which will contribute an additional $1 billion in investments at a future date.
Of the $380.36 million, about $160 million will directly support the city of Los Angeles, another $97 million will go toward the county, and the remaining funds will support local jurisdictions such as Long Beach, Pasadena and Glendale.
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"No one is naive about the challenge of the issue," Newsom said. "No one is denying how angry people are, how frustrated they are, and how heartbroken they are."
Newsom said the state created the HHAP program during the latter part of former Gov. Jerry Brown's tenure, after mayors of the state's 13 largest cities called for appropriate resources to address homelessness. The program initially provided $500 million with ``no accountability and no expectations.''
"Since then, we have significantly increased the investments, but we've also increased the accountability, transparency and the expectations," Newsom said.
The governor said grantees were required to agree to a collaborative approach to ensure that homelessness is solved regionally, and not treating the crisis as a problem that stops at city limits.
According to data from the 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, there were 75,312 unhoused people in the county in 2024 compared to 75,518 in 2023, a dip of 0.27%. In the city of Los Angeles, there were 45,252 unhoused individuals in 2024 compared to 46,260 in 2023, a drop of 2.2%.
Bass said HHAP funding is critical to the city's success in reducing homelessness. She has touted a 10.7% reduction in unsheltered homelessness in the city, while the shelter count increased by 17.7%, according to figures from the 2024 homeless count.
"We know that there's many areas of dysfunction, and one of the historic areas of dysfunction was bickering and finger pointing between different levels of government," Bass said. "This is the type of collaboration, the type of financial support and the type of regulatory change that we need to finally solve homelessness in our region."
County Supervisor Hilda Solis thanked Newsom for his support, and the Downtown Women's Center for hosting the announcement on Skid Row, which lies in Solis' First District.
"A couple of years ago, the Downtown Women's Center approached me with a plan to house every woman on Skid Row," Solis said. "Since then, I have been working with the city of Los Angeles, LAHSA, the state, and our governor's office, to implement the `Every Woman Housed Plan.'"
According to Solis, since 2021, 453 women have been placed in permanent housing and another 737 women found interim housing, contributing to a 42% drop in women experiencing unsheltered homelessness on Skid Row.
She also highlighted the county's Skid Row Action Plan, which previously received $60 million in state funding, and resulted in nearly 2,000 Skid Row residents being placed into interim housing and almost 1,000 residents finding permanent housing.
"The HHAP Round 5 grants demonstrate how the state can support and amplify regional strategies and coordination to help our most vulnerable residents move into safe and stable housing," said Tomiquia Moss, California's Business, Consumer Services and Housing secretary.
