When I think homelessness and government what comes to mind is Housing and Urban Development, Interagency Council on Homelessness, and local governments. It wasn’t until I sat down with Assemblymember Toni Atkins on a recent trip to San Diego, that the conversation of state governments and homelessness came up, at least in my circles anyway.
Assemblymember Toni Atkins represents the 78th district and is the Majority Leader of the California State Assembly, and she is leading the way by advocating for new solutions to help out homeless friends and neighbors.
According to Assemblymember Atkins, there are approximately 135,000 people experiencing homelessness in California. What I learned from this interview is at the state level, most assistance is in funding healthcare and affordable housing, but that funding is drying up. I could not agree with Assemblymember Atkins more when she said we need to find a permanent way to fund affordable housing.
For me, I’ve never understood politics. It all just seems too complicated. What I do know is, that homelessness as a topic, more often than not, most politicians avoid. You can really tell if a politician genuinely cares, if helping people out of homelessness is part of their agenda.
Special thanks to Homelessness News San Diego
