As New Funding Supports Housing for Ex-Inmates, Prop 36 Raises Penalties, Pushing More Homeless People into the Criminal Justice System
California lawmakers appear to be moving in conflicting directions to address the state’s growing jail-to-homelessness pipeline.
Last week, the state launched a new funding mechanism for local governments to create long-term supportive housing with wraparound services for people exiting incarceration. At the same time, voters approved the controversial Prop. 36, which increased criminal penalties for theft and repeated drug convictions.
Lawmakers have said both measures are meant to improve public safety. However, it remains unclear how putting more homeless people through the state’s criminal justice system will help them find stable housing and employment options once they are released.
“Voters wanted solutions, but they were sold a false promise,” Tinisch Hollins, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, told local news station CBS 8 about the passage of Prop 36. “With this initiative passing and potentially threatening hundreds of millions of dollars to stabilize those programs, we’re going to be a lot worse off than we were before.”
California’s Approach to Homelessness Yields Few Results
California is home to more than one-third of the nation’s homeless population, accounting for roughly 181,000 people in all. Over the last several years, the state has been trying to reduce its visible homeless population by providing interim housing and conducting homeless sweeps or coordinated removals of homeless encampments.
However, these approaches have yielded few results. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom earmarked $750 million from the state’s budget to help finance homeless sweeps at the local level. He also set aside more than $3 billion for cities to add more mental health and substance abuse services and threatened to withhold state funding from cities that refused to comply with his mandate to clear encampments. Since July 2021, the state has cleared more than 11,000 encampments, Newsom’s office said.
California has also added more than 45,000 shelter beds since 2021 compared to the 20,000-person increase in homelessness. However, that construction activity has not achieved its desired ends. People like 80-year-old Wendell in Los Angeles told Invisible People that they routinely avoid shelters because they can be dangerous and dirty.
“I just want to go back to central California where I can park myself on a ranch and enjoy what little time I got left,” he said.
Despite these efforts, the number of homeless people in California increased by more than 12% year-over-year as home prices and rents caused many low-income earning households to lose their homes. California’s growth of homelessness outpaced the national average, according to federal data.
Increased Emphasis on Criminal Justice to Address Homelessness
Now, it seems that California is taking a radically different approach toward addressing homelessness, one with more onus on the criminal justice system.
Unlike many other states, California does not require people leaving jails or prisons to have a stable home before being released. That is one of the main reasons why about 9,000 inmates went from jail to homelessness between 2019 and 2023, according to an NBC News investigation.
To disrupt this cycle, Newsom launched a $16 million funding initiative for local governments to expand their housing options and services for inmates facing homelessness. The initiative is backed by federal America Rescue Plan Act dollars and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
However, these services and housing units are only available to people facing homelessness who are exiting incarceration. While these offerings are needed, they also suggest that homeless people impacted by the criminal justice system are worth helping before other people who live unsheltered or in tenuous living arrangements. The services also suggest that homelessness is a criminal justice issue and not about the lack of affordable housing.
“Ensuring that those exiting our prison system have the resources and housing they need makes us all safer,” Newsom said. “We are grateful for this federal funding to help us reduce homelessness and support those looking for a clean start.”
Addressing the Root Causes of Homelessness
To end homelessness, we must agree on its root causes. While some people become homeless after incarceration, the main driver of homelessness is not crime—it’s the lack of affordable housing. California lawmakers, and lawmakers nationwide, should focus on removing barriers to building affordable housing rather than implementing new programs that add unnecessary steps to solving this crisis.
Now is the time to raise our voices about homelessness in California and nationwide. Unhoused people deserve safe, sanitary housing as much as those who can afford rent or a mortgage. Homelessness and poverty are not personal failures; they result from policy choices. That’s why it’s critical to urge your elected officials to support legislation that:
- Streamlines affordable housing development
- Removes barriers to permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness
- Strengthens the government response to homelessness
Together, we can end homelessness.
