As a homelessness crisis spreads across the West Coast and cities across the country, Gov. Gavin Newsom is responding through a combination of new accountability measures, new resources and an executive order to significantly reduce and prevent street homelessness, connect people to services and build housing faster.

This week, Newsom will unveil his administration’s 2020-21 state budget proposal. Chief among the new proposals will be a new, multipronged offensive to combat homelessness and address behavioral health needs across the state that partially fuel street homelessness, including $750 million in a new California Access to Housing and Services Fund.

The governor also announced signing an executive order  as part of a comprehensive state response to homelessness, including the creation of the California Access to Housing and Services Fund, availability of state land assets and standing-up of a state crisis response team. The governor is focused on prevention and early intervention, moving people off the streets and providing them services, and creating new temporary housing to effectively reduce street homelessness. This response requires shared responsibility and accountability by state and local government partners.

 In order to access the full spectrum of funding and facilities, local governments and service partners will need to demonstrate concrete progress toward measurable goals regarding moving people out of dangerous encampments and into more healthy, stable housing situations.

“The state of California is treating homelessness as a real emergency because it is one. Californians are demanding that all levels of government – federal, state and local – do more to get people off the streets and into services, whether that’s housing, mental health services, substance abuse treatment or all of the above,” Newsom said. “That’s why we’re using every tool in the toolbox – from proposing a massive new infusion of state dollars in the budget that goes directly to homeless individuals’ emergency housing and treatment programs, to building short-term emergency housing on vacant state-owned land.”

Many of the new proposals have been inspired by the work of Newsom’s Council of Regional Homeless Advisors, co-chaired by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas of Los Angeles County.

This year, through the 2020-21 state budget, Newsom’s administration is proposing more than $1 billion of new, direct initiatives that create housing opportunities for homeless individuals and provide treatment and other supportive services to people in need. Additionally, the Department of Social Services will be awarding funding to eligible counties to reduce homelessness among families receiving child welfare services.

Newsom has also released hundreds of millions of dollars in State Emergency Homeless Aid and issued a challenge for cities and counties to partner with the state on immediate impact solutions to tackle homelessness.