Homelessness

California’s homelessness crisis is a moral emergency and a policy failure decades in the making, and it will not wait any longer.

I have led coordinated national responses to this crisis as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and Chair of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. I know what works and what does not. We have spent billions, and the results are not good enough. That is not a reason to give up; it is a reason to govern differently.

This is not a housing crisis alone. It is a mental health crisis. People are dying on our streets because we have failed to treat it as such, and California voters understood that when they passed Proposition 1. I will implement every reform it authorizes, build thousands of treatment beds, and cut whatever red tape stands between the voters’ verdict and results on the ground.

From day one, I will declare a housing emergency, direct agencies to eliminate process barriers, and launch public outcomes dashboards so Californians can see exactly where their money is going and what it is producing. No blank checks. Every dollar tied to results. Programs that fail will be defunded; programs that work will be scaled.

Prevention is not a secondary strategy; it is the smartest investment this state can make. A few hundred dollars in rental assistance at the right moment can prevent homelessness and save tens of thousands in emergency response costs. 

California is home to half the nation’s unsheltered homeless population. We will expand shelter capacity and permanent housing, but local infighting and bureaucratic delays have gone on long enough. Communities that coordinate and produce results will be funded. Those that do not will face real consequences.

California has the resources, the tools, and the moral obligation to do better. My administration will demand it.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Prevention Matters: My administration will invest in stopping homelessness before it starts, because that is the more humane and cost-effective thing to do. Targeted rental assistance, sometimes even just a few hundred dollars, can be enough to prevent homelessness, saving tens of thousands of dollars for the state and local communities and saving the dignity for the family who gets to stay housed. That is just a smart investment.

Housing First, Paired with Care: My administration will deliver proven Housing First approaches, always paired, where needed, with behavioral health and addiction treatment.

Accountability for Outcomes, Not Inputs: Tie every state dollar to results: people housed, not processes funded.

POLICY AGENDA

1. Governing for Results from Day One

On my first day as Governor, I will issue an executive order declaring California’s housing shortage a state of emergency and directing every state agency to treat housing production and affordability as the paramount priority. My administration will launch public outcomes dashboards to track per-unit costs and 12-month housing retention metrics for all state funding. We will immediately expand rental assistance and eviction defense for those most at risk, including seniors, foster youth, and veterans. I will fully enforce California’s Tenant Protection Act, including its cap on excessive rent increases, just cause eviction standards, and relocation assistance for displaced tenants, as a critical front-line tool to prevent homelessness before it starts. Furthermore, I will prioritize funding for local agencies that coordinate effectively and produce measurable results, ensuring that every dollar spent is tied to success rather than bureaucracy.

2. Strengthen Mental Health Infrastructure

California’s voters passed Proposition 1 to get people suffering from mental illness and addiction off the streets and into treatment. Bond funds are flowing, beds are being built, and unsheltered homelessness dropped for the first time in 15 years. But deployment and results must go hand-in-hand. I will implement every reform Proposition 1 authorizes, cut whatever red tape stands between the voters’ verdict and results on the ground, and use every lever the law provides to hold local governments accountable.

3. Invest in Prevention

A few hundred dollars in rental assistance at the right moment can prevent homelessness and save tens of thousands in emergency response costs. I will establish a dedicated, stable targeted homelessness prevention funding stream within the state’s homelessness response, one that communities can plan around year over year that targets high-displacement neighborhoods and is tied to measurable reduction targets and local investment. I will fund rental assistance, eviction defense, and foreclosure prevention. Seniors, foster youth, and veterans will be prioritized first. Enforcing the California’s Tenant Protection Act and preserving local rent control ordinances consistent with the statewide framework that encourages continued housing construction while protecting the stability of existing housing stock, is also a key pillar of this prevention strategy. Prevention is not a secondary strategy; it is the smartest investment this state can make.

4. Expand Shelter Access

California is home to half of the nation’s unsheltered homeless population. The longer someone lives on the street, the less likely they are to ever leave it. My administration will expand shelter capacity as a bridge, not an endpoint, to reduce harm and accelerate the path to permanent housing. But we will not simply open the treasury. Every dollar of shelter funding will be tied to demonstrated performance: people moved off the streets, into safe shelter, and connected to services.

5. Demand Local Coordination and Consequences for Failure

Counties and Continuums of Care are essential partners, but too often they are defined by infighting rather than results. My administration will prioritize homelessness funding to communities that coordinate effectively and demonstrate outcomes. For programs and jurisdictions that are failing, there will be a mandatory playbook and real consequences for not following it. Collaboration is not optional when lives are at stake.

6. Fund Results, Not Bureaucracy

California has invested billions in homelessness. It is time to demand the outcomes Californians deserve. My administration will restructure state homelessness grants to require 12-month housing retention outcomes, publish per-unit cost dashboards for every funded program, and eliminate the administrative barriers that slow housing placements. We will measure what works, defund what does not, and scale what does.