When I talk with people in our community, the main concerns I hear about are affordability, rising crime rates, and the state’s growing homeless population. If you walk around Los Angeles or San Francisco, you are bound to find lawlessness, sidewalk encampments, and an absurd cost of living. These are problems that will spread to smaller cities and communities if we don’t tackle them head on. We need common sense solutions to get our state back on the right track.
Ranking 1st
Often times, organizations would be excited to be ranked first in pretty much anything. Unfortunately, these rankings are nothing to be proud of for our state. Sacramento Democrats who have held power for over twenty years have failed to address the homelessness crisis.
California Ranked 1st In…
California has the country’s highest homelessness rate, with 44 people out of every 10,000 experiencing homelessness. California had the largest increase in its homeless population of any other state from both 2020-22 (6.2%) and 2007- 22 (23.4%), whereas Florida — a state often in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s crosshairs as he spars with its Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis — saw a 5.6% decrease from 2020-22 and notched the country’s biggest decrease from 2007-22 (46%). California had nine times more homeless people than Washington, the state with the next highest number.
Taking Steps Towards Solutions
I am tired of Sacramento wasting billions of dollars on failed programs that have increased our homeless population and released repeat offenders back into our communities. That’s why I’ve partnered with my fellow Assembly Republicans to urge Governor Newsom to join us in tackling this homelessness crisis head on. This shouldn’t be a partisan issue, it’s common sense. Let’s fund programs that actually get people off the street and into treatment and stop wasting time and money on shiny new programs. The longer Sacramento hesitates to act, the more our communities and our homeless population will continue to suffer.