Big city mayors to next governor: fund what works on homelessness

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OPINION – California voters have a right to know whether their next Governor will stand up for a program that has delivered some of the most success in reducing homelessness, despite costing less than half a percent of state spending.

California’s Big City Mayors (BCM) call on every candidate to commit ongoing state funding to address homelessness through the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP). This “HHAP Pledge” will determine who is truly serious about reducing the state’s biggest public safety and humanitarian crisis.

HHAP has been a lifeline for cities addressing our most daunting shared challenge. With Governor Newsom and the Legislature’s support, local governments have expanded shelter capacity, built more housing, and reduced encampments, saving lives and getting people off sidewalks and out of tents.

HHAP has helped create 17,000 new shelter beds, build 2,300 permanent housing units, and provided more than 152,000 Californians — including families, veterans, and youth — a pathway out of homelessness.

The data is clear: HHAP delivers results when supported with sustained statewide investment. Yet despite proven progress, the program is still treated as temporary and repeatedly placed at risk through annual budget decisions.

Historically, HHAP has been funded at $1 billion annually, but this year the state budget eliminated this funding entirely and proposes a reduction to $500 million next year. These steep reductions jeopardize the very investments that are beginning to show results.

Annual uncertainty and cuts undermine our local efforts to deliver progress. We cannot advance at full speed when the next budget year could send us careening over a fiscal cliff.

While our cities are stepping up by establishing agreements with Caltrans to clear hazardous encampments along freeways and rights-of-way and expanding investments in services and interim housing, this “stop-and-go” approach to state funding is inefficient and ultimately more costly.

California can afford to invest in long-term solutions. Dedicating $1 billion per year to HHAP amounts to only about 0.4% of the $228.4 billion state budget — a modest investment, especially because results have followed consistent funding.

Across our state, HHAP is delivering real results:

• Riverside expanded outreach and shelter access, helping the city reach “functional zero” youth homelessness for ages 18–24.
• San Diego doubled its shelter capacity and reduced street homelessness by double digits.
• Fresno has nearly eliminated veteran homelessness and leveraged HHAP to convert motels to housing for more than 10,500 people, while eliminating large encampments through a 40-person outreach and housing navigation team.

Each city in our coalition has used HHAP funding to turn ambitious goals into measurable progress.

California has repeatedly shown that innovation, partnership, and scale can turn the tide on homelessness. The investment we make now will determine whether we continue moving forward or whether the gains we’ve made slip away.

Residents want accountability and progress, not budget battles. Let’s stop treating HHAP like a short-term fix and elevate it to the dependable, ongoing resource the crisis demands. Voters have a right to know who is serious about solving this problem.

THE PLEDGE:

California’s Big City Mayors call on every 2026 gubernatorial candidate — Republican, Democrat, and Independent — to sign the HHAP Pledge:

As Governor I commit to:

1. Institutionalize HHAP

Make HHAP an ongoing budgeted program, eliminating reliance on one-time allocations and uncertain budget cycles.

2. Ensure Adequate Funding

Guarantee a minimum of $1 billion annually, indexed to inflation, to sustain and expand the program’s success.

3. Support Consistent Program Accountability Measures

Provide HHAP recipients with consistent accountability benchmarks to demonstrate measurable outcomes to the Governor, Legislature, and residents of California.

4. Maintain Flexibility and Efficiency

Ensure HHAP remains a flexible resource capable of meeting the diverse needs of communities across the state.

Patricia Lock-Dawson is the Mayor of Riverside and Chair, California Big City Mayors Coalition. Jerry Dyer is Mayor of Fresno and former Fresno Police Chief. Todd Gloria is Mayor of San Diego and Vice President, United States Conference of Mayors.