Posts Tagged: homeless

California: Don’t leave human trafficking victims behind

An illustration of a young woman caught in the web of human trafficking. (Photo: Prachaya Roekdeethaweesab, via Shutterstock)

by MIRA SORVINO and MIGUEL SANTIAGO posted 06.02.2021

OPINION: The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a terrible toll on all Californians. While Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently announced California Comeback Plan allocates billions of emergency aid funding to those hurt by the pandemic, one group hit harder than most has been left out of the budget proposal: human trafficking victims.

Locals, feds stepping up to confront homelessness emergency

Homeless encampments along the Ocean Front Walk in Venice, Calif. (Photo: Luis A Chavez, via Shutterstock)

by COLEY M. KING posted 02.09.2021

OPINION: After living on the streets of Venice for many months, Morris celebrated his 77th birthday in a motel room, thanks to the dedication of outreach workers at St. Joseph Center and a room made available through Project Roomkey. The COVID-19 pandemic removed many bureaucratic obstacles, including opportunities for opponents to halt such projects, that have impeded other homeless housing programs.

Newsom recall unlikely — but simmering

Gov. Newsom at a 2019 briefing in Sacramento. (Photo: Associated Press)

by CHUCK McFADDEN posted 12.10.2020

A perfect storm of events is giving Gov. Gavin Newsom political headaches, and he is yet again the subject of a recall movement that claims to have already collected more than 800,000 signatures. It marks the sixth attempt by various Republicans to oust Newsom – the other five fizzled. Few veteran political observers give this one any chance of success, either, although California politics is full of surprises.

Mental health courts cut costs, inmates, but lack oversight, data

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Brown. (Photo: Steinberg Institute)

by SIGRID BATHEN posted 11.12.2020

San Francisco attorney Jennifer Johnson views her life and legal trajectory as “life before and life after” a devastating 2016 homicide case that forever changed her view of how the courts treat defendants who are mentally ill. The case in San Francisco Superior Court involved an 85-year-old defendant, Don Rebello, who suffered from severe dementia.  Suddenly and for no apparent reason, he stabbed and killed his beloved friend and longtime roommate, Erik Kleins, 83 – two of three elderly men who had long shared a San Francisco home.

In California, a new war on poverty

Children in a stroller in downtown Los Angeles. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)

by CONWAY COLLIS and DAVID B. GRUSKY posted 09.09.2019

OPINION: It’s been a long time since the United States waged a “war on poverty.” But here in California, a new war is underway. Under the leadership of Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature, our recently enacted state budget confronts our poverty crisis with unprecedented investments in healthcare, preschool, CalWORKS, earned-income tax credits, and expanded juvenile justice and foster care funding and reforms.

An open letter to Gavin Newsom: Address California’s poverty

A pair of homeless men asking for money on a Los Angeles street corner. (Photo: Hayk_Shalunts, via Shutterstock)

by Western Center on Law & Poverty posted 12.04.2018

OPINION: Dear Gov.-elect Newsom: California has long stood out as a state that innovates and leads. As you begin your term, we at the Western Center on Law and Poverty are ready to work with you to ensure that California lives up to its ideals — including addressing poverty and its subsequent harms.

Amid crisis, voters will confront housing options

Housing construction at a new California neighborhood.(Photo: Marilyn Volan)

by JESSICA HICE posted 07.11.2018

As California rents and property values continue to rise, it should come as no surprise that three housing-related measures will face voters on the November ballot, targeting veterans’ home loans, local rent control and housing construction for the homeless. Statewide, the average rent on a one-bedroom apartment is about $1,400, and a home costs $440,000 — far more than double the national average of $180,000.

San Diego a haven for the homeless — and deadly hepatitis A

View of downtown San Diego and central rail yards. (Photo: welcomia, via Shutterstock)

by LISA RENNER posted 10.03.2017

The rampant hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego is highlighting the city’s significant homeless problem. More than half of the 444 people with confirmed cases as of Sept. 14 are homeless, county health officials reported earlier this month. The officials say the highly contagious liver infection was spread through person-to-person contact. San Diego has more than 9,100 homeless people, which amounts to the fourth largest homeless population in the country.

Raffle bill unfairly aids nonprofits linked to pro sports

Fans enter the Staples Center prior to a Clippers game. (Photo: Eric Broder Van Dyke, Shutterstock)

by JAN MASAOKA posted 09.28.2015

OPINION: A piece of legislation that would blur the line between gambling and giving is sitting on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk. Senate Bill 549 would grant an advantageous exemption from existing raffle laws to an exclusive set of nonprofit organizations affiliated with major league sports teams. The bill would allow only these nonprofits to conduct raffles where half of raffle proceeds are awarded to a winner.

It began as a seemingly benign attempt to protect California’s daily homeless population of 160,000 but it has turned into a significant political dispute, with local governments across the state saying the plan would hamstring their authority and make a bad situation far worse.

At issue is a difficult balancing act between empathy for