Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-24 Budget for Homelessness - City of SLO SUPPORT Letter March 29, 2023 The Honorable Nancy Skinner Chair, Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee 1021 O Street, Suite 8630 Sacramento, CA 95814 The Honorable Roger Niello Vice Chair, Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee 1021 O Street, Suite 7110 Sacramento, CA 95814 The Honorable Philip Ting Chair, Assembly Budget Committee 1021 O Street, Suite 8230 Sacramento, CA 95814 The Honorable Vince Fong Vice Chair, Assembly Budget Committee 1021 O Street, Suite 4630 Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Senator Skinner, Senator Niello, Assembly Member Ting, and Assembly Member Fong , In the spirit of a strong state and local government partnership that benefits all Californians, the City of San Luis Obispo respectfully calls on the state and lawmakers to take action to bolster local government efforts to support our most vulnerable residents and ensure California’s economic strength. City officials are on the front lines delivering essential services to more than 80% of the state’s residents. They rely on collaborative partnerships with the state and other organizations to meet the challenges facing our communities. Every day, local leaders are connecting individuals experiencing homelessness with wraparound services, delivering permanent supportive housing, and jumpstarting the construction of affordable housing in their communities. Clearly there’s more work to do and that requires additional resources. The City of San Luis Obispo calls on the Legislature to make a permanent funding stream of $3 billion annually for cities to help more Californians find homes and prevent more Californians from having to live on the streets, under bridges, or in their cars. Tougher fiscal times can exacerbate the challenges our communities face by contributing to a downturn in the production of affordable housing, an increase in the struggle for resources for unhoused residents, and ever-increasing economic inequity. In the face of another potential recession, we cannot afford for these gaps to widen. An ongoing $3 billion investment from the state can spur much -needed housing production, ensure that thousands more Californians experiencing homelessness get the support they need, and more importantly, prevent thousands more from losing their homes. This funding 2023-24 Budget Request will further our state-local partnership to advance practical, data-driven, and effective strategies to two of the state’s biggest challenges. As the county seat, the City of San Luis Obispo has extended beyond its traditional role of maintaining public health and safety through law enforcement and has employed staff and engaged non-profit partners to address homelessness more urgently by increasing outreach efforts to connect homeless individuals and families with needed services. The City has a Community Action Team (CAT) comprised of two social workers and two Police officers who provide outreach services and build relationships with our most vulnerable populations within the city. And in July 2022 the City of San Luis Obispo’s Fire Department launched a Mobile Crisis Unit (MCU), which is comprised of one Firefighter Paramedic or EMT and one social worker. From the program’s inception through early March 2023, the MCU has responded to 215 calls for service, made 1,065 first time contacts and 478 re-engagements. Additionally, the unit has successfully reunified 54 people with friends or family members to help transition them into sheltered and safe environments. The MCU has also helped relocate 51 individuals from the streets to fixed facilities. The City is also collaborating with the County, housing developers, and homeless services providers to pursue funding opportunities that will provide new transitional and permanent supportive housing resources for homeless individuals and families (e.g. Homekey, Encampment Resolution Funding, etc.). In March 2023, the City adopted its first Homelessness Response Strategic Plan, in alignment with The San Luis Obispo Countywide Plan to Address Homelessness. The central role that the County plays in implementing state programs, setting regional priorities, distributing federal and state funding resources, and delivering services such as behavioral health, public health, social services, and drug and alcohol services plays an integral role in the City’s homelessness response efforts. Ongoing fiscal support would allow the City and County of San Luis Obispo to appropriately resource Countywide services to address the shelter and treatment needs of the homeless population, including increased street outreach, more robust crisis stabilization and mental evaluation services, recuperative care and skilled nursing facilities, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities. It is also time for the state to finally pay down its growing backlog of unreimbursed claims — nearly $1 billion — owed to local governments for state-mandated programs. The vitality of local governments is dependent upon fiscal stability, and local governments rely on the state to reimburse them in a timely manner for costs related to delivering a wide range of state-mandated programs. Equally important, the City of San Luis Obispo strongly opposes any action that would reduce or 2023-24 Budget Request eliminate funding for local governments as a short-term solution to balance the 2023-24 state budget. Diverting funding would only compound cities’ financial challenges and jeopardize the delivery of critical resources to our most vulnerable residents. We look forward to engaging with you to realize an even stronger partnership for the benefit of all Californians. Sincerely, Erica A. Stewart Mayor City of San Luis Obispo c: Senator John Laird, Fax: (916) 651-4017 Assembly Member Dawn Addis, Fax (916) 319-2135 Dave Mullinax, League of California Cities, dmullinax@cacities.org League of California Cities (via email: cityletters@calcities.org)