Housing and homelessness have been key concerns in California for the past half dozen years. The State has put pressure on cities to increase housing production and has poured money into building permanent supportive housing to house those experiencing homelessness. Unfortunately, this appears to be a losing battle and we must rethink how we are approaching our housing cost and homelessness crisis in the state.

California has been more focused than ever on building Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) to provide both housing and the services people need to get off the streets and stabilize their lives. The vast majority of new funding programs, both at the state and local level, have put the majority of funds into PSH. State programs like RoomKey and HomeKey, and the forthcoming HomeKey+, have diverted most state affordable housing dollars to PSH. Similarly, at the local level, new funding sources like Measure H in LA County and Measure HHH in the City of LA, and new funding organizations like the Orange County Housing Finance Trust, have made additional funding available for PSH.

All of this additional funding has had a measurable impact on the production of homes for lower income households, especially those experiencing homelessness. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of new homes built for lower income households has more than tripled, from just over 5,000 in 2018 to nearly 18,000 in 2023. This is an unmitigated Good Thing ™.

However, over that same time period, the number of Californians living on the street has increased by nearly 50%, from 130 thousand in 2018 to 186 thousand in 2024.