California has about 12 percent of the nation’s population but more than a quarter of America’s homeless people — 181,000-plus at last count.
But since the pandemic turned fentanyl abuse and tent camps into inescapable symptoms of a public health crisis, state policymakers have been under intense pressure to rethink California’s approach to behavioral health.
Last week, Californians voted on a key piece of that rethinking — a deeper focus on treatment and housing for homeless people with severe mental illnesses and substance use disorders.
The ballot measure, called Proposition 1, was the product of months of work by Gov.
Entering the week, the measure is hanging on with 50.5 percent of the vote and an estimated 2.5 million ballots left to count.
Persons:
Gavin Newsom
Organizations:
Gov
Locations:
California