“Oakland requires a racial equity approach at every single level of government through our programs that prevent homelessness and create more housing opportunities,” Lee said. “I can’t accomplish any of this without HHAP funding.”
The HHAP reduction is part of Newsom’s nearly $350 billion proposed state budget, which seeks to address projected deficits by reducing or restructuring several General Fund commitments before the governor leaves office at the end of the year.
Data from the 2024 California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH) show that Black Californians account for about 6% of the state’s population but represent roughly 28% to 32% of the unhoused population statewide. Conducted by the University of California, San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, CASPEH is considered the largest representative study of homelessness in the United States since the 1990s.
The study concluded that the overrepresentation of Black Californians among the unhoused population is rooted in generations of anti-Black racism embedded in housing and economic policies.
Representatives from the California Budget and Policy Center say HHAP investments have delivered measurable results. According to the Sacramento-based nonprofit, early point-in-time count data show a 9% reduction in unsheltered homelessness in 2025, youth homelessness has declined 24% since 2019, and more than 90,000 Californians have secured permanent housing since 2023.
“But this progress hinges on sustained state funding to continue upholding the solutions that have achieved these results,” the Budget Center reported in February.
At the same time, scrutiny over the state’s homelessness spending has intensified. In 2023, Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks), Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), and Assemblymember Josh Hoover (R-Folsom), requested audits examining California’s homelessness expenditures.
A California State Auditor report released in April 2024 found that the state spent approximately $24 billion on homelessness programs over five years without adequately tracking outcomes or measuring effectiveness.
“Despite an exorbitant amount of dollars spent, the state’s homeless population is not slowing down,” Niello said in a statement. “These audit results are a wake-up call for a shift toward solutions that prioritize self-sufficiency and cost effectiveness.”
Newsom told CBM at the budget presentation that reduced HHAP allocation reflects the expiration of one-time federal COVID-era funding and a broader shift toward stricter accountability standards based on a performance-based model for local governments receiving homelessness funds.