Newsom sidesteps right-to-shelter plan, but says homeless on streets 'cannot persist'
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that he wasn’t ready to back a legal “right to shelter” for those without housing, even though the idea was put forward by two key allies who lead his task force to help find solutions to homelessness.
A right-to-shelter measure would force municipalities to construct enough shelter beds so that any homeless person requesting to come indoors can do so.
Newsom’s task force leaders, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, also support a requirement that homeless people be forced to accept shelter if offered, once cities have created adequate shelter capacity.
These policies would transform how California handles its ballooning homeless population. But Newsom, who has made solving the housing and homeless crisis a priority, isn’t ready to fully support the proposal by Steinberg and Ridley-Thomas.
Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-08-07/newsom-sidesteps-right-to-shelter-plan-but-says-homeless-on-streets-cannot-persist