The Road Home - Step Four
State Capitol, Room 127
Sacramento, CA
1:00 P.M.
The Road Home - Step Three
Inform legislative committee members and the public about youth, women and family sub-populations.
Ronald Reagan State Building
300 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Click here to view the hearing materials for Step Three
The Road Home - Step Two
Inform the public and legislators on Veteran and chronic homeless sub-populations.
San Diego County Administration Building
1600 Pacific Hwy Room 310
San Diego, CA 92101
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
10:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.
Click here to view the hearing materials for Step Two
The Road Home - Step One
Informing committee members, the public and statewide policymakers about the select committee's long term goals, federal and state plans, and best practices
State Capitol, Room 127
Thursday, April 28th, 2011
1:30-4:30pm
Click here to view the hearing materials for Step One
Committee Purpose
On April 28 in Sacramento, the Select Committee on Homelessness will begin a series of hearings around the state -- dubbed "The Road Home." It will be followed by hearings in July in San Diego and Los Angeles and a final hearing of the year in Sacramento. The April 28th hearing will explore the scope of the homelessness emergency in California and current strategies and resources for addressing the crisis.
Committee Goals
- Reviewing all programs dealing with homelessness to eliminate redundancies and streamline service delivery.
- Eliminating homelessness can only be achieved by understanding the interplay of various programs and necessary services for these individuals and those who are at risk for becoming homeless. Included in doing this are reviewing substance abuse programs, transitional and permanent supportive housing programs, transportation, mental health and employment services, and further eliminating silos and barriers between agencies and branches of government to make service delivery more effective.
- Incorporating national best practices from Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Veterans Administration, and the Interagency Council on Homelessness as part of California's strategy to end homelessness in our communities.
- Stable, long-term funding is a key component of the answer to ending homelessness in the state. After full review of programs and proposed policies on how to improve efficiencies and service delivery, the Committee will look at various proposals for a permanent source of funding, including the utilization of federal dollars.
Committee Membership
- Assemblymember Toni Atkins (Chair)
- Assemblymember Tom Ammiano
- Assemblymember Julia Brownley
- Assemblymember Paul Cook
- Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher
- Assemblymember Paul Fong
- Assemblymember Holly J. Mitchell
- Assemblymember Norma Torres
- Assemblymember Mariko Yamada
Assemblymember Atkins' Previous Work on Homelessness
San Diego's Housing Emergency: In 2002, as a member of the San Diego City Council, Atkins was responsible for the City Council's unanimous declaration of a landmark Housing State of Emergency in San Diego, notoriously one of the nation's most expensive housing markets. The State of Emergency, which was the first in the nation and is renewed every two weeks, focuses the attention of City leaders on collaborative solutions to the housing crisis and homelessness.
Through these efforts, San Diego adopted a cutting edge inclusionary housing policy, which mandates that 10 percent of all new housing be priced at a level affordable for low income families or that the developer pay an "in lieu" fee into an affordable housing fund. The City also issued a $55 million housing bond which led to the creation of 2,000 new units of affordable housing. Throughout her tenure on the City Council, and as a private citizen after she left office due to term limits, Atkins continued her work to ensure that the working class people of this tourist town could afford to live there.
Homelessness Becomes a Priority: Increasingly, her attention turned to the growing problem of homelessness. Several factors have led to San Diego's having a particularly severe level of homelessness. Its warm climate, which encourages vacationers, also makes living on the street a bit less daunting. As a military town, San Diego is home to one of the nation's largest population of veterans and, sadly, about 25 percent of San Diego's homeless people are veterans. And, of course, it is still expensive to live in San Diego. The mortgage meltdown and recent recession have only exacerbated that situation.
Taking the Show on the Road: In 2010, Atkins packed her bags, left her own home in the South Park neighborhood of San Diego, and took up residence in a one-bedroom apartment across from the State Capitol, following her election to the California State Assembly. Her campaign platform included a promise to continue her focus on housing and homelessness. Shortly after taking office, Atkins was appointed by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez as Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Homelessness. Now, she is packing her bags again and taking her quest for solutions to the state's housing crisis on the road.
