CA leaders, advocates react after razor-thin passing of Prop. 1 on homelessness

This is, as was stated, a historic day, and that means little if we can't deliver now on the promise. Governor Gavin Newsom taking a victory lap Thursday. Newsom was in Los Angeles celebrating the passage of Proposition 1, a voter-approved measure which he heavily campaigned for. Prop 1 will create strict guidelines on every county in the state to spend money on housing, drug treatment, and mental health services. Funding will come from an infusion of new bond money. The goal of Prop 1 is to stabilize and address the state's homelessness crisis. It's a really big deal. San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman also supported the measure, which he says will help the city immensely. He tells me after its passing, he and other city leaders spent Thursday morning in meetings discussing how soon San Francisco will be ready to implement the new law. To figure out how to leverage these Prop 1 dollars, what our need is at different levels of care. Changes won't happen overnight, though. Jim Wunderman of the Bay Area Council says it could take years for voters to see positive substantial change. Businesses to come back in, stores to reopen, economies to grow, jobs to be created. All of those things that go into making for successful communities. However, not everyone is on board with the new measure. That includes James Birch of the Anti-Police Terror Project. It's an attempt to warehouse these people, warehouse people who are living on the streets right now by pressuring them into a diagnosis and then again forcing them into treatment. Birch says for one thing, he worries the new law will disproportionately impact people of color. He also tells me the proposition's passing is a major blow to advocates of voluntary mental health treatment. All of the data, all of the experts are very clear that those treatments provide the best outcomes. Well, the voters have spoken and California will clearly be taking another approach. Now, as of last year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says the state has 28 percent of the nation's total homeless population, or about 182,000 people. And of those folks, over two-thirds are unhoused. You know, those numbers, Tim, are really staggering, actually. But despite that, Proposition 1 passed with really just the slightest of margins, razor thin. Statewide, yes, that is true. But it's a little different if you look at the Bay Area counties individually. Our three largest counties, San Francisco, Alameda and Santa Clara, all passing Prop 1 with at least 10 percent of the vote. Dan? Interesting. OK, Tim, thanks very much.