Newsom Opens Applications for Emergency Homelessness Aid, Appoints Doherty as Advisor on Homelessness

Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced that California counties and cities can now begin applying for $650 million in emergency homelessness aid provided through the 2019-20 State Budget Act. Newsom noted that California has been unable to secure the 2019 point-in-time (PIT) count data from the federal government; instead, the Newsom Administration has created an interim solution in which preliminary, estimated PIT data that has been submitted to the federal government by local jurisdictions will be used. Nearly $500 million of the full $650 million will be available in the interim, and the remaining 25 percent of funds will be allocated to counties and cities once the federal government releases the finalized PIT data.

Also, on Wednesday, Governor Newsom appointed Matthew Doherty as an expert advisor on homelessness to the Governor’s Office and Agencies. Doherty has over 25 years of leadership experience in both the private and public sectors, focusing on ending homelessness and the creation and integration of housing, services programs, and economic opportunities.

Notably, Doherty served as the executive director of the United State Interagency Council on Homelessness, the federal agency charged with coordinating the federal response to homelessness and with creating national public-private partnerships to end homelessness. Doherty served under both Presidents Obama and Trump. According to Governor Newsom, Doherty will work with the Newsom Administration to craft a federal advocacy agenda related to homelessness and bring national best practices for solving homelessness to local jurisdictions throughout the state.

The full announcement from the Governor’s Office is available here.