Flashback: Gavin Newsom Promised to End Homelessness Within a Decade Nearly Two Decades Ago

We’re nearing two decades since California Governor Gavin Newsom promised to end homelessness within a decade - and things couldn’t have gone any worse.

Newsom made the promise to the residents of the city when he was Mayor of San Francisco, a position he held from 2004-2011. In a video that has resurfaced on social media, Newsom told voters in 2008; “We believe fundamentally that food solves hunger, that shelters solve sleep, and that housing solves homelessness. And if we are going to solve the problem of those that are out on the street that we define as homeless, we better solve the housing problem if we are going to have an impact. That’s why we established this framework, what we call a ‘ten year plan to end chronic homelessness in San Francisco.’”

As Mayor-elect in late-2003, Newsom explained his plan to create 550 units of new housing for the homeless, and make city agencies collect data on which homeless are getting services. A local publication explained at the time that “Newsom said the main target population for this housing will be the chronically homeless, or ‘hard core’ -- the 3,000 to 5,000 people who have such severe troubles that they sleep outside most of the time.” He then got to work implementing this plan in 2004. 

While this won’t be surprising to anyone; homelessness still exists in San Francisco today - and only Oakland and Los Angeles have higher rates of homelessness within the state of California. 

Today with Newsom as Governor, roughly a third of the entire homeless population of the U.S. resides in California, and the state is adding to its homeless population at a faster rate than any other.