AR44 - Relative to homeless service providers.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION House Resolution No. 44 Introduced by Assembly Member Ward (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alanis, Elhawary, Garcia, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, and Wicks) June 02, 2025 Relative to homeless service providers. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST HR 44, as introduced, Ward. Digest Key Bill Text WHEREAS, More than 187,084 people are experiencing homelessness in California today, and our dedicated homeless service providers are working each day to help individuals and families end their episodes of homelessness; and WHEREAS, Our homeless service providers are dedicated workers from public and nonprofit organizations driven by a mission to serve people and help our most vulnerable communities; and WHEREAS, The homelessness crisis is a function of California’s housing crisis, and the most substantial challenge providers face is the severe lack of affordable housing; and WHEREAS, The homeless services sector has coalesced around the Housing First model, a guiding principle pioneered by Dr. Sam Tsemberis in the City of New York during the 1990s, which is now a nationally recognized best practice for ending homelessness; and WHEREAS, Homeless service providers rely on their staff to implement an array of housing interventions, all tailored to the specific needs of the person; and WHEREAS, Providers deliver a range of supportive services directly to people experiencing homelessness who are unsheltered, including outreach, street medicine, food assistance, benefit enrollment, rapid rehousing, veteran programs, housing navigation, and many more; and WHEREAS, Providers across the state deliver services and basic needs at both congregant and noncongregant interim housing sites, as the stability of a short stay in a safe environment will enable participants to secure affordable housing; and WHEREAS, Permanent supportive housing, seen as the best housing intervention for many people experiencing homelessness, provides case management and supportive services from the comfort and safety of a person’s own home; and WHEREAS, During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, providers were implementing innovative state programs, Project Roomkey and later Homekey, to keep our unhoused neighbors safe and healthy, proving that their staff members are essential workers; and WHEREAS, California has increased investments to support workforce numbers; however, due to providers’ strained operating budgets and our general increases in costs of living, many of the dedicated staff of homeless service providers earn low wages and could be on the brink of homelessness themselves; and WHEREAS, Contracting difficulties, low pay, emotional trauma, and competition with private labor markets present major challenges for public and nonprofit service providers in hiring and retaining these essential staff; and WHEREAS, The dismaying increase of people experiencing homelessness in recent years has led providers to shift focus and resources towards prevention programs, targeting specific at-risk populations, such as seniors, people of color, women, youth, and LGBTQ+ individuals; and WHEREAS, The inherent diversity of the homeless service provider workforce and the increased goal of recruiting more individuals with lived expertise improves the efficacy of the state’s homelessness response system, as staff are more representative of the unhoused population they serve; and WHEREAS, Homeless service providers help participants, many of whose lives have been upended by trauma, move past these difficult circumstances to find housing and stability; and WHEREAS, The state’s urgent mission of ending the homelessness crisis would be impossible without the resilience, compassion, and dedication of everyday Californians, and this recognition should encourage further action to improve the economic well-being of individuals dedicated to aiding the unhoused; and WHEREAS, Homelessness Awareness Month is nationally recognized in the month of November to bring awareness to homelessness and related issues, including hunger awareness; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the Assembly recognizes and commends the invaluable service of our homeless service providers and their commitment to our shared mission to end homelessness during the month of November 2025, which is Homelessness Awareness Month; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.