California governor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that $3.3bn would be made available from the state’s new mental health bond ahead of schedule to build more behavioral health treatment It authorizes the state to borrow nearly $6.4bn to build 4,350 housing units and require counties to spend two-thirds of the money from a tax on millionaires on housing and programs for unhoused people with serious mental illnesses or substance abuse problems. Applications for the money will open in July.centers and homeless housing as the state grapples with a growing homelessness crisis.
It’s the first pot of money from a ballot measure designed to help cities, counties, tribes and developers build or renovate treatment centers and clinics, among other things. Voters passed it by a razor-thin margin in March after Newsom threw all of his political weight behind it, touting it as linchpin of the state’s efforts to reduce homelessness.