Cal Cities President testifies at Senate hearing on homelessness in California
Feb 24, 2021
League of California Cities President and El Centro Mayor Cheryl Viegas Walker testified today before a joint state Senate hearing to share the city of El Centro’s experiences providing support for residents experiencing homelessness during the pandemic.
The informational hearing, titled “A perfect storm: confronting California’s homelessness crisis during the pandemic,” was a joint convening of the Senate Governance and Finance; Housing; and Human Services committees, as well as the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, and the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee on State Administration and General Government. President Viegas Walker participated in a local government panel made up of rural and urban city and county representatives from the cities of El Centro and Los Angeles, Humboldt and Yolo counties, and central California.
The panel focused on how Project Roomkey and Homekey have provided local government officials with another tool they can use to collaborate and implement innovative projects to address homelessness in their communities. President Viegas Walker and her fellow local government panelists highlighted that due to the pandemic, local governments have had fewer resources to respond to the homelessness crisis. Despite these challenges, cities and counties have worked hard to leverage the state and local resources available to both respond to the pandemic and house residents, however more support is vital to properly addressing homelessness issues in their communities.
President Viegas Walker shared an innovative project in El Centro, where through a partnership between the city, Imperial Valley College, and the Imperial Valley College Foundation, more than $3 million in Homekey funding has been leveraged to provide two years of permanent housing for 26 college students who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness and also former foster youth. A short video on the project can be found on the Cal Cities YouTube channel, and the project will be the feature story of our March issue of Western City magazine.
During her testimony, President Viegas Walker also emphasized that through the League of California Cities, city leaders have made addressing homelessness a strategic priority in 2021, and are committed to working collaboratively with state and local partners to do just that. President Viegas Walker reiterated that additional resources dedicated to this cause, including direct allocation of funding to cities, improved local-state collaboration, and a greater emphasis on wraparound services, are key to future successes.
President Viegas Walker and the Cal Cities Officers will continue to call for additional resources and support to build affordable housing and support unhoused residents, as well as work to advance the other Cal Cities 2021 Strategic Advocacy Priorities, during meetings today with state legislative leadership.
The panel focused on how Project Roomkey and Homekey have provided local government officials with another tool they can use to collaborate and implement innovative projects to address homelessness in their communities. President Viegas Walker and her fellow local government panelists highlighted that due to the pandemic, local governments have had fewer resources to respond to the homelessness crisis. Despite these challenges, cities and counties have worked hard to leverage the state and local resources available to both respond to the pandemic and house residents, however more support is vital to properly addressing homelessness issues in their communities.
President Viegas Walker shared an innovative project in El Centro, where through a partnership between the city, Imperial Valley College, and the Imperial Valley College Foundation, more than $3 million in Homekey funding has been leveraged to provide two years of permanent housing for 26 college students who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness and also former foster youth. A short video on the project can be found on the Cal Cities YouTube channel, and the project will be the feature story of our March issue of Western City magazine.
During her testimony, President Viegas Walker also emphasized that through the League of California Cities, city leaders have made addressing homelessness a strategic priority in 2021, and are committed to working collaboratively with state and local partners to do just that. President Viegas Walker reiterated that additional resources dedicated to this cause, including direct allocation of funding to cities, improved local-state collaboration, and a greater emphasis on wraparound services, are key to future successes.
President Viegas Walker and the Cal Cities Officers will continue to call for additional resources and support to build affordable housing and support unhoused residents, as well as work to advance the other Cal Cities 2021 Strategic Advocacy Priorities, during meetings today with state legislative leadership.