Council-Sponsored Homelessness Bill Faces First Test

SB 2211 (Ting), a bill the Bay Area Council is co-sponsoring to expand California’s inventory of emergency shelters, will face its first test at the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee next Wednesday (April 27). California currently has only three shelter beds for every 10 homeless residents, the smallest inventory in the US and far below the national average (7.5). The lack of shelter in California has directly contributed to the proliferation of street homelessness, which drastically increases the risk of chronic disease, infectious disease, physical and sexual assault, murder, and accidental death.

Shelter and sanitation are fundamental human needs, yet shelters are often discouraged by local governments. AB 2211 would expand the Shelter Crisis Act to ensure jurisdictions with large unsheltered populations can more quickly and easily right-size their inventories of emergency shelters and safe parking sites. Bay Area Council members are strongly encouraged to submit letters of support for the bill and attend the hearing to comment on its behalf. To learn more, please contact Senior Vice President, Public Policy Adrian Covert.