MAYOR’S STATEMENT REGARDING HOMELESS HOUSING, ASSISTANCE, AND PREVENTION (HHAP) FUNDING
FRESNO, CA – Due to a last-minute change in the ongoing City Council budget presentations, Mayor Dyer today [Thursday] was unable to attend a Big City Mayors virtual news conference on the need for continued state funding to address homelessness.
Mayor Dyer believes strongly that the state budget should include a seventh round of funding for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention, also known as HHAP. It is the only way for cities to build on successful efforts to help the unhoused, efforts that would slide back without critical state funds.
Mayor Dyer’s statement:
“The fight to help the most vulnerable among us cannot be solved overnight. It is a dynamic, complicated, evolving issue that requires nimble strategies and solutions. It also requires a dedicated funding stream. Unfortunately, each year we battle to secure the money needed to address the homelessness issue. And here we are again. Losing ongoing HHAP funding would not only stop forward progress in efforts to help the unhoused, it would put cities across the state in reverse. In Fresno, it would mean losing 247 shelter beds, which includes 30 youth beds. This is 30 percent of our city-funded emergency shelter capacity. This is unacceptable.”
Listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern.
