California to make $3.3 billion available for mental health, substance use treatment centers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Hammered by mounting pressure to address the growing homelessness crisis in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday his administration will make $3.3 billion available ahead of schedule for counties and private developers to start building more behavioral health...

Massachusetts is turning a former prison into a shelter for homeless families

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is turning to a former prison as a temporary safety net shelter for families experiencing homelessness, a surge fueled in part by an influx of migrants to the state. The Bay State Correctional Center will help house families on the...

How West Virginia's first transgender elected official is influencing local politics

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) — When Rosemary Ketchum gets introduced as the first openly transgender person to win elective office in West Virginia, there's often a shocked look that comes across people's faces. “Folks will be like, ‘How did that happen?’ As if it's like I won the...

With homelessness on the rise, the Supreme Court weighs bans on sleeping outdoors

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court wrestled with major questions about the growing issue of homelessness on Monday as it considered whether cities can punish people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking. It's the most significant case before the high court in decades...

Record numbers in the US are homeless. Can cities fine them for sleeping in parks and on sidewalks?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The most significant case in decades on homelessness has reached the Supreme Court as record numbers of people in America are without a permanent place to live. The justices on Monday will consider a challenge to rulings from a California-based appeals court that...

California governor pledges state oversight for cities, counties lagging on solving homelessness

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Nearly $200 million in grant money will go to California cities and counties to move homeless people from encampments into housing, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday while also pledging increased oversight of efforts by local governments to reduce homelessness. ...

Can homeless people be fined for sleeping outside? A rural Oregon city asks the US Supreme Court

GRANTS PASS, Oregon (AP) — A pickleball game in this leafy Oregon community was suddenly interrupted one rainy weekend morning by the arrival of an ambulance. Paramedics rushed through the park toward a tent, one of dozens illegally erected by the town's hundreds of homeless people, then play...

How effective are California's homelessness programs? Audit finds state hasn't been keeping track

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California spent $24 billion to tackle homelessness over the past five years but didn’t consistently track whether the huge outlay of public money actually improved the situation, according to state audit released Tuesday. With makeshift tents lining the...

California spent $24 billion on homelessness in 5 years but didn't consistently track outcomes, state audit finds

California homelessness measure's razor-thin win signals growing voter fatigue

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A key measure to combat homelessness personally backed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom has barely passed despite his multi-million-dollar campaign supporting it, reflecting voter fatigue and frustration about the crisis that continues to dog the state’s Democratic...