California’s Big-City Mayors: Cutting HHAP Funding Threatens Gains Made in Homelessness Fight

April 9, 2026

California mayors from the state's 13 largest cities traveled to Sacramento in late March 2026 to advocate against proposed cuts to homelessness funding, specifically the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program. The program faces a 50% reduction from $1 billion to $500 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year, despite cities showing measurable progress in reducing homelessness through increased shelter capacity and housing programs. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson highlighted his city's 84% increase in shelter capacity over three years, while data shows a 9% statewide drop in unsheltered homelessness in 2025.

Who is affected

Unhoused individuals across California's 13 largest cities, including Long Beach, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, Anaheim, Oakland, Stockton, San Jose, and Irvine
Black or African American individuals who represent 32% of the homeless population in Los Angeles County (compared to 8% of overall population) and 52.5% of Oakland's homeless population
41,000 Californians at risk of returning to homelessness due to funding cuts
167 people displaced by the January 2025 wildfires in Long Beach
6,000 shelter beds at risk of being lost across the 13 cities
City governments and mayors facing budget constraints
California Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislators

What action is being taken

A bipartisan coalition of mayors from California's 13 largest cities is urging state leaders to restore HHAP funding from $500 million to $1 billion and make it a permanent annual commitment
Long Beach has increased shelter capacity by 84% over the last three years
Oakland's Office of Homelessness Solutions is centralizing the city's response to homelessness across different departments
Cities are providing wraparound supportive services and implementing "Housing First" models
Mobile health units are being deployed in Long Beach
State-funded SAFE teams are being utilized for encampment resolution

Why it matters

This matters because California cities have demonstrated measurable progress in reducing homelessness—with a 9% statewide drop in unsheltered homelessness in 2025—but proposed funding cuts threaten to reverse these gains. The loss of 6,000 shelter beds could push 41,000 Californians back into homelessness, undermining years of investment and infrastructure development. The issue disproportionately affects Black communities, with severe racial disparities evident across all major California cities, highlighting systemic inequities in housing access and economic opportunity. The cuts signal a potential deprioritization of homelessness reduction efforts at a critical moment when collaborative approaches are showing results.

What's next

The mayoral coalition is awaiting action from the California Legislature and executive branch on their request to restore HHAP funding to $1 billion annually
Oakland aims to reduce unsheltered homelessness by 50% over the next five years, contingent on maintaining HHAP funding
The HHAP program is scheduled to be reduced to $500 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year unless legislative action is taken

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint