Mental Health Housing
Allow mental illness treatment funds for housing. Helps homeless with mental illness and loosens restrictive set-aside.
Proposition 2 would allow funds from Proposition 63 (2004), which imposed a 1% tax on incomes over $1 million to fund mental health services, to be used for housing for homeless people with mental illness.
This is a sensible reform that:
- Addresses the intersection of mental illness and homelessness
- Loosens an existing restrictive budget set-aside
- Gives the legislature more flexibility to address mental health needs holistically
Housing stability is a critical component of mental health treatment. Without stable housing, it’s extremely difficult for people with mental illness to maintain treatment regimens, take medications consistently, or access services. By allowing mental health funds to be used for housing, Prop 2 acknowledges this connection and enables a more comprehensive approach to serving this vulnerable population.
Vote yes on Prop 2 to give the state flexibility to address homelessness among those with mental illness.
These recommendations are my own, and do not reflect positions of organizations I’m associated with.