Newsom On Billion Dollar Homeless Budget: 'It's About The State Acknowledging Cities Can't Do This Alone'
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his May revision of the state's annual budget, proposing a $213 billion state budget that boosts spending on K-12 education, wildfires, and homelessness.
Part of the budget includes doubling spending on homelessness to bring the total to $1 billion.
On Wednesday, CBS13 ran a story about a homeless man who reportedly pleasured himself in broad daylight in an alley between homes, just a mile away from a school.
CBS13 Investigator Julie Watts sat down with Newsom Thursday and asked for his response that story in light of the billion dollars in his budget aimed at the homeless crisis.
READ ALSO: Report: Homelessness Increased In Sacramento By 30% In Two Years
"I'm horrified by it because it's an indelible memory for a young child. I'm empathetic, not only to the child to the parent, outraged on their behalf but to this poor soul. No human being wants to be in that position," Newsom said.
Newsom said a billion dollars is not enough to stop a situation like this from happening again, but it's a start.
"A billion dollars is an unprecedented down payment on getting serious about this. It's about the state acknowledging that cities can't do this alone," Newsom said.