SB 914 HELP (Homeless Equity for Left Behind Populations) Act approved by Governor

SB 914 states:

This bill would enact the HELP (Homeless Equity for Left Behind Populations) Act. The bill would require cities, counties, and continuums of care receiving state funding to address homelessness, on or after January 1, 2024, to include families, people fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, and unaccompanied women within the vulnerable populations for whom specific system supports are developed to maintain homeless services and housing delivery.

The bill would also impose other homelessness planning and data analysis requirements on these cities, counties, and continuums of care. The bill would prohibit victim service providers, as defined, from being required or expected to enter client-level data into specified homeless data systems and would permit any funding provided to cities, counties, and continuums of care, consistent with authorized program uses and limitations, to be used to support the development and the maintenance of comparable databases, as specified. By imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would require the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among domestic violence survivors and their children and among unaccompanied women in California, as described. The bill would require initial goals to be established by January 1, 2025, and those goals to be evaluated at least every 2 years to determine whether updated goals are needed. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.

“Unaccompanied woman” means an individual who identifies as a woman who is 18 years of age or older, who is experiencing homelessness, as defined in the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11302), and who is not accompanied by children or other dependents.

Cities, counties, and continuums of care receiving state funding to address homelessness on or after January 1, 2024, shall include families, people fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, and unaccompanied women within the vulnerable populations for whom specific system supports are developed to maintain homeless services and housing delivery.

Click here to read the bill.