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

By TRÂN NGUYỄN
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday the state will make $3.3 billion available by July for counties and private developers to start building more behavior health treatment centers. The funding comes from a ballot measure backed by Newsom and narrowly approved by voters in March. It authorizes the state to borrow $6.4 billion to build more housing and treatment beds to help the state address its homelessness crisis, among other things. Newsom has made homelessness a political priority. California accounts for nearly a third of the homeless population in the United States. The state needs some new 8,000 beds to treat mental health and addiction issues. The new funding will become available in July.