Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that California has secured nearly 7,000 hotel and motel rooms to house sick and vulnerable homeless Californians during the coronavirus pandemic – and that the federal government will pay 75% of the cost.
The ultimate goal, Newsom said in his daily press briefing, is to procure 15,000 rooms in counties across California, with options to extend the leases beyond this immediate crisis or even buy the buildings in some cases. So far, Newsom said, 869 homeless people are in hotel or motel rooms and 6,877 rooms have been identified and secured by the state and counties so far.
"What we want to do is relieve the stress in our shelter system so we can separate individuals and ultimately, again, relieve the impact on our medical care delivery system," Newsom said outside a Sacramento motel that is already housing sick and vulnerable homeless people.