In a blatant attempt to rewrite history, Gov. Gavin Newsom claims that Project Roomkey was a great success, which provides important lessons for other states. The only lesson other states should take from the governor’s program is what not to do.
To facilitate this revision, research firm Abt Global was contracted to evaluate Project Roomkey for its successes, challenges and outcomes. Despite the attempts to portray this report as a glowing review, a more careful examination illustrates that caution is warranted.
Judged against the numbers of homeless people in California, it is clear that Project Roomkey was not a success. There were nearly 162,000 homeless people living on California’s streets in 2020 – the year Project Roomkey was launched. By 2023, the number of homeless increased to more than 181,000. A 12.3% increase in the homeless population is a sign of a program’s failure, not success.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Disregard the spin. Project Roomkey is failing
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
In a blatant attempt to rewrite history, Gov. Gavin Newsom claims that Project Roomkey was a great success, which provides important lessons for other states. The only lesson other states should take from the governor’s program is what not to do.
To facilitate this revision, research firm Abt Global was contracted to evaluate Project Roomkey for its successes, challenges and outcomes. Despite the attempts to portray this report as a glowing review, a more careful examination illustrates that caution is warranted.
Judged against the numbers of homeless people in California, it is clear that Project Roomkey was not a success. There were nearly 162,000 homeless people living on California’s streets in 2020 – the year Project Roomkey was launched. By 2023, the number of homeless increased to more than 181,000. A 12.3% increase in the homeless population is a sign of a program’s failure, not success.
Click to read the full article in the Northern California Record.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.