California Gov. Gavin Newsom is celebrating the passage of Proposition 1 and outlining the expectations for the billions the measure will now provide.
The massive bond measure means more than $6 billion will now be made available for mental health and homeless housing in counties across the state.
Standing with doctors, firefighters and police officers behind a podium that read "treatment not tents," Newsom celebrated the razor thin Prop. 1 win, but he said the real work is just starting.
"This is, as was stated, a historic day," he said. "And that means little if we can't deliver now on the promise. I say this all the time: program passing is not problem solved."
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Most of the money will be used to create more than 11,000 beds to treat those with mental health and substance abuse issues, and it will also help create 26,700 outpatient slots. About $2 billion will be earmarked for treating and housing vets, and another $1 billion will go to Newsom's Homekey housing program.
"Prop. 1 will ensure there is funding to train and educate more mental health professionals so that not only our children but our adults can be heard and get the help they need when and where they need it," Dr. Tanya Spirtos with the California Medical Association said.
In order to get a share of that money each county needs to propose its own mental health treatment plan, and those proposals need to be made quickly.
"The last time we had a bond in this related effort, it took over two years for the money to start going out," Newsom said. "We're going to start putting out notices for funding availability in just a matter of months. The first ones come out in October."
San Francisco Mayor London Breed has said that implementing Prop. 1 is a high priority for her administration. Department heads met Thursday to address it.
A working group led by Supervisor Rafael Mandelman has already been working on a plan behind the scenes, but now they have to formalize the details and make it public quickly.
"Trying to look at things like what other counties might we be able to partner with, locations for potential facilities, how to structure their operation, that kind of thing," Mandelman said.
Mandelman said the proposition will provide the money to build facilities and to train people, but there are still some questions about long-term funding for those jobs.
City leaders said they want to be at the front of the line with a plan the moment the state puts out the call for applications.
