Dear Friend, 

Every person has a right to the dignity and security of . Unfortunately, far too many Americans do not have a place to call home.

In California, more than 1.4 million units are needed to address the affordable shortage, and more than 161,000 people experience homelessness in the state each night – including families with young children, veterans, and victims of domestic violence. Prior to the pandemic, one in four renters spent half of their monthly income on rent, and nearly one million tenants were evicted each year.

This issue is personal to me. My elementary school, Telfair Elementary, has one of the highest rates of students experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

A problem of this size, and a problem of this importance, calls for an all-hands-on-deck response. That’s why I recently introduced the for All Act of 2022, which is my comprehensive plan to end homelessness and solve the affordable shortage in California and across the country. 

My for All Act would: 

• Increase affordable  by investing in the National Trust Fund, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, as well as increase funding for supportive for seniors and people with disabilities. It would also create a grant program to help local governments more efficiently navigate federal and state funding sources. It would permanently authorize the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and establish a racial equity commission.
  
• Tackle the homelessness crisis by investing in universal Choice Vouchers, Project-Based Rental Assistance, and the emergency solutions grant program, which helps with street outreach, rapid re- assistance, emergency shelter, and homelessness prevention.
  
• Support innovative, locally developed approaches to these crises, investing in hotel and motel conversions to permanent supportive and providing legal assistance to low-income tenants at risk of, or subject to, eviction. This bill would invest in safe parking programs, in libraries responding to homelessness, and in local mobile crisis intervention teams to help those with medical or psychological needs avoid the criminal justice system. It would also support local investments in inclusive transit-oriented  developments. 

More information on the for All Act of 2022 is available here. 

We can solve homelessness and make affordable. I will continue the fight to make sure everyone has a safe place to call home.

Thank you and please continue to stay safe,

Alex Padilla
United States Senator for California