California Showdown: Newsom’s Challenger Calls for Rigorous Homeless Policy Amid LA’s $300M Controversy

An expert has emphasized that California should focus on recovery efforts before allocating taxpayer-funded housing, according to insights shared with The Post.

Tom Wolf, a prominent advocate for overhauling the state’s ineffective homelessness strategies, asserts that the key to preventing a return to homelessness is addressing issues of substance abuse and alcoholism.

This perspective gains urgency following a startling report revealing that 40% of individuals placed in housing through a $300 million Los Angeles initiative found themselves back on the streets within a few months.

The debate centers on the Housing First policy in California, which provides taxpayer-funded housing without requiring recipients to maintain sobriety, undergo treatment, or engage in supportive services.

“What you’re essentially doing is placing individuals struggling with addiction and mental health issues in housing, hoping they resolve these challenges on their own,” Wolf explained, who has persistently challenged Governor Gavin Newsom’s policies.

“Issues like drug addiction and mental illness remain unaddressed. The only difference is they occur behind closed doors rather than in public view,” he added.

Wolf cycled through homelessness, arrests, and addiction, running out of options before finally hitting a turning point that wasn’t housing alone.

What changed his life, he said, was pressure, a forced choice between jail, the streets, or a structured treatment program.

“That’s what saved my life,” he said. “I had an incentive. Without that, I’d be dead.”

Now, he’s pushing for what he calls “recovery-based housing”, programs that combine shelter with structure, including sobriety requirements and participation in treatment.

Last year, a bill aligned with that approach, backed by Assemblymember Matt Haney, made it to the desk of Newsom before being vetoed.

“We’re not saying get rid of Housing First,” Wolf said. “We’re saying it can’t be the only option.”

Just last week, a federal judge dealt a blow to the Trump administration’s attempt to overhaul homelessness funding linked to housing first.

The ruling upheld a lower court’s preliminary injunction, marking the latest legal setback for a policy shift advocates warn could force as many as 170,000 people out of federally subsidized housing and back onto the streets.

Supporters of Housing First maintain that requiring sobriety can deter people from seeking help. But Wolf points to what he says is a growing counterexample.

In San Francisco, a clean-and-sober shelter funded by The Salvation Army requires sobriety and regular drug testing. The 60-bed facility is full and has a waiting list.

“If you incentivize people struggling with addiction, many will engage with services,” Wolf said. “But if there’s no incentive, the same behaviors continue.”

Meanwhile, the scale of spending continues to climb.

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Wolf estimates San Francisco spends roughly $450 million annually on housing programs for about 16,000 people. Los Angeles, he said, is likely spending closer to $700 million a year.

“I think it’s okay if you’re gonna spend three-quarters of a billion dollars a year on rent subsidies, that you have some requirements that go with that.”

Wolf was also selected as one of 50 people nationwide invited to a homelessness summit in Washington, D.C., next week, a sign his message is gaining traction beyond California.

He said he plans to use that platform to push hard for a shift in policy toward recovery-based solutions.

“I’m going there to make the case that what we’re doing right now isn’t working,” Wolf said. “We need to give people a real path out, not just a place to stay.”

The Post reached out to Bass for comment on the story.