Schools: Around 130,000 Los Angeles Unified students were absent from school on Friday, resulting in an average absentee rate of 66.8%, according to the Los Angeles Times.A Riverside County infant less than a year old died this week after contracting COVID, and an Orange County child under the age of 5 died of COVID complications in December. Kids: COVID-19 hospitalizations among California’s children - especially those too young to go to school and the medically vulnerable - are at their highest levels since the pandemic began, challenging earlier notions that the virus largely bypasses kids, CalMatters’ Elizabeth Aguilera reports.Photo by Lucy Nicholson, ReutersĪs omicron continues its rampage across California - contributing to Los Angeles County last week notching its highest daily average of COVID deaths in nearly 10 months and Sacramento County over the weekend breaking its all-time record for COVID hospitalizations - here’s a look at some key developments: California COVID updates Sonia Vasquez and her daughter Angelique Sepulveda leave a back-to-school clinic in Los Angeles on Aug. CalMatters is also tracking coronavirus hospitalizations by county.Ĭalifornia has administered 67,611,110 vaccine doses, and 72.2% of eligible Californians are fully vaccinated.ġ. The coronavirus bottom line: As of Sunday, California had 6,735,980 confirmed cases (+5% from previous day) and 77,270 deaths (+0.4% from previous day), according to state data. Jonathan Russell of Bay Area Community Services: “We will very likely … see the impact on homelessness … slowly grow and accrue in coming months and years.”.Meanwhile, the state’s rent relief program is running short on money - something the Legislature’s new housing leader, Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks of Oakland, identified as a top priority while talking with Manuela and the Los Angeles Times’ Liam Dillon on the “Gimme Shelter” podcast.īut advocates worry more aid won’t come before March, when most cities are set to allow landlords to resume evictions for nonpayment of rent. And as omicron rages, many counties - including Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area - have postponed this year’s count, scheduled for Jan. That’s because, as CalMatters housing reporter Manuela Tobias notes, the pandemic prompted the state to cancel last January’s point-in-time count, when service providers and volunteers fan out across cities and counties to count the number of people sleeping on the streets and in shelters. It’s a readiness I’ve never really had.”Īs the state pours unprecedented amounts of money into building permanent supportive housing, Jackie takes a look at five key challenges - and their potential solutions.Īnother challenge: California doesn’t know how many people are currently unhoused. When in reality thinking back it’s not a weak thing to begin with. I always just assumed that others who struggle are just weak to begin with. Maya, in a text message to Jackie: “You know I didn’t even think that the transition would be as tough as it has been. As Jackie details in this beautifully written, poignant piece, Maya came very close to voluntarily returning to his tent under a Los Angeles overpass. What Californians need to know to prepare to vote Go to Voter Guideīut, as CalMatters’ Jackie Botts found in the two years she spent following Fernando Maya, a 56-year-old chronically homeless veteran, through the state’s plan to end homelessness, even permanent supportive housing is far from a perfect solution. Gavin Newsom isn’t mincing words, either: “We’ve gotta clean up those encampments,” he said last week while unveiling a $2 billion plan to build tiny homes and other temporary shelters, which would act as a “bridge” to permanent supportive housing with services such as medical and mental health care and substance abuse treatment. Karen Bass, who’s running for Los Angeles mayor, pledged to house 15,000 people by the end of her first year in office and “end street encampments.” Meanwhile, tensions are escalating between Democratic City Councilman Kevin De León - who’s also running for mayor - and homeless advocates, who have accused De León’s office of “coercing people against their will into temporary shelters that are not always a good fit for them.” The phenomenon is particularly evident in Los Angeles County, where about half of the state’s at least 49,000 chronically homeless people live. With the 2022 primary elections less than six months away, candidates are diving head-first into one of California’s most visible and persistent problems: homelessness. CalMatters is dedicated to explaining how state government impacts our lives. Your support helps us produce journalism that makes a difference.
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