In Goleta, there’s a quiet crisis brewing — and if the governor’s budget proposal stands, it won’t stay quiet for long. The planned elimination of California’s Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program funding — dropping from $1 billion to zero — puts real lives in immediate danger, right here in our community.
My 22-year-old daughter, who is severely autistic, relies every day on her 1:1 personal assistant — someone who lives in a transitional housing unit funded through this program in Goleta. She’s not just a caregiver; she’s family. Without housing, she’ll be displaced. Without her, my daughter’s life unravels.
Buena Tierra and other local projects were created to offer stability — a bridge for people working hard to rebuild. This isn’t about laziness or lack of effort. These are caregivers, veterans, youth, and those with disabilities. They’re not invisible. They’re the reason many vulnerable people in our community — like my daughter — thrive.
Santa Barbara is a globally known city, rich in both beauty and wealth. It’s a place of prestige, prosperity, and prominence. But one thing we’ve never been known for is cruelty. When we allow transitional housing to vanish while yachts anchor in the harbor and estates sit vacant in the hills, we create a contradiction. The more we allow people to be displaced, the more we look like a city that’s willing to be heartless in the face of need.
If the state cuts this funding, Santa Barbara city and county must step up. With the sheer amount of wealth flowing through our local economy, we cannot pretend that one billion — statewide — is a number we can’t rise to meet locally. We are capable of funding these programs ourselves if Sacramento won’t. Doing nothing would be an insult to our identity and a betrayal of the people who make this city truly work.
I’ve spent years lobbying for civil rights. I’ve never seen a clearer moral failure than this proposal. California is the fourth-largest economy on Earth. We contribute an $80 billion annual surplus to the federal government. So why are we erasing the one program that protects stability and dignity for thousands?
To Governor Newsom and every elected official who represents this county: Do not sign off on this erasure. Cutting HHAP means cutting lives out of the picture — right here in our own neighborhoods. We must protect this funding, or be prepared to fund it ourselves, before more doors close and more lives are left outside.
