A Crisis with No Clear Answers
Over the past five years, California has spent more than $24 billion trying to address its homelessness crisis. Despite this massive investment, homelessness in the state has continued to grow. Tent encampments still crowd sidewalks. Families still sleep in their cars. Addiction and mental illness go untreated, and emergency shelters remain overwhelmed. In short, the problem has not gone away—in fact, by most measures, it’s gotten worse.
This has left taxpayers, advocates, and leaders alike asking a simple but critical question: where did the money go? And more importantly, why hasn’t it made a difference?
The recent audit released by California State Auditor Grant Parks was a bombshell. It showed that the state could not determine if its spending had produced any measurable results. Billions of dollars were allocated through a patchwork of programs, agencies, and local governments, but with little to no tracking of outcomes. There were no consistent data systems, no clear definitions of success, and no real accountability. In effect, the state wrote one of the largest checks in its history—and didn’t bother to track the receipt.
Money Alone Doesn’t Solve a Systemic Problem
The assumption behind massive public spending on homelessness has been simple: if we invest more money, we will see less homelessness. But that logic only works if the system receiving the money is capable of using it effectively. When the infrastructure is broken, money doesn’t fix it. It disappears into inefficiency, mismanagement, and layers of bureaucracy.
This is something business leaders understand well. In the private sector, if you pour money into a product that doesn’t work, you don’t end up with success—you end up with an expensive failure. Henry Mauriss, a media entrepreneur and CEO of ClearTV, has built companies by applying lean thinking and outcome-driven strategies. To him, the California audit is a case study in what happens when a system grows bloated and disorganized. Without clear leadership and accountability, no amount of funding can deliver results.
When it comes to solving homelessness, it’s not just about more money. It’s about smarter money. It’s about systems that are transparent, data-informed, and designed around outcomes, not just inputs.
The Real Roots of Homelessness
Part of the reason money hasn’t worked as a solution is that it has often been directed at the wrong parts of the problem. California’s policy on homelessness is literally titled “Housing First”, which helps explain its massive failures. Homelessness is not simply a housing issue. It’s a complex crisis involving mental illness, addiction, poverty, trauma, and lack of access to care. Some people become homeless because of economic hardship—job loss, eviction, or medical debt. Others fall through the cracks because of untreated mental health disorders, substance abuse, or a breakdown in family or community support.
One-size-fits-all solutions, like building more shelters or handing out temporary vouchers, often miss the deeper causes. In many cases, they only offer short-term relief. What’s needed is a layered, personalized approach. Some people need housing first, others need detox and counseling, while others need job training and stable case management.
Unfortunately, most public programs aren’t designed to adapt to the individual. They are designed to check boxes and spend money. That’s why many in the nonprofit and philanthropic world—people like Henry Mauriss—are pushing for more community-based, flexible solutions that actually meet people where they are.
The Disconnect Between Policy and People
One of the most frustrating realities of the homelessness crisis is the widening gap between public policy and on-the-ground realities. Elected officials often talk in big numbers—thousands of new housing units planned, millions allocated to local programs—but the people living on the streets don’t experience those numbers as meaningful change.
The system is so fragmented that funding often gets delayed, misused, or rerouted through agencies that are not equipped to handle the challenges. Cities and counties compete for grants, nonprofits are left waiting for contracts, and front-line workers are overwhelmed. In the meantime, the people who need help are still living without safety, dignity, or a path forward.
This is why trust in government-led solutions is eroding. Citizens want to see visible results: cleaner streets, safer communities, and fewer people suffering in public. Without that, even well-intentioned initiatives become suspect.
A Call for New Leadership and Innovation
If $24 billion can disappear without measurable impact, it’s time to rethink the entire model. That doesn’t mean abandoning public funding—it means holding it to higher standards. It means demanding transparency, tracking outcomes, and being willing to pivot when things aren’t working.
This is where the private sector and social entrepreneurs can play a bigger role. There is room—and urgent need—for innovation. Whether it’s modular housing, mental health triage centers, mobile outreach, or data-driven care coordination, new solutions must be tested and scaled. Not every idea will work, but we need a system that is willing to evolve, not just repeat.
Henry Mauriss has long supported philanthropic efforts that work outside traditional models. From church-based programs feeding and clothing the homeless to faith-rooted efforts like Joshua’s Collective, these smaller, community-based solutions often deliver results that feel more human and less bureaucratic. They build trust, treat people as individuals, and focus on long-term change rather than temporary fixes.
Rebuilding Public Trust Through Action
The biggest casualty of California’s homelessness audit may not be financial—it may be public trust. When taxpayers see billions spent with no clear result, they become less willing to support future funding. When the people who are homeless don’t see help materialize, they lose faith in the system meant to serve them.
Rebuilding that trust will require action, not just apologies. It means being honest about what’s working and what isn’t. It means inviting new partners to the table—business leaders, nonprofits, faith groups—and giving them a voice in shaping real solutions. It means making data public, sharing results openly, and holding leaders accountable for what they deliver.
Above all, it means putting people at the center. Not agencies. Not funding streams. Not political agendas. Real people with real needs. People who deserve better than the chaos and neglect that currently define too many of our systems.
Looking Forward, Not Backward
The $24 billion question isn’t just about how the money was spent—it’s about what we do next. The crisis of homelessness is too big, too visible, and too tragic to ignore. But it’s not unsolvable. Around the country, cities are experimenting with new approaches. Some are seeing success. The challenge is to learn from what works, replicate it, and stop doubling down on what doesn’t.
California still has the resources, the talent, and the public will to make meaningful change. But it will require more than speeches and spending. It will require leadership that prioritizes outcomes over optics. And it will require a shift from a broken system to one rooted in design, accountability, and compassion.
As Henry Mauriss has said in conversations around homelessness and philanthropy, the goal is not to do more of the same—it’s to do better. That’s the next question we all need to answer.
