California taxed millionaires to fix its mental health crisis. Why it’s fallen so short

by | Jul 11, 2022 | Homelessness

Nearly two decades ago, California voters passed a landmark tax on millionaires envisioned as a game changer for mental health.

“No one who is mentally ill and now on the street will be on the street in five years,” promised the late Rusty Selix, who was executive director of the Mental Health Assn. of California and a co-author of the ballot initiative, Proposition 63. “That doesn’t mean there won’t be homeless. But you will see a measurable decline.”

Read the complete article by Jessica Garrison, Melody Gutierrez, and Jackeline Luna on the LA Times website.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-10/california-proposition-63-mental-health-money?sfmc_id=915795

Juan Luna, who suffers from mental illness, sleeps along Los Angeles Street in downtown L.A. Supporters of Proposition 63, approved by voters in 2004, promised the money would reduce homelessness and improve access to services for all Californians.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)