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Project Roomkey Has Moved Thousands Of Homeless People Indoors -- For How Long?
Julie Mariane gathers her belongings in a motel room provided to homeless people by the NGO St. Joseph Center, as she gets ready to be transferred to a hotel room in Venice Beach, California on April 26, 2020. (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP)
Governor Newsom announced Project Roomkey in April, a state program aimed at moving 15,000 homeless Californians into rented hotel rooms.
Unprecedented in scale, it was seen as ambitious, even audacious, though some doubted if the state had the ability to accomplish such a vast undertaking in such a short timeframe.
Two months later, according to the Governor's office, 9,400 rooms are now occupied, a third less than the 15,000 goal. Plus, about 5,000 more rooms have been "acquired," but not yet filled.
Should that be seen as a success? It depends how you view it.
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