‘Gimme Shelter’: Will Newsom’s new mental health plan reduce homelessness?

Later this year, Los Angeles and seven other counties will inaugurate Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new plan to address severe mental illness by compelling treatment for people who are in serious crisis — one of his signature efforts to fight homelessness.

On this episode of “Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast,” we discuss how the program, known as CARE Court, is supposed to work, how it may affect the homeless population, and concerns from civil rights activists about its operation. Our guest is Dr. Veronica Kelley, director of behavioral health services for Orange County, who is in charge of that county’s implementation of the program.

“Gimme Shelter,” a biweekly podcast that looks at why it’s so expensive to live in California and what the state can do about it, features Liam Dillon, who covers housing affordability issues for the Los Angeles Times, and Manuela Tobías, housing reporter for CalMatters.

You can subscribe to “Gimme Shelter” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud and Google Podcasts.