A 2016 law prohibits state-funded supportive housing from mandating sobriety, but supporters of a proposed bill say a new approach is needed in light of the opioid crisis.
A proposed California bill would ‘supplement’ a Housing First approach to reducing homelessness with funding for sober living facilities. According to an article in Governing by Jenavieve Hatch, the bill would amend a 2016 law that bans mandating sobriety in state-funded housing.
As Hatch explains, “Assembly Bill 2479 would allow for up to 25 percent of the hundreds of millions of dollars the state spends on homeless housing, assistance and prevention programs to go toward sober living environments, where residents are required to abstain from substances, except for those using Medication-Assisted Therapy, such as suboxone.”
The bill explicitly states it would not evict anyone from housing for relapsing, or mandate sobriety to enter a shelter, but would support drug rehabilitation services.
Another proposed bill would make methadone treatment for opioid addiction more available. “The two bills together are both concerned with modernizing the state’s drug and housing laws to better meet the needs of the fentanyl and homelessness crises — even if that means a departure from historically progressive stances.”
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