In November 2004, the voters of California approved Proposition 63-the
Mental Health Services Act (MHSA)-thus adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the community mental health system each year. Funding is targeted to vulnerable groups who have been inadequately served by existing systems-including people with serious mental illness who are homeless, insufficiently housed, or returning to communities from the jail system. The state legislature started laying the foundation for MHSA back in 1999 when it passed Assembly Bill (AB) 34, which provided $10 million for pilot programs through the mental health departments in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Stanislaus counties. Based on the success of that effort, funding increased dramatically in FY 2000-2001 under AB2034. AB2034 provided the resources necessary to expand existing pilots and create additional programs statewide. Currently, there are 53 programs operating in 34 counties (19 in Los Angeles County, two in Sacramento County, and one in each of the remaining counties).

One of the main purposes of the Mental Health Services Act is to reduce
homelessness among people with serious mental illness, either by housing consumers who have been living on the streets or in shelters or by preventing homelessness among those leaving hospitals, jails, and prisons. Creative housing strategies are becoming a critical
component of these new programs. To inform the implementation of MHSA, this report describes some of the housing strategies that the AB2034 programs use and their success in retaining consumers and helping them find and keep housing.