Shelters are supposed to be safe havens. But records show they’re more deadly than jails – and the vast majority of residents remain homeless. To better understand what’s happening inside shelters, CalMatters requested and analyzed previously unreleased state performance data, reviewed thousands of police calls and incident reports, and interviewed more than 80 shelter residents and personnel. CalMatters found: - California governments have spent at least $1 billion on shelters since 2018, doubling the number of beds from 27,000 to 61,000. - Those shelters are deadlier than jails. A total of 2,007 people died between 2018 and mid-2024, which is twice as many deaths as California jails saw in the same period. - Shelters have become a bridge to nowhere. They delivered housing to less than 1 in 4 residents from 2018 to mid-2024. Read the investigation in full: https://cal.news/4bezWKK 📝 Lauren Hepler
About us
Your nonprofit & nonpartisan state newsroom dedicated to explaining how government impacts our lives.
- Website
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http://calmatters.org
External link for CalMatters
- Industry
- Online Audio and Video Media
- Company size
- 51-200 employees
- Headquarters
- Sacramento, CA
- Type
- Nonprofit
- Founded
- 2015
- Specialties
- journalism, statehouse, policy, politics, california, media, and nonprofit
Locations
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Primary
1017 L Street
#261
Sacramento, CA 95814, US
Employees at CalMatters
Updates
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CalMatters reporter Alexei Koseff has been covering Gov. Gavin Newsom for almost a decade. His most recent story, about how the LA fires could be Newsom’s final big test as governor, was picked up by KTLA. Watch as KTLA reporters Cher Calvin and Micah Ohlman interview Alexei about Newsom’s singular focus on the fires, and how they could shape his legacy in his last year in office. https://cal.news/4k5tLgb Read Alexei’s story: https://cal.news/4b9cPkA
Column: The L.A. Fires are Gavin Newsom's Big Test
https://www.youtube.com/
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CalMatters reposted this
A California small business owner on the president's embattled federal funding freeze and anti-diversity push: "You roll back these initiatives, what is that going to do to our economy, our supply chains, our workforce?" #smallbusiness #smallbiz #entrepreneurs #DEI #economy
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🗓️ Maternity-care deserts are spreading in California, leaving large swaths of the state without a place to give birth. These closures are disproportionately affecting Black, Latino and low-income communities in both rural and urban areas. Join us for a Q&A with Assemblymember and health committee chairperson Mia Bonta. CalMatters Health Reporter Kristen Hwang will lead a discussion about why maternity wards and birthing centers are disappearing and what the state is doing about it. Date: Wednesday, Feb. 26 Time: 11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Register here: https://cal.news/3QlVQlN
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IMPACT: A law meant to let the public know who is paying for California legislators’ sponsored travel is falling short, according to a new audit by the state’s campaign finance watchdog agency. It recommends simplifying disclosure requirements to cover more interest groups that take lawmakers to policy conferences and on international study tours — a change that can only be made by those very same legislators. The Fair Political Practices Commission audit followed CalMatters’ revelations that a 2015 law requiring such trip organizers to annually disclose their major donors had been used only twice in seven years — despite interest groups paying for millions of dollars in travel for lawmakers during that time. Read more about the audit: https://cal.news/4b00PSy Read Alexei Koseff and Jeremia Kimelman's original story: https://cal.news/3QrqVo9 📸 Andy Bao, AP
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CalMatters reported that between 2017 and 2021, it took the understaffed Labor Commissioner’s Office an average of 505 days to decide on workers’ wage theft claims — far longer than the 135 days required by state law. That wait time has since soared to more than 850 days, a state audit published last year found. “We were really struck by some of the reporting about how long people waited and how broken the systems for workers to receive compensation,” said Erik Mebust, San Francisco Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener's spokesperson. “When advocates came to us citing your reporting it was a very compelling pitch.” Read more about the legislation: https://cal.news/4gHaK0H Read the original series, written by Alejandro Lazo, Jeanne Kuang, Lil Kalish and rica Yee: https://cal.news/3TVgeKl 📸 Lauren Justice
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CalMatters reposted this
My latest article (with the incredible Mercy Sosa) is published in CalMatters. The piece examines how President Trump's second term is impacting undocumented students and what California has done to fund campus and legal resources for these students. I'm grateful to the many sources who spoke to us for this story, which was months in the making. I hope you'll give it a read! https://lnkd.in/gy7m3GfX
Demand for immigration legal services spikes at California colleges
https://calmatters.org
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The ages of 16 to 24 are critical years for long-term financial independence and success. For the 500,000 Californians who are unemployed or out of school in those years, the consequences are adverse and lasting. In this panel, we’ll look at California, which spends more on education and job training than the budget of many countries. What is the state doing to help this subset of young people? What’s working? And what new investments are needed to ensure their long-term success? Speakers include CalMatters reporter Adam Echelman, Kelly LoBianco, director of LA Department of Economic Development, Elizabeth Cheung, senior program officer of Opportunity Youth, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Amanda Hernandez, Los Angeles County Youth Commission. Register for this free event now: https://cal.news/40zjqjy Feb. 25 at 11-1 pm 11 AM -12 PM | Networking session with free lunch 12 PM -1 PM | Panel discussion Japanese American National Museum 100 North Central Avenue Los Angeles, California 90012
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Los Angeles officials have begun releasing thousands of internal records related to conditions inside homeless shelters in response to a CalMatters lawsuit challenging their repeated public records denials. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, better known as LAHSA, agreed to a settlement with CalMatters in Superior Court last month, committing to release at least 175 incident reports every other week until the public records request is fulfilled. The agency estimates there are 5,000 such reports. 🔗 Read more about the lawsuit: https://cal.news/4ayxXR6 📬 Have you stayed or worked at a California homeless shelter? Tell us about your experience. DMs are open. 📝 Lauren Hepler & Byrhonda Lyons 📸 Lucy Nicholson, Reuters
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CalMatters reposted this
My latest: The California attorney generals office wants to know more about OpenAI’s business restructuring plan. Public Citizen co-president Rob Weissman, who’s urged AG Bonta to investigate OpenAI for more than a year, wants OpenAI to give tens of billions of dollars to a separate nonprofit in order to convert to a for-profit company. My esteemed colleague Levi Sumagaysay contributed to this reporting.
California is investigating OpenAI’s conversion to a for-profit company
https://calmatters.org