11) Johnson, 64, suffers from kidney, heart, & vision problems.

He was homeless for about a year before getting connected to housing, medical care, & other services.

“We used to be a more compassionate country,” he said.

“I don't know what's going on.”

10) “There's nothing I can do about it but just wait, see, and hope,” said William Johnson, one of 20 seniors with disabilities in Solano County currently housed by Lutheran Social Services.

9) Kushel believes the funding delays could have irreversible effects for nonprofits combatting homelessness, potentially forcing some to shut down permanently within just a matter of weeks.

“When money is promised to them, they understandably expect the bill to be paid.”

@mkushel.bsky.social

8) HUD doles out more than $3 billion dollars each year to programs helping the homeless. 

That funding, however, is becoming increasingly less reliable, according to Kushel.

@mkushel.bsky.social

7) “This funding is really irreplaceable,” said Dr. Margot Kushel, one of the nation’s leading researchers on homelessness.

She says it’s nearly impossible to overstate role federal govt. has played in supporting homeless prevention programs nationwide. 

@ucsfbhhi.bsky.social
@mkushel.bsky.social

6) We contacted HUD to find out how many other programs across the country are being impacted by the federal funding delays and to learn what is causing them.

The agency, initially, said it would “respond back” with answers.

It never did.

5) HUD, last year, pledged to allocate money to the nonprofit as part of an annual competitive process to award govt. contracts. But now, months later, the nonprofit is still waiting on $2.8 million dollars' worth of reimbursable federal funding to house and support the homeless.

4) “It’s very worrying,” said Carol Roberts, president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Northern California, which provides housing and supportive services to roughly 6,000 individuals and families across 10 counties.

3) In San Francisco, part of the federal funding was supposed to help house 30 low-income men and women living with AIDS, all trying to rebuild their lives after being incarcerated. But now, the program’s ability to remain open is being made “on a daily basis.”

2) Our Investigative Unit has learned homeless prevention programs could soon be forced to shutdown because their recently expired govt. contracts, which the Biden White House said would be renewed, still have not been paid out by the Trump administration.

2) So what happened when our driverless ride didn’t go as planned?

Cruise had to send us a (human) driver.

1) Cruise, the embattled driverless car company, is officially getting out of the robotaxi business, according to its majority owner General Motors.

Last year, we took you along on a Cruise of our own, but you might remember our ride took an unexpected turn.

Enough plastic pollution to fill 3.5 million dump trucks makes its way into communities and oceans across the globe each year.

#WeInvestigate the world-wide effort to end plastic pollution & explain what it means for wildlife and your own dinner plate.

Monday @ 11pm on @nbcbayarea.bsky.social

I’m making new friends at the @Safeway in San Francisco’s Marina!

Come say hi!

We’re inviting people to donate to our local food banks this holiday season as part of our @nbcbayarea ‘Nourishing Neighbors’ food drive!