Prevention Institute Joins Advocates Across California to Call for a Budget that Invests in the Health and Safety of Our Communities

In response to the release of the Governor’s May Revision for FY 2025-26, Prevention Institute joins our partners across the state in urging Governor Newsom and the Legislature to preserve and strengthen investments critical to community health priorities and to identify new revenue sources that safeguard our state against federal funding cuts. We are advocating for the following priorities:

Community Investments in Health Equity – The Governor’s sustained commitment of $300 million in ongoing funding for state and local public health infrastructure is a vital investment. However, the proposal to eliminate the Gender Health Equity Section (GHES) and the California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP)–programs that support LGBTQ+ health equity, LGBTQ+ foster youth, and grassroots mental health services and peer supports– would significantly cut the Office of Health Equity’s budget and devastate community organizations with long-standing experience working with LGBTQ+ and underserved communities.

• Follow Equality California to stay updated on opportunities to advocate for health equity  investments.

Protecting Medi-Cal – Medi-Cal, which provides health care to over 14 million Californians and serves as an effective tool in preventing poverty, is facing devastating cuts that would roll back benefits for seniors and people with disabilities, and disproportionately impact undocumented Californians. Health and immigration rights advocates are mobilizing to protect expanded coverage and reject the proposed cuts.

• Follow Health Access to stay updated on ways to defend the expansion of Medi-Cal to undocumented Californians.

Stable, Safe, and Affordable Housing – With thousands living on the streets and the rising cost-of-living pushing people further into the margins, California urgently needs new resources to address the crises of housing unaffordability and homelessness. Housing justice groups applaud the Governor’s endorsement of the proposed state housing bond and are also calling for investments across the housing continuum, including homelessness prevention, affordable rentals, homeownership, and farmworker housing.

• Follow Housing California and Housing Now! California for opportunities to advocate for critical investments to address the housing and homelessness crisis.

Environmental and Climate Justice – The Governor’s decision to backfill climate and environmental program cuts using the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and Prop 4 hinders the state’s ability to leverage new bond dollars  to strengthen the state’s response to the climate crisis. Fully preserving investments made in previous budgets and honoring the original intent of Prop 4, as approved by voters, should be the baseline for advancing climate equity programs that address extreme heat, clean transportation, and climate resilience.

• Follow the Make Polluters Pay Campaign, a movement to hold California’s biggest polluting industries accountable, for advocacy opportunities.

As the Governor and Legislature work to finalize the budget in June, we call on them to uphold California’s role as a national leader in advancing and investing in health equity, and to deliver a budget that reflects the priorities and values of all Californians.