A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Marisa Kendall/CalMatters
New legislation forces the city and county of Sacramento to collaborate on homelessness. Stakeholders say it could have repercussions California-wide.
The Legislature is forcing the city and county of Sacramento to try something unusual in their fight against homelessness, and both critics and supporters of the controversial plan say it could have broad implications for the rest of the state.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 802 in September,
by Lupe Velez
Proposition 43 on the November ballot for California voters would raise the required threshold for special taxes to pass from a simple majority of 50%+1 to a supermajority of two-thirds, or 66.67%. The Coalition on Homelessness and a number of groups and organizations including Evolve California, League of Women Voters of California, SEIU, Union of Educators and Classified Professionals, American Federation of Labor, the ACLU Southern California,
by Marisa Kendall/CalMatters
Bills moving through the Legislature this year address state-funded sober housing, RVs parked on city streets and homelessness prevention.
As this year’s legislative session speeds to a close, a handful of bills focused on the state’s homelessness crisis have made the cut so far.
Though homelessness improved slightly last year, there are still an estimated 182,000 Californians with nowhere to call home.
by Kenyota G.
Living on a fixed income in one of the many Single Room Occupancies (SROs), Senior Assisted Living Units, or in a navigation center can prove challenging. At no time has that challenge become more manifest than recently with passage of H.R. 1—Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Act.” That act contained wording that eliminated the federal government’s responsibility for providing 100% of the costs for CalFresh recipients. As of June 1,
by Marisa Kendall/ CalMatters
The Trump administration downplayed the decline in homelessness, contending far more people are on the streets today than a decade ago.
The number of people with nowhere to call home decreased both in California and nationwide last year, according to a long-awaited federal report.
The data, showing the first decrease in homelessness in years, provided fuel for activists challenging the Trump administration’s narrative that current homelessness policies are failing and need to be overhauled.
by Marisa Kendall, CalMatters
Homelessness prevention shows promising results in California, as advocates push to spread it statewide and nationally.
Maybe the way out of California’s homelessness crisis is to prevent it in the first place, rather than focusing only on people who have already lost their housing.
That’s the thinking behind a program in Santa Clara County — and others like it around the state — that has gained traction and will soon test its strategy beyond California.
by Jordan Wasilewski
In San Francisco, the lion’s share of permanent supportive housing (PSH) stock is single room occupancy hotels (SRO). I was placed in one in 2015, and upon moving in realized the room did not include a refrigerator, cooking appliances or adequate food storage. When I inquired about it, a case manager informed me that tenants aged 60 and over were eligible to receive a fridge, and if I wanted one,
by Christin Evans
As tenant activists decry development plan, one supe looks to drafting ballot measure as an alternative
In a heated session of the Board of Supervisors’ December 2 meeting, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s controversial “family zoning plan” to upzone the western and northern sides of San Francisco passed on a 7–4 vote. The board’s more left-leaning supervisors—Connie Chan, Chyanne Chen, Shamann Walton and Jackie Fielder—voted to oppose the plan.
by Jordan Wasilewski
As of mid-October this year, I have been stably housed in San Francisco for 10 years. For the first time in my adult life, I became a tenant with my name on the lease and am living alone, instead of subletting with others.
That was also my 10th anniversary in permanent supportive housing, my 10th anniversary in a single-resident occupancy hotel, and also my 10th anniversary of permanent supportive housing and SRO activism.
by Marisa Kendall, CalMatters
Thousands of Californians could return to homelessness as the feds reportedly plan to disinvest from permanent housing.
The latest blow in a seemingly endless barrage of bad news for the California agencies tasked with fighting homelessness looms: President Donald Trump’s administration is expected to deeply cut federal funding for permanent housing.
The news has sent counties throughout California into a panic.
