Homelessness is Down in California and Across the Country, Says New Federal Report

by Contributing Author

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.

… READ MORE

Share this:

A New Homelessness Strategy is Sweeping California

by Contributing Author

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. 

… READ MORE

Share this:

Cooked Out: New State Law Excludes Kitchen Appliances in Permanent Supportive Housing

by Contributing Author
Kitchen with sink, stovetop, microwave and refrigerator.

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,

… READ MORE

Share this:

Supervisors Approve Mayor’s Zoning Plan

by Contributing Author

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. 

… READ MORE

Share this:

Lessons I’ve Learned in My 10 Years of PSH Advocacy

by Contributing Author

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.

… READ MORE

Share this:

California Braces for ‘Devastating’ Federal Homeless Housing Cuts

by Contributing Author

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.

… READ MORE

Share this:

Trump’s Crackdown on Homelessness: What Does It Mean for California?

by Contributing Author

By Marisa Kendall/CalMatters

President Donald Trump’s new law-and-order approach to homelessness bears several striking resemblances to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s.

Trump wants cities to enforce laws that make it illegal for homeless people to sleep outside. So does Newsom. 

Trump threatened to withhold funding from places that don’t. So did Newsom. 

And the president wants to make it easier to force homeless people living with serious mental illness or addiction into treatment.

… READ MORE

Share this:

Homelessness is Top of Mind for Many Californians. Why Does the Proposed Budget Eliminate Funding for It?

by Contributing Author

by Marisa Kendall, CalMatters

California’s main source of homelessness funding would drop from $1 billion last year to $0 this year in the proposed state budget.

State leaders have been talking a lot lately about cleaning up California’s homeless encampments and moving people indoors. But the tentative budget they’ve drawn up for the upcoming year has many asking: With what money?

Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature have proposed gutting the state’s main source of homelessness funding in the 2025-26 budget,

… READ MORE

Share this:

Sober Living in Permanent Supportive Housing: How Exactly Does That Work?

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Wasilewski

In springtime of 2025, the conversation around sober and recovery housing continues from San Francisco to Sacramento. Matt Haney’s Assembly Bill 255 allows cities and counties to set aside up to 25% of state homelessness funds for sober living quarters. The set-aside is not required: It’s merely an ask for permission to allocate funding for up to 25% of permanent supportive housing units of funds for sober living,

… READ MORE

Share this:

Despite Legislative Stalls, the “Right to Rest” Movement Shows No Signs of Resting

by Contributing Author

By Cathleen Williams, Sacramento Homeward Street Journal

Supporters of Senate Bill 634, which if passed would pre-empt ordinances in cities throughout California that criminalize survival activities related to homelessness. Courtesy of Cathleen Williams.

A state bill that would effectively prohibit punishment of homelessness, overriding California municipalities’ ordinances outlawing camping and other survival activities, was introduced in the state Senate on April 23. But most of the provisions protecting the rights of unhoused Californians did not survive its first committee hearing.

… READ MORE

Share this: