The Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency awarded $48 million in grants to eight California communities to fund comprehensive, compassionate and innovative efforts that will serve 1,361 homeless people living in encampments and support their journey towards a safe, sustainable life and stable housing.
"Californians deserve clean and safe communities," Newsom noted.
The secretary of the California Agency for Housing, Consumer and Business Services, Lourdes Castro Ramírez, highlighted that, by working in partnership with the beneficiary communities, they will help 1,461 people who are homeless in encampments, as well as restore public spaces to their intended uses.
“We continue to collect best practices from all communities that have received grants and share those best practices in future rounds of the Camp Resolution Fund program to develop long-term solutions,” the official said.
The eight recipients announced yesterday join the 19 communities that received grants in February. The 19 communities that received funds are serving more than 1,400 homeless people in encampments. This year's budget increased funding to $300 million in fiscal year 2022-23 and $400 million in fiscal year 2023-24.
The following cities and counties will receive the new Camp Resolution Funds (ERF):
- Los Angeles City and County Continuum of Care: $14.96 million to serve 500 women and families living in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles.
- Riverside County: $11 million to help 200 homeless people at the bottom of the Santa Ana River in various communities
- City and County of San Francisco: $10.85 million to meet the needs of 345 homeless individuals living in the Van Ness Alley and Polk Street areas of downtown San Francisco.
- City of Oakland: $3.6 million to serve an additional 50 people living in Wood Street Encampment. The city received $4.7 million to serve 50 people in the first round of ERF.
- City of Oroville: $2.73 million to help 80 people experiencing homelessness along a rail corridor in South Oroville.
- City of San Diego: $2.45 million to serve 50 people living in encampments in the East Village area of downtown San Diego.
- City of Montebello: $1.7 million to help 65 people living in encampments in an area at high risk for wildfires along the Rio Hondo river, which forms the city's eastern boundary.
- City of Redding: $950,000 to serve 71 homeless people on the greenway south of Lake Boulevard near downtown Redding.
The ERF program is a competitive grant available to counties, CoCs, and cities of any size that is intended to help local jurisdictions ensure the safety and well-being of homeless people in encampments.
As well as address critical camp concerns and transition people to safe and stable housing; and encourage a coordinated, data-driven approach. The ERF program also provides funds for robust technical assistance.
The California government has assured that the California Interagency Council on Homelessness will provide extensive technical assistance to grantees and is closely monitoring demonstration projects to capture encampment resolution best practices that can be shared with communities throughout the state.
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