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Monterey County Homelessness Articles



Image caption: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has directed the city’s housing department to conduct a comprehensive review of all residential hotels in response to an investigative report.
LA Hotel Housing Story

A hotel in Hollywood is receiving more than twice it would get per room by renting to the city of Los Angeles rather than to long-term tenants.

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Monterey’s first homeless shelter for women and families is ready to welcome guests.

Just a week before the first guests step over the threshold, crews are busy putting the finishing touches on the Shuman HeartHouse, Monterey’s first shelter for women and families experiencing homelessness. The kitchen is being assembled on Monday, Oct. 30,…

KSQD logo LOCAL NEWS
Shuman Hearthouse Shelter in Monterey Opens Doors

This episode of Talk of the Bay included Megan Whilden, Development Director for Community Human Services who spoke about the overwhelming response the organization has had to the opening of 35 new shelter beds for women and their children. Monterey’s …

Image caption: New law represents departure from long-standing mental health treatment practices in California.
Californians’ Mental Health: Newsom Signs Law to Overhaul System

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature mental health policies allow the involuntary treatment of more Californians with severe mental illnesses. Some fear the new laws will infringe on the civil liberties of people confined against their will.

Image caption: Before cities order police to clear out homeless camps, courts have ruled they must provide “adequate” shelter.
Do California Cities Offer ‘Adequate Shelter’ for Homeless?

Police can’t force homeless people from encampments unless the city in question has “adequate shelter” for those who are displaced, according to courts. Now everyone involved wants to know what “adequate” means.

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
MPUSD launches a website to teach other school districts how to support homeless students.

Schools are increasingly seen not just as places for learning, but hubs for needed resources.

Image caption: Orange County Health Care Agency psychologist Stacey Berardino speaks about CARE Court at St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Cypress.
CARE Courts Reduction of Homelessness May be Minimal, Officials Say

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s big new experiment to push people with mental illness off the streets and into treatment starts this fall. Counties responsible for the rollout say it may end up being more modest than advertised.

Image caption: Kerry Wood, CEO of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, says the organization researches areas of need to help donors direct their contributions.
What Is a Community Foundation?

By channeling funds to a number of nonprofits working on various issues in a given region, community foundations help solve big problems throughout California.

Image caption: Data shows that homelessness immediately decreased once renter protections were put in place.
Here's How California Policy Makes Homelessness Worse

Renter protections and eviction bans put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic have expired. By keeping them in place, California could slow the spread of homelessness. But that's not happening.

Image caption: A legislative analyst’s report is sharply critical of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shifting priorities in mental health funding.
Newsom’s Mental Health Plan May Shift $720 Million to Housing

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to rethink how California spends its millionaires tax by directing more money toward housing. Some county-run mental health programs could lose out.

Image caption: Should California adopt the Texas approach to handling the homeless problem?
4 Reasons Texas Beats California on Homelessness Reduction

The homeless population fell by a third in Texas over the past decade as it surged in California. The cost of living is a big reason Texas is doing a better job at alleviating homelessness.

Image caption: Under the Inside Safe program homeless camps have been cleared, but where do the people go?
'Inside Safe' Homeless Plan Struggles to Get People into Housing

Los Angeles’ new homelessness solution is meant to quickly get people out of encampments and into housing—as the city grapples with the state’s largest population of unhoused residents. But the program is struggling to house people and connect them with …

Image caption: "Housing First" prioritizes getting the homeless into housing before anything else.
Why Hasn't Housing First Policy Worked in California?

Housing First policy works to reduce homelessness, evidence shows. But in California the policy has proven ineffective. What is the state doing wrong?

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Missteps have kept Salinas’ original Homekey low-income apartments half full since 2020.

Within a few months after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, California officials launched a mad dash to permanently house thousands of people by converting motels and hotels into apartments under the name Homekey, using $646 million in federal, state…

Image caption: Grass Valley, in Nevada County, was making headway against the homeless problem until its grant money dried up.
Why Efforts to Help the Homeless Stalled in Grass Valley

Gov. Gavin Newsom poured ‘unprecedented’ money into homelessness, but providers say his use of one-time grants does not allow for long-term solutions to the state’s biggest crisis. That's what happened in Grass Valley.

Image caption: Gov. Gavin Newsom and top legislators say they have a deal on the new California budget. But who's in and who's out?
New California Budget Deal: What You Need to Know

After weeks of negotiations, the governor and top Democrats in the Legislature say they have a budget deal. Legislators will start voting today on bills related to the agreement, which sets spending and policy across a wide range of issues …

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
Grant to help move homeless from Pajaro River encampments

Homeless services advocates from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties are considering placing a small community of modular tiny homes in a church parking lot in Watsonville, aimed at reducing the number of people camped out along the Pajaro River. The …

King City Rustler logo LOCAL NEWS
County of Monterey supports California ‘AT HOME’ plan to address homelessness

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to support AT HOME, a first-of-its-kind comprehensive approach developed by the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) in collaboration with county leaders throughout the state to effectively and equitably address …

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Monterey County awarded $8 million in joint project to create a tiny home village for unhoused Pajaro River residents.

Long before a levee along the Pajaro River breached on March 11, causing massive flooding in the community of Pajaro in North Monterey County, plans had been on the books to make permanent repairs to the levee system. It was…

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
A local shelter’s very presence makes it one-of-a-kind

Kyarra Harris here, reminding you that tomorrow, Feb. 28, is the second-anniversary celebration of Casa de Noche Buena serving unsheltered women and families. To celebrate, there will be a virtual tour of the facility and a personal story from a…

Featured

The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here
Gov. Newsom has a new plan to help get mentally ill Californians into treatment.
The cycle of crime and homelessness is escalating, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Homelessness and Crime in California: Even More Complex Than You Think
What causes the cycle of homelessness and crime, and how to stop it.
Kerry Wood, CEO of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, says the organization researches areas of need to help donors direct their contributions.
What Is a Community Foundation?
By channeling funds to a number of nonprofits working on various issues in a given region, community foundations help solve big problems throughout California.
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