Monterey County Homelessness Digest

For more than 55 years, Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County has launched programs to help people experiencing poverty across Santa Cruz County and the Pájaro Valley, including homelessness prevention, employment and mentoring services for youth and adults, immigration legal services, and crisis response.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is not pleased with local leaders' plans to reduce homelessness, and will hold back state funding until they take more aggressive action: “Everyone has to do better.”

It’s a common misconception that a physical address is required to cast a ballot. For individuals living in shelters or encampments, California offers several options for participating in local elections.

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District is considering implementation of a safe parking program for families experiencing homelessness. The Monterey County Department of Social Services presented a proposal for the program to the Board of Trustees.

Hopes for bringing Project Homekey to Pacific Grove ended when the Pacific Grove City Council voted 5-1, with one council member absent, against pursuing a new application.

Restaurateur Marvin Green learned that a quarter of adults in Monterey County don’t have access to steady nutrition. That made him wonder: How might he find partners to help underwrite feeding the underfed?

The 2022 Monterey County Veterans Stand Down, an event where homeless veterans on the Central Coast can get help obtaining services, is coming up. Hosted by the Veterans Transition Center, it takes place June 17-18. All homeless men, women and veterans with families are welcome.

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District will be the first district in California to provide short-term emergency housing for students experiencing homelessness through a partnership with Motel 6.

Tenants still waiting on rent relief will now likely have more time before facing eviction. The Legislature voted to extend eviction protections through June 30. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk for his signature.

Yellow Brick Road, a Carmel-based collection of nonprofit benefit shops, has awarded $5,000 to Community Human Services for its efforts to help homelessness young people.

San Mateo County has made a bold pledge to end homelessness by the end of 2022. It sounds like a stretch, but this is San Mateo County, with about 900 people in the streets and another 600 in shelters—a smaller population than some L.A. neighborhoods.

California Republicans are advocating for a package of bills to tackle homelessness and mental health issues—but they claim their approach is more fiscally responsible.

Volunteers fanned out across the state for the first statewide count of California’s homeless population since 2020. The number is expected to be higher, raising more questions about the impact of the state’s increased spending.

Senator Alex Padilla will introduce legislation to push some $531 billion into affordable housing projects around the country. The bill could dramatically boost federal aid for homelessness and a shortage of affordable housing.

Homelessness continues to be an issue in Salinas, but officials are taking another step to provide housing options. The city was awarded $29.5 million in Project Homekey funding to covert the Salinas Inn and Sanborn Inn into permanent supportive housing.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is doling out $50 million to help cities and counties clear out camps and house people living outdoors. San Jose, Richmond and Santa Cruz are among those cities that might benefit.

“Courage Within: Women Without Shelter,” on display at the Monterey Museum of Art, doesn’t just call attention to the problem of homelessness. It also explains the emotional cost that unhoused people experience.

Monterey County was on of 33 counties awarded a federal grant to help end youth homelessness. The county was given $5.2 million to assist with the issue and help 300-plus homeless youth under the age of 25.

Faced with overgrown vegetation and issues from persistent homeless encampments in Laguna Grande Park, the partners in the joint powers agency that manages the park—Monterey, Seaside, and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District—are stepping up to pay for a trail maintenance strategy and environmental review.

During the pandemic, the city of Salinas ceased “sweeps” of homeless encampments in Chinatown. Now these cleanups have resumed, leaving the homeless with fewer options.

Next to the Salinas Sports Complex is Sherwood Park, where the homeless have gathered in an encampment. On Aug. 9, denizens of the camp were evicted by the city in preparation for the California Rodeo Salinas.

Rita Acosta, author of the bilingual book “Make a Difference” (published in 2020, available on Amazon), talks about the battles she’s fought on behalf of the unhoused—a demographic that she’s been a part of since 2012.

One reason the city of Salinas is doing another sweep of Chinatown’s encampments is to make way for the Lake Street Sewer project. The city sent outreach workers two weeks in advance to inform residents about the upcoming sweep and to sign people up for services.

Governor attaches earmarked monies to budget in what the Merc is calling the “largest state investment in homelessness in U.S. history.”

Despite new shelters opening in Monterey County, more than 2,400 people are estimated to be without homes. Roxanne Wilson, executive director of the Coalition for Homeless Service Provider, says for every 10,000 people in Monterey County, 58 are homeless.

Firefighters are getting busier, and at least some of the reason is due to fires started in homeless encampments. Salinas Fire Chief Michele Vaughn Vaughn says they are predicting between 17,000 to 18,000 calls this year.

At Stand Down events, homeless veterans can get access to a range of services: meals and clothing, medical and dental exams, veterinary services, counseling and expert help with accessing benefits.

A new center being developed by a doctor and a lawyer offers respite—and a little faith-based messaging—to the homeless in the Chinatown area.

With community need greater than ever, the big PVSS fundraiser—its annual Mother’s Day Run & Walk—must be held virtually for the second year in a row.