San Benito County Homelessness Articles

Information provided by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Lea este artículo en español aquí.Expanding California’s unprecedented support for local efforts to create long-term solutions to address homelessness, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that 37 regional grantees representing …

Local Hollister thrift store Worth Saving Mercantile, the anchor for Linda Lampe’s Food Angels program, will be closing its doors next month. The downtown location has served as a haven for homeless and food-insecure people for the last six years.

The Coalition of Homeless Services Providers, in partnership with local governments, community-based organizations, and volunteers, has completed the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count for 2024, says a press release from the coalition. The results indicate an increase in the number of …

Lea este artículo en español aquí.In San Benito County, 621 people live on the streets or in homeless shelters. That is 264 more than in 2022 and 339 more than in 2019, aligning with the upward trend of homelessness in …

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Linda Lampe’s Worth Saving thrift store was supposed to be closed on the day of our interview, but she was otherwise occupied—fixing lunch in the back kitchen for a homeless man. He was one of …

Small, less-expensive readymade homes could buy time as the state continues to struggle with homelessness and high building costs.  By Mark Kreidler, Capital & Main...

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The Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors on July 9 held off on a decision regarding an ordinance that would prohibit homeless encampments along waterways in the water district’s jurisdiction.

Information provided by RedRover. Lea este articulo en español aquí.

California voters narrowly passed Proposition 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s measure to fund mental health housing. He’s prodding counties to use the money quickly.

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

The California housing crisis is not only weakening the state politically at the national level, it could shift the political balance in Washington, D.C., as Republican-led states add population while California’s exodus continues.

A new project in Hollister will provide transitional homes for residents and families who are struggling with homelessness or other housing insecurity, according to the project developer. 

A new bill would make it illegal for homeless residents to camp in certain places, such as near schools, throughout California. Its authors say such a ban has had great success in San Diego. But a closer look at that …

A once-groundbreaking nonprofit working with chronically homeless people in California’s capital closed and filed for bankruptcy in 2023.

In San Mateo County, a new law allows police to charge homeless people with criminal offenses if they don’t accept shelter. SCOTUS will soon weigh in with a potential landmark decision in an Oregon case.

San Francisco provides all tenants facing eviction access to an attorney. Across the Bay, in Contra Costa County, it’s a different story. Two tenants’ stories show the difference a lawyer can make.

California lawmakers made an effort in 2023 to remove red tape around new affordable houses, but obstacles such as high interest rates, sluggish local approval processes and a shortage of skilled construction workers remain.

Jan Bernstein Chargin (right) was instrumental in heading up the Homeless Memorial Day at City Hall in Gilroy on Dec. 21. Photo: Tarmo Hannula
An inaugural ceremony in Gilroy to recognize people that died over the year while unhoused was …