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San Benito County Homelessness Articles



Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
Housing for Homeless Families Coming in September

Lea este artículo en español aquí.San Benito County is in the final stretch of completing a 16-unit housing development for homeless families, mostly funded by the state and located at the county-owned Migrant Center. Designed to help ease the county's …

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Homeless Encampment Clearing Begins in April

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Eight months after Gov. Gavin Newsom authorized state agencies to clear homeless encampments, San Benito County is moving forward with a sweep of the camps along the San Benito River west of Hollister. At its …

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Sheriff’s Office Visits Encampments in Riverbed

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Homeless residents have built elaborate living arrangements along the San Benito River, and some of them include underground dwellings and walled communities, according to a recent census conducted by the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office. …

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San Benito/Monterey Awarded $6.2 to Address Homelessness

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 …

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Local Thrift Store and Homeless Resource Closing in November

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.

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San Benito County Homelessness Up Nearly 74%

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 …

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San Benito County’s Homeless Population Grows by 73%

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 …

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Linda Lampe’s Food Angels Relocating to Buena Vista Road

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 …

Sacramento News and Review logo LOCAL NEWS
Prefab Temporary Housing Might Soon Shelter Unhoused Californians

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...

Gilroy Dispatch logo LOCAL NEWS
Valley Water Postpones Decision on Homeless Encampment Ban

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.

Benito Link logo LOCAL NEWS
Community Homeless Solutions Receives Grant Funding

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

Image caption: Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in support of Prop. 1 during a press conference at the United Domestic Workers of America building in San Diego on Feb. 29, 2024. Voters narrowly passed the measure.
Newsom Releases Billions for Mental Health Housing

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.

Image caption: The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here

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.

Image caption: As residents continue to exit California, the state’s political power at the national level is at risk.
Updated: California Exodus, Housing and the State's Political Future

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.

SanBenitocom logo LOCAL NEWS
Nonprofits Collaborate on Transitional Housing Project

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. 

Image caption: The O Lot Safe Sleeping site at Balboa Park in San Diego on March 22, 2024.
Is San Diego Homeless Camp Ban ‘Successful’?

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 …

Image caption: Mark Oden was among the thousands of chronically homeless people helped by Sacramento Self-Help Housing prior to the organization’s failure.
The Collapse of Sacramento Self-Help Housing

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

Image caption: Under a new law, homeless people in San Mateo County can be criminally charged for refusing to move to a shelter.
Should Homelessness be a Crime? New San Mateo County Law Allows Charges

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.

Featured

The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here
The making of Gov. Newsom's 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.