San Joaquin County Homelessness Digest

State lawmakers will debate a bill to require annual inspections, new complaint processes and harsher penalties for local governments that don’t file mandatory reports.

A homeless encampment at the Lodi Softball Complex caused the cancellation of practice for the Lodi High softball team at the start of this season. Read on to learn more.

Read on for more information about the recent homeless sweep which resulted in 15 arrests by City of Manteca Police.

The Fremont city council has revised a new city camping ordinance, removing what had become a controversial clause — first reported on by CalMatters — that could have punished those  “aiding and abetting” encampments.

This appears to be the first such injunction since the U.S. Supreme Court let cities crack down on homeless encampments in California and beyond.

RED MEANS FAILURE, green means progress. Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced a new tracker tool this week that shows how local agencies are using state funds to eradicate homelessness and rates their success. The concept is to pool data on grants and reporting so counties can watch other counties; the public can watch state spending; and the governor can make the argument for granting or cutting funds.

It’s been eight months since the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed how cities in California and beyond can respond to homeless encampments, allowing them to clear camps and arrest people for sleeping outside — even when there’s nowhere else to sleep.

While local homeless make up a tiny fraction of the population of Manteca, they are responsible for a third of fires. Read on for details.

California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36, a new law that stiffened penalties for certain drug and theft charges, and pledged to provide “mass treatment” for those facing drug charges.

But since the law took effect, some counties have been scrambling to implement the measure without new funding or, according to people involved in enforcing the law, sufficient resources.

Shelters have become California’s go-to solution for homelessness. A CalMatters investigation finds the vast majority of residents stay homeless.

In their February 19 meeting, the Lodi City Council was given an update about the success of the city emergency shelter in transitioning dozens of homeless individuals to employment, housing and rehab. Read on for details.

Outreach workers in the Bay Area city of Fremont worry the new ordinance could target them, despite assurances from the city.

A partnership with the City of Lodi has been pitched by a resident and retired firefighter paramedic to fund homeless services. Read on to learn more about his plan to reduce the number of homeless individuals on the streets.

The unusual move is alarming activists who worry they could be in the ordinance’s crosshairs.

Jennielynn Holmes stood in the middle of a make-shift evacuation center when the scope of the crisis hit her.

Read on to learn more about the project to develop a homeless navigation center on an 8.1-acre parcel on South Main Street in Manteca.

There are big plans for the 8-acre parcel on South Main in Manteca, including a homeless navigation facility, library and community center and multi-story affordable housing. Read on for details.

In their December 18 meeting, the Lodi City Council approved a camping ban ordinance. Read on to learn about what comes next.

Learn how the City of Lodi and nonprofit partners are preparing to step up efforts to move homeless from encampments into shelter and services with an increased emphasis on accountability.

Gov. Newsom launched an ambitious program that uses Medi-Cal to help Californians access housing, healthy food and more. Now, its fate is in the hands of President-Elect Trump.

In their December 10 meeting, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of a 62-acre former golf course in Stockton, with plans to develop it into a safe caming zone for homeless.

The City of Manteca spends over $600,000 annually for security at the emergency homeless shelter on Industrial Park Drive. Read on to learn more.

Many California cities offer their homeless residents one-way bus tickets to other places.

Learn more about the Quarterra Project, an 818 unit housing development breaking ground in 2025 on a 59-acre parcel at the corner of the 120 Bypass and South Main Street.

The Stockton City Council approved a stricter ban on camping on public property in their November 19 meeting, and declared a local emergency on homelessness. Read on for details as to what that entails.

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors voted to acquire a 62-acre former golf course on North Wilson Way in Stockton and are considering using it for a homeless campground and other county facilities. Read on to learn more.

Weeks in the making, the proposed no-camping ordinance was considered in the November 6 Lodi City Council, and sent back for revisions.

On October 30, the Tracy Rotary presented a donation of $10,000 to support the McHenry House Family Shelter expansion project.

Despite a decrease of 15% compared to the last count in 2022, the number of homeless veterans in Sacramento County remains high.

Homeless Californians face many barriers to casting a ballot, even in elections that affect their lives. Some counties and nonprofits are trying to boost turnout.

Multiple state agencies spent nearly $24 billion on housing and homeless programs in the first five years of Gavin Newsom’s governorship, but the number of people without homes continued to grow, rising by 20% to more than 180,000 in the most recent federal count in 2023.

Homeless service providers are scaling back and taking out loans as they wait for late payments from the government.