Santa Cruz County Local News: Homelessness


All Local Homelessness News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

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: Working together with many volunteers, this crew feeds 65,000 people in Santa Cruz County every month.
California’s Oldest Food Bank Pays It Forward

For the food-insecure community in Santa Cruz County, Second Harvest Food Bank feeds the need.

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: Santa Cruz is lucky to have local groups that look beneath the surface of homeless encampments and find ways to help.
Doing the Work

Experts see these organizations as the most effective at fighting homelessness.

Image caption: A city-sanctioned homeless encampment directly adjacent to county government offices and across the San Lorenzo River from the heart of downtown Santa Cruz.
How the City and County Work on the Homelessness Crisis

As the population of unhoused individuals and families in Santa Cruz has exploded, officials from the City of Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz County tackle the issue.

Image caption: 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

The links between homelessness and crime are complex, and the idea that unhoused individuals present a danger to their community seems to be exaggerated.

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07/22/2024
On July 22, the City of Watsonville began clearing a homeless camp adjacent to the Pajaro River levee.

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07/19/2024
Image for display with article titled Homelessness Dips in Santa Cruz, Rises in Watsonville

Homelessness dropped 36% in the City of Santa Cruz and jumped 60% in Watsonville from 2023 to 2024, according to a recent report from the Santa Cruz County Housing for Health Partnership. The number of homeless people living in Capitola and Scotts Valley also increased.

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07/17/2024
In 2021, responding to reports that the state’s homeless shelters were dirty and dangerous, the state Legislature crafted a plan: It would require local governments to inspect their shelters after complaints and file annual reports on shelter conditions.

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07/16/2024
The Supreme Court’s decision on homelessness will test a shelter system that’s full of problems – and lacking accountability.

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07/10/2024
Taking advantage of new state funds, some California healthcare providers are starting to offer what their homeless patients really need: housing.

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07/07/2024
There’s a lot of misinformation floating around out there about homelessness in California. We use data to dispel several common myths.

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07/04/2024
Mayor Fred Keeley says City of Santa Cruz will stay the course of the current strategy, for now.

California Local Pin Marker From The Sacramento Bee...

06/28/2024
The Supreme Court 6-3 ruling in the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson case found that the fining and arresting of homeless people does not violate Eighth Amendment rights.

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06/28/2024
The ruling by the conservative court majority means cities no longer are prohibited from punishing homeless people for camping if they have nowhere else to go.

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06/28/2024
Santa Cruz officials are reviewing homelessness policies in the wake of the US Supreme Court ruling in the Grants Pass v Johnson case.

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06/13/2024
Image for display with article titled Annual Homeless Census Shows Positive Trends, With Bad News

After Santa Cruz County last year saw a drop in the numbers of unhoused people, the numbers this year from the annual Point In Time count conducted in January stayed mostly static.

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06/13/2024
Image for display with article titled How Many Unhoused People Have Found Homes in Santa Cruz County?

There have been about 1,800 to 2,300 unhoused people in Santa Cruz County in recent years, and at least 1,000 people each year have found housing through city, county and nonprofit programs, according to county records.

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06/06/2024
A panel at the CalMatters Ideas Festival debates how to reduce homelessness without punishing poverty. There’s worry about a potential $1 billion cut in state funding.

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06/04/2024
It’s the billion-dollar question. That’s how much cities and other local governments have been receiving from the state each year to deal with California's ever-increasing population of homeless people.

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05/29/2024
A bill to ban homeless encampments statewide near parks, schools and transit hubs failed to get out of the same legislative committee as last year.

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05/23/2024
Image for display with article titled A Call to End Homelessness

Nearly 300 people marched the streets of downtown Santa Cruz May 18 to help end homelessness.

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05/16/2024
A case study of the impact of the California Housing and Community Development's pandemic Project Roomkey program in Santa Cruz County was released.

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05/15/2024
Image for display with article titled Newsom Releases Billions for Mental Health Housing Ahead of Schedule: ‘Time to Deliver’

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.

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05/09/2024
The California Coastal Commission granted a two-year extension to the controversial City of Santa Cruz ban on overnight RV street parking.

California Local Pin Marker From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

05/07/2024
The California Coastal Commission is set to consider an appeal of the City of Santa Cruz ban on overnight parking mandated by the Oversized Vehicle Ordinance.
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