Santa Cruz County Homelessness Articles

From left, Homeless Garden Project participants David Quigley and Doug King cover strawberries for the winter at the project’s farm on Shaffer Road in Santa Cruz. (Eli Ramos — Santa Cruz Local)
SANTA CRUZ >> The Homeless Garden Project’s plans …

The number of Californians facing eviction was relatively low for years during a lengthy statewide moratorium. In the year after it ended, cases soared and still remain high in large counties.

RVs and other vehicles line Delaware Avenue near Swanton Boulevard in Santa Cruz in November. (Jesse Kathan — Santa Cruz Local)
SANTA CRUZ >> Jamie has lived in Santa Cruz County since childhood. She now lives with her two cats …

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

Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County CEO Erica Padilla-Chavez looks at food insecurity as a symptom of an underlying disorder—one that can be cured.

A hotel in Hollywood is receiving more than twice it would get per room by renting to the city of Los Angeles rather than to long-term tenants.

This episode of Talk of the Bay included Megan Whilden, Development Director for Community Human Services who spoke about the overwhelming response the organization has had to the opening of 35 new shelter beds for women and their children. Monterey’s …

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature mental health policies allow the involuntary treatment of more Californians with severe mental illnesses. Some fear the new laws will infringe on the civil liberties of people confined against their will.

Police can’t force homeless people from encampments unless the city in question has “adequate shelter” for those who are displaced, according to courts. Now everyone involved wants to know what “adequate” means.

Edward Lovell Jr. steps out of a small homeless encampment on Airport Boulevard in Watsonville one hot and sunny day with his friendly, frisky mutt Cotton on a leash. Lovell, 43, estimates he is one of about 20 people who …

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s big new experiment to push people with mental illness off the streets and into treatment starts this fall. Counties responsible for the rollout say it may end up being more modest than advertised.

Fewer services, more homeless in South County.

By channeling funds to a number of nonprofits working on various issues in a given region, community foundations help solve big problems throughout California.

Count shows uptick of homelessness in Watsonville.

Renter protections and eviction bans put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic have expired. By keeping them in place, California could slow the spread of homelessness. But that's not happening.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to rethink how California spends its millionaires tax by directing more money toward housing. Some county-run mental health programs could lose out.

The homeless population fell by a third in Texas over the past decade as it surged in California. The cost of living is a big reason Texas is doing a better job at alleviating homelessness.

Fundraising push planned for this year.

Los Angeles’ new homelessness solution is meant to quickly get people out of encampments and into housing—as the city grapples with the state’s largest population of unhoused residents. But the program is struggling to house people and connect them with …