Santa Cruz County Homelessness Digest

In its April 9 meeting, the Watsonville City Council voted to seek contractor bids to clear out a homeless camp from the nearly 2-acre lot on Airport Boulevard.

There’s so little data available, it’s impossible to even tell if several of California’s largest homelessness programs are working, according to a statewide audit released Tuesday.

I thought my journalism and others’ could change policy, perhaps even inspire a New Deal-style response equal to the challenge. Such was my naiveté.

Local homeless and housing rights activist Reggie Meisler filed a challenge to the renewal of the City of Santa Cruz large-vehicle parking ban.

The passage of California Proposition 1 is leaving local mental health and homeless service providers with questions as to the impact in the count.

Legislation would fast-track approval for temporary or relocatable housing on vacant land when local shelter emergencies arise.

Santa Cruz Cares and American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California are among those seeking to overturn Santa Cruz Planning Commission approval in February of the Oversized Vehicle Ordinance.

“Street releases” have resumed after the nonprofit that operated a migrant welcome center announced its “finite resources have been stretched to the limit.”

No issue matters more to Californians than housing and homelessness. Catch up on where the major Senate candidates stand on the subject.

A former children's residential treatment program outside Watsonville is set to be converted into 21 new housing beds for youth by early next year, with the backing of a nearly $3.6 million state grant.

When Gov. Gavin Newsom launched his landmark effort to shelter homeless residents in hotels during COVID, the state and local governments were relying on FEMA to foot much of the bill.

The latest round of federal homelessness response grant funds—at more than $6 million—is set to be distributed across Santa Cruz County to a handful of service providers this year.

California voters this spring are considering a $6.4 billion bond to house people with serious mental health conditions. A similar 2018 ballot measure offers lessons about the obstacles that stand in the way of construction.

After halting services for about four years, a sobering center that county leaders say is a critical boon to the community, local health care providers and law enforcement is back online in Santa Cruz.

The Santa Cruz Planning Commission voted unanimously to renew a controversial RV overnight street-parking ban for at least the coming five years, several months ahead of its expiration.

The annual point-in-time count took place with about 130 volunteers, local officials and homelessness service workers hitting the streets before sunrise to try for the most accurate picture of homelessness in Santa Cruz County possible.

Santa Cruz has handed out more than 200 citations as part of its overnight parking ban, which took effect Dec. 4. City staff say everyone seeking overnight safe parking has been able to access the program, but some remained concerned about the law’s wider implications.

Prop. 1 would funnel more money into housing and treatment for homeless Californians struggling with mental illness and addiction. But it’s far from a one-stop solution.

A multi-year, $750 million California program aimed at doing away with homeless encampments has had mixed results. Local leaders say ongoing funding is needed.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case related to whether cities and towns can ban camping on public property. The high court could overturn Martin v. Boise, a 2018 federal court decision that keeps western cities and counties from blocking public camping when sufficient shelter space is unavailable.

María Vela’s family has lived in East L.A. nearly 30 years, but new owners of her duplex asked her family to vacate by Christmas. Most evictions are due to nonpayment of rent, but owner move-ins also cause family displacement.

Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit new spending is unlikely.

All but two California counties are delaying their implementation of a new law that makes it easier for a court to place someone in involuntary confinement if they can’t care for their own medical needs or personal safety.

Federal judge David O. Carter has declined to dismiss a lawsuit that could force the Veterans Administration to house veterans experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles area. Carter’s 41-page ruling could pave the way for a trial in mid-2024.

County leaders will seek state backing to install “no parking” signs for more than a mile outside Santa Cruz city limits along Highway 9. The move targets a stretch of state highway where vehicle pullouts serve as access points to wooded areas.

San Diego-area nonprofits and faith organizations struggle to provide for tens of thousands of migrants border agents have released on San Diego streets.

In the wake of approximately 24 families facing evictions from a Pajaro apartment complex as the property's owners prepare to work through violations cited by Monterey County, Watsonville-based nonprofit Community Bridges has intervened to assist those families.

Berkeley public works staff and police officers began closing the longstanding encampment along Seventh and Eighth streets in an “imminent health hazard and emergency abatement,” which was ordered to tackle safety concerns.

California’s population of homeless veterans has plateaued despite billions of dollars in state spending to create housing for former service members. Now, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to shift resources to focus on veterans with serious mental health conditions.

Tiny homes are increasingly California cities’ shelter option of choice — but how far they go in solving homelessness is a contentious question.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants counties to spend some revenue from California’s so-called “millionaire’s tax” on the state’s homeless crisis. That alarms advocates for programs that are getting that money today.

Local housing leaders say they are pleased to see Santa Cruz County’s homelessness levels falling, but highlighted deep-rooted issues including food security, not enough shelters, and low wages.