Yolo County Homelessness Digest

“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.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could reshape how cities manage homelessness. The legal issue is whether they can fine or arrest people for sleeping outside if there’s no shelter available.

The LWVDA held a forum encouraging residents to vote against the popular proposition.

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.

Since the start of Homekey, the state has rapidly transformed office spaces, hotels, and other unused buildings into housing, creating more than 15,000 housing units to serve over 163,000 people experiencing homelessness.

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.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling in Coalition on Homelessness v. City of San Francisco, upholding a federal judge’s finding that San Francisco had likely violated the constitutional rights of homeless people.

A former Best Western motel has reopened in downtown Sacramento after being converted into permanent housing for nearly 100 unhoused individuals.

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.

Sacramento County’s second tiny home village, or Safe Stay Community, is set to welcome unhoused residents to South Sacramento starting next week.

Advocates for Sacramento’s unhoused community, along with mayoral candidate Flojaune Cofer, condemned County District Attorney Thien Ho for what they described as his unfair attacks on the city and its unhoused residents.

Organizers of Sacramento County’s next Point-In-Time Count say they need at least 500 volunteers to help survey the region’s homeless population in January. Survey results are used to determine state and federal funding for homeless services.

Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho is adding environmental violations to his lawsuit against the city of Sacramento over what he calls its failure to act regarding the homelessness crisis.

Shortly after Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to deliver 350 tiny homes to Sacramento, local officials said the Cal Expo fairgrounds should house some of the cabin-sized shelters.

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

Officials say they’ll consider applying for some of the $300 million in homeless encampment funds made available this week by Governor Gavin Newsom.
But the program by itself won’t pay cities and counties to remove the vast tent communities that line streets and sidewalks across California.

Fire Chief Jack S. Snyder III shed light on the fire at the Winters Joint Unified School District office warehouse, and Mayor Pro Tempore Albert Vallecillo brought to the table the topic of unhoused individuals, wanting to sketch out some plan.

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.

A piano sits in the middle of a room lined with posters welcoming visitors of the Creation District in Midtown.

After suing to get permission to enter Miller Park Safeground, the Sacramento Homeless Union says it found “health and safety concerns” at the site for the unhoused people placed there by the city.

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.

A cabin-like home that closes and locks. Showers and restrooms onsite. Air-conditioning to survive the summer heat. These are some of the amenities at the county’s first “Safe Stay Community.”

Construction is under way at On Broadway, a new community in North Land Park that promises to add to Sacramento’s affordable housing stock and provide homes for people afflicted with serious mental illness.

Some Sacramento City Council members are putting forward proposals designed to prevent more people from becoming homeless. Councilmember Katie Valenzuela said, “We can't continue to focus just on triaging our homelessness crisis.”