California awards $130 million for just 533 homeless housing units across entire state

"We’ll continue to support local governments who are doing the work to ensure everyone has a place to call home."Photo byDenise JansonUnsplash

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced $130.6 million in Homekey grant awards for nine new projects that will create 533 permanently supportive homes for Californians at risk of or experiencing homelessness. The funding is part of the state's ongoing effort to address homelessness through the Homekey program, which has awarded $3.6 billion since 2020 to support 259 projects across California.

The new grants will fund developments focused on young people, individuals, and families experiencing homelessness. These projects will take place in several locations, including Merced, Richmond, San Francisco, Sebastopol, and the counties of Orange, Riverside, San Mateo, Kern, and Sacramento.

Governor Newsom emphasized the importance of these local partnerships in providing much-needed housing to alleviate homelessness, stating, "We’ll continue to support local governments who are doing the work to ensure everyone has a place to call home."

The Homekey program, originally launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, has evolved from an emergency measure into a comprehensive model for creating affordable housing. The latest round of projects includes hotel and motel conversions, new construction, and modular building approaches. As Homekey funding winds down, the program is set to expand under the new name Homekey+, thanks to the recent approval of Proposition 1, which will fund housing and supportive services for veterans and others at risk of homelessness.

Key projects include a $17 million grant to the Housing Authority of the County of Sacramento for a hotel acquisition that will create 118 permanent supportive homes, and a $29 million grant to the County of Orange for a motel rehabilitation that will provide 76 homes for individuals exiting homelessness.