One-Time State Funding for Homelessness, By Zach Friend, Supervisor

FEATURED COLUMNIST

One-Time State Funding for Homelessness

By Zach Friend, Supervisor, Second District

The current State budget included $14 million of one-time funding for the City of Santa Cruz to help people experiencing homelessness within the City.

The funding, provided through advocacy by Senator John Laird, is intended to focus on service collaboration between the City and County on homeless issues and investments in lasting infrastructure to improve outcomes — especially with those experiencing long-term homelessness.

The Board of Supervisors recently received an update on the proposed usage of the one-time funding. Here is an overview of the elements.

Over the course of the last six months or so, the City has worked with County elected officials and staff, community nonprofits and other stakeholders on potential uses for the funding.

One of the key focus points was addressing encampments in the City and working to secure stable housing for individuals experiencing long-term homelessness.

As a result of this work, in March, the Santa Cruz City Council approved a Homelessness Response Action Plan that included proposed uses of this one-time $14 million in state funding. The investments focused on three key elements:

1) expansion of the Coral Street Campus and increasing low-barrier, sheltering capacity (focused on transitioning into longer-term stable housing) 2) Expanding operational capacity in navigation centers to proactively address the needs of those who are unsheltered including working to prevent long-term homelessness for those that are experiencing housing insecurity or need transitional help and 3) a funding pool to support predevelopment for low-barrier interim housing and permanent supportive housing projects.

The primary focus of the funding will be the acquisition of property on Coral Street. This property, located by the current shelter, will allow for an expansion of services next to where many current services are located. One key step in this process is the creation of a master plan for the campus that guide investments and development decisions associated with the new (and existing) properties. These plans will be presented to the Santa Cruz City Council and County Board of Supervisors for review and feedback. According to the report to the Board of Supervisors, future land use changes and entitlements will still be necessary after acceptance of the master plan; however, the plan will help provide a path for upcoming investments — should the ultimate future land use decisions be approved.

The second area of investment will be the creation of a $500,000 predevelopment funding pool to support necessary pre-development work for low-barrier interim housing and permanent supportive housing projects within Santa Cruz County.

The third focus area consists of investments to expand capacity for emergency shelter and safe sleeping for individuals and families. This includes: Additional shelter procurement, funding the shelter operations at the National Guard Armory building and safe-sleeping and safe-parking programs (like those hosted by local faith organizations).

A portion of the $14 million allocation from the state will be used to cover some of these operational costs (for expanding capacity) for a oneyear period. The City is looking at ways to provide continued funding for expansion of these emergency shelter operations.

The County will support these efforts through proactive, street outreach teams working to connect people experiencing homelessness with income, public benefits, health services, shelter, and permanent housing. Additionally, the County will work to help leverage available federal and state funding and resources for this one-time state funding investment to improve stable housing options.

The County will also work to bring additional supportive services to the emergency shelter (and other) locations to help participants develop pathways to permanent housing. n •••

As always, I appreciate your feedback. Please feel free to call me with questions or comments on this or any other County issue at (831) 454-2200.

Editor’s Note: The Point in Time survey of homelessness in Santa Cruz County is scheduled for release in July.

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