BREAKING NEWS
2022 Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness Supplemental NOFO Resource Series
Published by National Alliance to End Homelessness, June 30, 2022
The 2022 Continuum of Care (CoC) Supplemental Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to Address Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness (FR-6500-N-25S) makes $322 million available to help communities address unsheltered and rural homelessness. This represents an extraordinarily important opportunity to reverse course on punitive tactics, and demonstrate the effectiveness of evidence-based best practices. Read.
OTHER NEWS
2022 Sonoma County Homeless Point-in-Time Count Volunteer Registration Now Open!
Friday, January 28, 2022 is the Sonoma County Point-in-Time (PIT) Street Count for all populations of person’s experiencing homelessness. The Count is a requirement for receiving federal homeless assistance funds and provides critical data used to understand homelessness locally and to support strategic decisions about our program. This year, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, like everything else in our lives, the Point-in-Time (PIT) will look a bit different as we seek to ensure the safety of our volunteers and those experiencing homelessness.
n order to volunteer, we ask that you please sign up with ONLY members of your household/social unit (pod) to ensure everyone’s safety. We are asking that all volunteers for the 2022 PIT Count be vaccinated. Only one member per team (your Route Team Captain) needs to sign up for the event. Read and register
The Bill for My Homelessness Was $54,000
I posed that question to Dennis Culhane, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who has been studying homelessness policy for more than 30 years. Debt incurred during homelessness is “a constant issue that people face,” he told me. Often, these debts include unpaid utility bills, court fees and fines, as well as child support. As a solution, he suggested clinics where the unhoused and those emerging from homelessness can clear their debt all at once, an approach similar to that of bankruptcy. “Otherwise, it’s just going to make it harder for people to survive, and that doesn’t serve anyone,” he said. Read
Groups advocate for Sonoma County residents living in tiny homes, trailers
A Sebastopol woman whose tiny home has been red-tagged by the county for a zoning violation has until Jan. 19 to move or make repairs. One of the violations cited is her use of a composting toilet when hookup to a septic tank, costing thousands, is required. Compost toilets use natural plant material and enzyme activity and are said to be good for the environment, according to Kathleen Finigan, spokesperson for Homeless Action of Santa Rosa.
By Kathleen Coates, Press Democrat, December 20, 2021. Read
Sonoma City Council considers moving safe parking away from Field of Dreams
On any given night, the parking slots next to the Haven on First Street West are filled with 10 cars. It’s the last stop for the 14 homeless individuals who currently rely on the safe parking program that allows registered vehicles to spend up to six months in the lot, between the approved hours of 10 p.m. and 9 a.m.
By Chase Hunter, Sonoma Index-Tribune, December 6, 2021. Read
Caritas Center Homeless Services Project Taking Shape in Santa Rosa
What is set to be Sonoma County’s largest homeless services center is quickly taking shape as construction continues at the site near downtown Santa Rosa. The three-story multiservice shelter will be part of Caritas Village, a city block-sized complex between A and Morgan streets that will also include 128 apartments for low-income renters.
By Ethan Varian, Press Democrat, November 26 2021. Read
Success story: Second phase of Santa Rosa affordable housing project proposed
A proposal to build affordable housing in any neighborhood raises at least some hackles. There’s always those who like the project, but don’t feel it’s right for the area. Or there’s the people who want to do something for poor people but “not here.”
By Kathleen Coates, Press Democrat, November 21, 2021 Read
FAQ on Homelessness in Santa Rosa
Like most Bay Area cities, Santa Rosa is increasingly impacted by the critical issue of homelessness in our community. The City dedicates extensive resources to providing community members who are experiencing homelessness with options to receive shelter, housing, and vital services to help end their homelessness, and to address the community-wide impacts of homelessness on Santa Rosa business districts and neighborhoods. Questions from the community about how this critical issue is being addressed are among the most pressing the City receives, and we’ve provided answers to this, and other frequently asked questions related to homelessness on the City’s website: READ FAQ. October 28, 2021
Sebastopol Takes First Step Toward Overnight Parking Program for Homeless People in RVs
On Wednesday, the City Council unanimously approved a preliminary agreement with Sonoma Applied Village Services, a nonprofit supporting homeless people, to run the pilot program on a city-owned lot at 425 Morris St. for one year.
By Ethan Varian, Press Democrat, October 29, 2021 Read
Seizing a Once In A Lifetime Opportunity To End Homelessness in the US
The choices and the opportunities facing the nation in the economic package now being considered by Congress are unprecedented. Many of them — health, education, family leave, and others — are important. But none will have its intended impact unless the proposals to ensure safe, stable and affordable homes are enacted. A home is the foundation upon which all the other priorities rest.
By Diane Yentel and Jan Roman, The Hill, October 13, 2021 Read
Editorial: San Francisco’s Homelessness Is A Humanitarian Crisis, Not An Unsightly Inconvenience
To hear many residents, city leaders and, too often, The Chronicle’s online comment section, talk about it, San Francisco is no longer a habitable city. It is, instead, merely an archipelago of safe islands floating in an ocean of human feces and hypodermic needles. Homelessness is the cause of this nightmare, and drastic measures must be taken to prevent this once majestic city from further becoming a Boschian hellscape. This focus on the city’s cleanliness, however, isn’t just nakedly hyperbolic (the Tenderloin and other parts of the central city are struggling, but these critiques are hardly relevant citywide), it puts the impetus for action on meeting the need of the housed to feel comfortable and not on those going to the bathroom in the streets for lack of an otherwise safe place to do so.
By the Chronicle Editorial Board, San Francisco Chronicle, November 3, 2021 Read
Trailblazing North Bay Spirit Award winner Annie Falandes helping the homeless, one at a time
By Derek Moore, Press Democrat, September 3, 2021 Read
Sonoma Valley Homeless Have Few Options After Encampment Sweeps
By Chase Hunter, Press Democrat, September 2, 2021 Read
Peach Provides Palliative Care for Homeless and Vulnerably Housed
The program described in the article is an example of what can exist when a country has a functioning public health system. A health problem is identified and the government funds a solution to it. People are treated as if their health and quality of life matter. This article is also important because it encourages health professionals to be political – a lesson more health professionals in the United States need to heed.
By Tracey Tong, Popular Resistance, August 9, 2021 Read
When A Homeless Encampment Was Cleared, No One Went To a Shelter. The Reasons Are Complicated
By Daniel Wu, Seattle Times, August 29, 2021 Read
Hidden Nashville
Through photography and warm meals, Susan Adcock builds relationships with Nashville’s homeless population. She’s trying to work herself out of a job.
By Jennifer Justus, Bitter Southerner, August 10, 2021 Read
Homes — Not “Sanctioned Encampments” — Are the Solution to Homelessness
The crisis of homelessness, already disastrous before March 2020, has been aggravated by the widespread unemployment, evictions and shelter closures resulting from the pandemic.
By Tyler Walicek, Truthout, August 2, 2021 Read
Windsor Police Officer Gives Shoes to Homeless Man
A Windsor police officer was spotted giving shoes to a man who is homeless Thursday, July 29, 2021. The officer’s act of kindness is being praised on social media.
By Elissa Chudwin, Press Democrat, July 30, 2021 Read
Becoming Homeless in Seattle Helped Him Find Psychiatric Help. His Mom Says It Shouldn’t Have Taken That Long
“The irony is it’s the very nature of the condition that people tend to think that there’s nothing wrong with them or that there’s something wrong with everybody else,” said Angela Kimball, National Director of Advocacy and Public Policy for NAMI. It’s known as “anosognosia,” and it’s one of the most common reasons why people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder stop taking their medications.
By Anna Patrick, Seattle Times, July 25, 2021 Read
Los Angeles Goes to War With Itself Over Homelessness
By Jaime Lowe, New York Times, July 21, 2021 Read
Gov. Newsom in Sebastopol to Spotlight $12 Billion in State Aid for Homeless Services, Housing
Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Sebastopol Monday morning to tout a $12 billion package to combat homelessness across the state — highlighting Sonoma County’s purchase of the Sebastopol Inn to permanently house homeless people as an example of the kind of effort the new funding will support.
By Ethan Varian, Press Democrat, July 20, 2021 Read
A Crisis Decades in the Making: Disability Housing Policy and COVID-19
By Katelyn Li, Harvard Political Review, July 19, 2021
“We have to build general public understanding around these issues, because it can’t just be the disability community that’s screaming for a big investment that we’re going to need,” Jorwic said. “It has to be everyone to see the value of that — all voters.” Read
Free Webinar: Strategies and Innovations for Preventing and Addressing Homelessness
Organized by PopHLC (Population Health Learning Collaborative as part of the Housing Solution Summit series on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, 12 – 1 pm (PDT). This webinar introduces a game-changing strategy map template for preventing and addressing homelessness—with an emphasis on helping the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people who may be pushed into homelessness for the first time in their lives—as a result of economic circumstances, not mental health problems or addiction. Details and Register
Op-ed: Sonoma County’s Homelessness Ain’t Got No Home in This World Anymore
By Will Shonbrun, Sonoma County Gazette, June 8, 2021
… what do you mean OUR homeless, I didn’t make them homeless. They’re not my responsibility… But as a society of people that has chosen civilization, its laws and its accepted behaviors, and therefore we have shared responsibilities in its upkeep and maintenance, when we have people living on our streets, roughly 580,000 in our country, it’s clearly obvious something is amiss in our world. Read
Learn How To Help the Unsheltered Receive Their Stimulus Payments
Angel Resource Connection is a service nonprofit to assist unsheltered individuals secure housing and while providing meals, clothes, hygiene kits, and winter survival backpacks. Due to COVID, ARC also helps the homeless receive their stimulus checks via filing 2020 taxes – they work to overcome significant barriers; no mailing address, email address, phone, & lost ID. They have provided a How-to Guide on their website. [Read]
Bay Area Homelessness Could Be Solved With $11.8 Billion, Says New Report
By Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle, June 3, 2021 [Read]
Bay Area Impact: New Urgency, New Solutions – 2021 Homelessness Report Release
Published by the Bay Area council Economic Institute on June 3, 2021
Video recording (57 mins) of a webinar previews the release of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute’s second report on homelessness in the Bay Area. It also features a panel discussion. The report analyzes the latest data on housing and homelessness across the U.S. to uncover where the Bay Area is failing compared to its peer regions, particularly those with shelter mandate policies, also known as right-to-shelter laws. The report comes as state officials debate proposals to invest between $12 and $20 billion to fight homelessness, the Biden Administration considers broad new resources for affordable housing and the Bay Area continues to grapple with one of the largest homeless populations in the U.S. [Watch]
Federal Funding to Pay for Tiny Homes Village in Kansas City
By Bianca Beltrán, KMBC9, May 24, 2021
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has allocated $8.3 million to Kansas City to help address issues related to homelessness. Some of that money will be used to pay for 140 beds in the city’s proposed tiny home village initiative. [Read]
Virtual Tour of Lantana Homes to Celebrate Affordable Housing Month
May 26, 2021. The City of Santa Rosa, Burbank Housing, and Generation Housing featured a guided video tour of homes available to income-eligible buyers in Sonoma County, as well as information on how to apply, how the project came about, and the future of affordable homeownership locally. [Watch]
Learn more about the Housing Element, the most important local housing policy you may have never heard of referenced in the event here.
Check Burbank Housing’s affordable homeownership application and get your name on the interest list to receive more information here or call this number (707)890-6383.
How a California Community Could Help Address the Nationwide Housing Crisis
NBC News, May 24, 2021
A group of 300 formerly homeless people in Oakland, California, have built a community on unused state land, which advocates say could help address the nationwide housing crisis. NBC News’ Jake Ward takes a look inside Cob on Wood and explains how the community could be a model for others like it. [Watch]
Who Makes Up Sonoma County’s Homeless Population?
Press Democrat, May 18, 2021 [Read]
Santa Rosa Council to Discuss Expanding Safe Parking Program for Homeless Residents
By Ethan Varian, Press Democrat, May 17, 2021 [Read]
Sonoma County Will House Vulnerable Homeless in Windsor Holiday Inn
By Bill Swindell, Press Democrat, May 12, 2021
The hotel will have room for up to 90 individuals over age 65 who have not been diagnosed with the highly contagious virus, but are considered at high risk of serious health complications if they contract it. [Read]
Authorities Clear Homeless Camp Near Downtown Santa Rosa in Latest Sweep
By Austin Murphy, Press Democrat, May 11, 2021 [Read]
Another Tiny Home Village Is Opening to House Homeless People I North Hollywood
By Sarah Biren, Tiffy Taffy, May 7, 2021 [Read]
Is This Coastal Tiny House Community the Ideal Lifestyle?
Tiny Tranquility is a Tiny House Community located on the central Oregon coast with full-time 38 Tiny Home residents. Also on the property is a community green house, living room, game room, large shared kitchen, and more! The beach is only 5 minutes away, and the community also offers unique nightly rentals, such as vintage trailers. [Read more] [Watch video]
Notice of Funding Availability: CDBG & HOME for Capital Projects FY 2021-2022
The CDC requests applications for eligible capital and affordable housing projects, and housing programs to receive funding from the following sources:
– Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) – FY 2021-2022: $1,460,906
– HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) – FY 2021-2022: $660,323
All housing and capital development proposals must be submitted to the Community Development Commission by 3 pm on June 11th, 2021. Read details HERE.
Oakland: Why the City May Shut Down This Unusual Housing Solution
By Marisa Kendal, Mercury News, April 26, 2021 [Read]
He Went From Yale to Wall Street to Homelessness. Now He’s Rising Back Up
By Steve Lopez, LA Times, April 27, 2021 [Read]
The High Cost of Clearing Tent Cities
By Kriston Capps, Bloomberg News, April 12, 2021 [Read]
The Sonoma County Town That Embraced Its Tent City
By Angela Hart, SF Gate, April 11, 2021 [Read]
No Address, No ID, and Struggling to Get Their Stimulus Checks
By Amy Newman, New York Times, April 5, 2021 [Read]
Homeless Policy of the Biden Administration
Webinar presented by the National Alliance to End Homelessness held on January 28, 2021. [58 minutes]
President Joe Biden made detailed commitments on housing and homelessness. when campaigning for the White House. Since his election, Biden has included homelessness and housing proposals in his COVID relief package, with more announcements expected soon.
In this webinar, Alliance policy experts provide an in-depth analysis of what comes next on federal homeless policy.
Speakers:
– Chandra Crawford, Director, Individual Homeless Adults
– Jerry Jones, National Field Director
– Steve Berg, Vice President for Programs and Policy
[Watch]
Sonoma County News and Budget Hearings
This morning, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors announced their decisions during closed sessions last Friday, Apr 23. They gave authority to the County Administrator to oversee the Health Services and Community Development Departments, and to select interim Executive Directors for each. Recruitment and selection of permanent Directors will also begin under her guidance.
There are also three days of County budget hearings beginning today. More information is posted on the Voices on Homelessness Blog (https://voicesonhomelessness.blogspot.com/), and on the Bulletin Board – Events page at Homeless Action’s website (https://homelessaction.net/events-2/?pno=2).
Additionally, the Santa Rosa Housing Authority meets at 1:30 pm today (April 26) to adopt their FY 21-22 budget (file:///Users/gfearon/Downloads/Agenda%20-%202021-04-26T084408.210.pdf).
On Wednesday, from 1-5pm, the Sonoma County Continuum of Care Board meets (https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/CDC/Homeless-Services/Continuum-of-Care/Board/Calendar/Board-Meeting-April-28-2021/).
Fair Housing Virtual Conference 2021
Riding the Wave of Change: Advancing Fair Housing and Equity in a New Era
Thu, April 29, 2021, 9:30 am – 1:30 pm (PDT)
The conference features presenters who will explore how we can best promote affirmative policies to advance fair housing and racial equity. The event will bring together community members, non-profits, advocates, real estate professionals, and municipal leaders and staff to address pressing fair housing issues affecting communities in the Bay Area and strategies to re-energize fair housing initiatives, including affirmatively furthering fair housing.
Register at: http://www.fairhousingnorcal.org/fairhousingconference2021.html
General Admission: $20 per person
Pre-registration is required. Scholarships are available upon request.
Upcoming Sonoma County and Santa Rosa Meetings for the Public
Monday, April 26, 2021, 1:30pm, Santa Rosa Housing Authority
Members of the public can participate in the meeting by visiting
HTTPS://SRCITY-ORG.ZOOM.US/J/97869424280 or by dailing 888-475-4499 (Toll Free) and enter webinar ID: 978-692-4280
Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 8:30 – Sonoma County Budget Hearings, Community Development Department & Health Services
Participate by computer, tablet, or smartphone application:
Go to: https://sonomacounty.zoom.us/j/95662757736?pwd=ZmVGZkFsOXJzNE9iM2FBMzJid0p6UT09.
Enter meeting ID: 956 6275 7736
Enter Password: 241274. Participate by phone: Dial +1 (669) 900 9128. Enter meeting ID: 956 6275 7736. Enter password: 241274
Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 1-5pm, Continuum of Care Zoom Webinar
Join Meeting https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/CDC/Homeless-Services/Continuum-of-Care/Board/Calendar/Board-Meeting-April-28-2021/
Settlement Reached in Groundbreaking Martin v. Boise Case
Parties reach historic agreement that prevents people experiencing homelessness from being cited or arrested for sleeping outdoors when no shelter is available. Press release by National Homelessness Law Center, February 8, 2021. [Read]
A joint press release with the City of Boise can be found Here.
Homeless Man Gets To Live in a 3D-Printed Tiny Home
By Liucija Adomaite and Austéja Akavickaité, Bored Panda, March 29, 2021 [Read]
Victoria’s ‘Big Idea’ Pays Off in Housing for People in Need
By Lindsay Kines, Popular Resistance, March 29, 2021 [Read]
Driver Pleads Not guilty in Killing Of 3 Homeless People
Press Democrat, March 24, 2021 [Read]
Seattle’s First Hotel for Homeless People Opens Downtown Wednesday
By Scott Greenstone, Seattle Times, March 24, 2021 [Read]
Officers Rule Fatal Crash Into Santa Rosa Homeless Encampment Deliberate Attack
Will Schmitt and Andrew Graham, Press Democrat, March 24, 2021 [Read]
Woman Killed After Car Plows Into Santa Rosa Homeless Encampment
Nashelly Chavez, Press Democrat, March 23, 2021 [Read]
Crackdown at Echo Park Homeless Encampment Begins as LAPD Moves In, Clashes With Protesters
By Benjamin Oreskes, Doug Smith, Matthew Ormseth, James Queally, and Kevin Rector, March 24, 2021 [Read]
Letter from LA: The Homeless Are Internal Refugees – Vitims On The Run From Neoliberalism
By Yasha Levine, Immigrants As A Weapon, March 24, 2021 [Read]
Joe Rodota Trail Closed to Clear New Homeless Encampment West of Santa Rosa
By Will Schmitt, Press Democrat, February 23, 2021 [Read]
At Denny Park, Seattle Is Quietly Trying to Remove Homeless Encampment Without Police
By Scott Greenstone, Seattle Times, March 3, 2021 [Read]
Homebase
Read about this organization based in San Francisco with a mission “to build community capacity to end homelessness and reduce poverty, and to foster thriving, inclusive communities. We support communities and agencies in establishing the systems and programs needed to help people who are homeless or at-risk achieve housing stability, improve health and wellness, maximize economic self-sufficiency, and reclaim their dignity. [Read about it on the Homeless Action! website]
Welcoming Home’s First Sonoma County Project
On Saturday, Jan 30th, the Sonoma County community came together to fully furnish and equip the homes of two formerly homeless families.
About four years ago, Daniella’s home was destroyed by fire. She then lived in a hotel with her children for three long years, unable to find another place to live. Finally, she was able to find a place in a women’s shelter and just last month was able to move into her own apartment. Gabriella, Emilio and their young child escaped a threat of grave harm and lived in their car and parking lots for the last several months. They traveled hundreds of miles before stopping in Sonoma County, where they found room in a shelter and then, finally, an apartment of their own.
For more details of the project and a glimpse of what the apartments looked like before and after, go to the Welcoming Home webpage. [Read]
Their next project in Sonoma County will be on March 27th. Email them if you are interested in helping out.
SF pays $61,000 a year for one tent in a site to shelter the homeless. Why?
By Trisha Thadani, San Francisco Chronicle, March 4, 2021 [Read]
Up to 18 US states haven’t prioritized Covid vaccines for homeless, study finds
By Hallie Golden, The Guardian, March 3, 2021 [Read]
Homeless Living in Vehicles, Screwed Again
By Tony Butka, City Watch, February 18, 2021 [Read]
Alex Trebek’s TV Wardrobe Was Just Donated to Men Who Are Homeless or Leaving Jail
By Cathy Free, Washington Post, February 18, 2021 [Read]
Formerly Homeless Oakland Man Leads Project to Clean Up Encampments
By Sharon Chin, KPIX5, February 17, 2021 [Read]
Seattle Developer to Sell Upscale, Just-finished Capital Hill Apartments for Low-income Housing
By Heidi Groover, Seattle Times, February 17, 2021 [Read]
‘We have to stop all this infighting’: Seattle’s former homelessness director on why we spend so much without a fix
By Scott Greenstone, Seattle Times, February 15, 2021 [Read]
California Needs a 10-year Roadmap to Housing Affordability and to End Homelessness
Calmatters, February 12, 2021 [Read]
LA Is Taking On Homelessness With a New, Brightly Colored Tiny Home Village
By Lucy Wang, Dwell, February 9, 2021 [Read]
Seattle Group Takes Housing Crisis Into Its Own Hands, Buys a House for Queer and Transgender People of Color
By Naomi Ishisaka, Seattle Times, February 1, 2021 [Read]
How New Solar Power Projects Support the Homeless
By Yves Smith, Naked Capitalism, January 30, 2021 [Read]
Austin Will Use Money Cut From Police Budget for Supportive Housing
Meg O’Connor, Popular Resistance, January 29, 2021 [Read]
How Many Americans Are Homeless? No One Knows.
But more cities are carefully tracking these population – and making progress in addressing the problem.
New York Times Editorial Board, January 28, 2021 [Read]
A Washington Company is Creating $5,000 Prefab Tiny Homes That Can Be Setup in 30 Minutes to Help Solve the Homeless Crisis
By Brittany Chang, Business Insider, January 24, 2021 [Read]
Homeless Encampment Evictions Highlight the Cruelty of Capitalism
By Azeezah Kanji, Popular Resistance, January 18, 2021 [Read]
This California City Just Ended Chronic Homelessness
Fast Company, January 6, 2021 [Read]
Homeless Man Runs Into Burning animal shelter in Atlanta to Save Dogs and Cats
By Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, December 29 2020 [Read]
Sonoma County Homeless Data Library
Long-time Sonoma County homeless advocate Gregory Fearon has put together a Sonoma County Homeless Data Library online where he collects and publishes his Public Records Act Request Information from federal, state, and local government. This is an important information resource for those who want to understand the situation and find solutions for homelessness in Sonoma County. [Read]
Spike in COVID-19 Found At Renton Homeless Hotel As King County Homeless Cases Rise
By Scott Greenstone, Seattle Times, December 29, 2020
Since mid-December, 30 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at a hotel housing more than 200 homeless people in Renton, according to Public Health — Seattle & King County.
Webinar Recording Available – Preparing for the Coming Eviction Crisis: How Communities Can Prevent Eviction & Homelessness During COVID-19
Recorded on Wed, January 6, 2021, 10 am PT
In this webinar hosted by Andrae Bailey, Founder & CEO of Rethinking Homelessness, you can learn how your community can use groundbreaking research and innovative new strategies to prevent widespread eviction and homelessness during the unprecedented eviction crisis facing your region today. [Read more]
Fundraising for Cob of Wood Community Kitchen and Healing Space for the Homeless in Oakland
Our local hero “Sir Cobalot” Miguel Elliott is building a community kitchen and healing space for the homeless in West Oakland with Far Away Projects. The project began on December 10th. He needs your support to continue. Watch the video for details of the project. Please donate 
Homeless Mortality Data Toolkit Published
The experience of homelessness has well-documented long-term consequences on health and well-being. However, due to a lack of national review or standardized data collection for homeless mortality, it is difficult to calculate the extent that homelessness is killing people.
In 2019, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council initiated the Homeless Mortality Data Workgroup to unite expertise on homeless mortality reviews across the county. The workgroup includes researchers, advocates, public health department officials, health center leaders, clinicians, government officials, and communities involved in homeless mortality reviews. The group is charged with sharing best practices on how localities carry out homeless mortality work, discussing how to best organize mortality data reports, and planning advocacy work that can be carried out with, and on behalf of, homeless mortality data. [Read]
As Millions of People Face Evictions, Here Is How People are Fighting Back
By Margaret Flowers, Clear the Fog Podcast, Popular Resistance, December 14, 2020
Margaret spoke with two people about what is being done in their communities. They provide examples for others in similar situations. Joey Lankowski is with Food Not Bombs Las Vegas. They are building tiny home communities to keep people sheltered and physically separated when they have nowhere else to go. Then she spoke with William X Nietzsche whose family was victimized by predatory lending practices about what they are doing to keep their home. Many people in the community have rallied around them, building an eviction defense camp around their house. [Read]
Judge Issues New Ruling on Santa Rosa Homeless Sweeps Ahead of Key Court Deadline
By Will Schmitt, Press Democrat, December 12, 2020
If a Santa Rosa police officer tells a homeless person camped on the sidewalk or in a public park to move along, does that count as “enforcement“? Santa Rosa and local homeless advocates stand on opposite sides of that question, and a federal judge gave them an answer last Friday. His guidance, essentially: Sometimes, but not always. [Read]
Reimagining How We House the Homeless Beyond the Shelter Model
By Daniel Malone, Seattle Times, December 11, 2020
A congregate shelter environment can be deeply stressful for people already living with immense personal suffering and uncertainty. It’s also a perfect environment for a virus to spread. [Read]
Indigenous-Led Patrol Keeps Peace, Assists People in Inner City
By Chad Powson, Popular Resistance, December 7, 2020
The Sweet Grass Clan patrol was launched last summer through the Aboriginal Front Door Society at Hastings and Main Streets. It aims to establish a community-based, Indigenous-led patrol much like Winnipeg’s Bear Clan patrol, which started small but is now a major presence keeping the peace and assisting residents in inner-city communities. [Read]
What Lessons Can Be Learned From Project Roomkey?
By Shannon McConville, Public Policy Institute of California, December 4, 2020
To date, Project Roomkey has provided a hotel room to more than 22,000 people. Governor Newsom recently announced an additional $62 million in one-time state funds to continue the program over the winter, given the current surge in COVID-19 cases. Though Project Roomkey was conceived as a short-term emergency measure, evaluating its impact and that of its successor, Project Homekey, could shed light on long-term strategies for tackling California’s homelessness crisis. [Read]
The Living Room Pivots From Shelter to Food
By Ursa Born, Made Local Magazine, December 1, 2020
The Living Room is a day shelter for women and children from Sonoma County who are experiencing homelessness. Once this courtyard was a bustling common area filled with women and playful children. But since COVID, the courtyard has remained mostly empty, as have the outbuildings where classes were held, laundry was washed, showers were luxuriated in, and naps were taken in large comfy barcaloungers—sometimes the only safe, solid rest these women would get. [Read]
After Months of Tension Managing Growing Homeless Population, Petaluma Getting More Shelter Resources
By Yousef Baig, Press Democrat, November 30, 2020
The homeless population in Petaluma, Sonoma County’s second-largest city with about 62,000 residents, is growing, according to the latest census figures released last week. In recent years, in the absence of preventive measures, most government contact has been some form of police enforcement. Over the past month, that reality has inflamed tensions between activists and Petaluma officials after evictions were carried out at Steamer Landing Park, and at least four homeless individuals filed claims against the city. [Read]
Santa Rosa Apartment Project Moves Forward at Former Water Agency Site
By Will Schmitt, Press Democrat, November 26, 2020
An abandoned government office complex is finally set to make way for affordable housing on West College Avenue in Santa Rosa, where a $60 million apartment project is advancing after years of development setbacks. [Read]
Sonoma County Releases Homeless Count as Economic Crisis Drags On
By Will Carruthers, Bohemian, September 25, 2020
On the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 17, Santa Rosa police officers accompanied a private security company in the latest sweep of an encampment within the city limits. All told, an estimated 60 to 80 individuals were removed from a private property owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, a private company, local press and homeless advocates reported. [Read]
Oakland Tiny Home Village for Homeless Youth Nears Completion
By Tessa McLean, San Francisco Gate, September 25, 2020
Formerly a decrepit parking lot, this artistic display will soon be the nation’s first tiny home village for youth, as it’s finally set to be completed in December. After delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic (it was originally scheduled to open in July 2020), the project will provide shelter to 26 homeless youth.
Sonoma County Awarded $6 Million State Grant to Buy Sebastopol Inn
By Tyler Silvy, Press Democrat, November 24, 2020
State housing officials have awarded Sonoma County $6.2 million to purchase the Sebastopol Inn for homeless housing, marking the second state-aided purchase of local lodging property in recent months to expand the supply of long-term shelter options.
New York Sued Over Homeless Shelters’ Internet Gap for Remote School
By Barbara Goldberg, Thomson Reuters Foundation News, November 24, 2020
Homeless families and legal advocates sued New York City on Tuesday, claiming a gap in reliable Internet service to 27 homeless shelters where thousands of students were struggling with remote schooling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Doors of Change Upcoming Symposium on Homeless Youth
KUSI, November 14, 2020
A Symposium on Homeless Youth will be held via Zoom on Tue, December 1, 2020 named “From Invisible to Invincible: Success Stories of Homeless Youth” – Ex Homeless Youth that are now a Doctor, Lawyer, Nurse, and Law Student! Register to symposium HERE.
There Are Enough Homeless Students in California to Fill Dodger Stadium 5 Times, Study Says
By Zoe Christen Jones, CBS, October 22, 2020
Well-known Seattle Homeless Shelter, Closed by the Pandemic, Might Never Reopen. Here’s What Will Replace It
By Scott Greenstone, Seattle Times, November 21, 2020
Virus Swells Montreal’s Homeless Camps As Winter Comes
By Jacques Lemieux, Yahoo News, November 21, 2020
Homeless Families Who Occupied Vacant El Sereno Homes Will Now Move Into Them Legally
By Zoie Matthew, LAist, November 16, 2020
“It is terrifyinig to face the reality that people with a full-time job have to have a home inside a tent.”
By Kenneth Dickerman, Washington Post, November 1,6 2020
Houseless Camp: “It’s A Sovereign Place”
By Stewart Huntington, Popular Resistance, November 15, 2020
California’s Roadmap HOME 2030
California’s Roadmap HOME 2030 is an initiative to develop and implement a “Marshall Plan” for statewide housing and homelessness solutions. This 10-year policy blueprint will illustrate how, with the right solutions and the will, we can create a California with homes for all. [Read and sign up for updates]
In Conversation with Richard Rothstein, Author of The Color of Law
This is a webinar recording on November 13, 2020 of a talk by Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America is now available. [Watch webinar]
How Santa Rosa Residents Want to Spend the $95 Million from PG&E Wildfire Settlement
By Will Schmitt, Press Democrat, November 12, 2020
Overall, jump-starting affordable housing projects with incentives, repairing roads outside the fire zone and building new parks or fields were among the lowest priorities for respondents. And while about half of survey respondents agreed with using the money on homeless services, that option attracted the highest percentage of negative feedback in the form of people who indicated strong disagreement. The variety of priorities among the Santa Rosa community was reflected in suggestions such as affordable housing projects, mental health services and addressing racism. Some expressed support for spending the settlement money to create sanctuaries for people experiencing homelessness, while others suggested buying homeless people a bus ticket out of town.
City of Santa Rosa Wants Your Feedback!
To help evaluate the Safe Social Distancing Program in the Finley parking lot, the City of Santa Rosa will host a Virtual Community Meeting at 6 p.m. on December 7 to get feedback from neighbors and park patrons. This will be a chance to share your thoughts on the overall operation of the program. Zoom participation information for the meeting will be available soon from the City website HERE.
Unhoused Community Forms Tenants Union
By Jenn Schreiter, Popular Resistance, November 13, 2020
A tenants union was formed this past weekend by unhoused community members who have been living at the Extended Stay America hotel in Bloomington, MN. After a deal for Hennepin County to purchase the building unexpectedly fell through, residents say they are standing up for their rights as tenants.
Andrew Hening Anchor
This California Company Leases Backyards for 99 Years to Build Tiny Homes and Rent Them At Affordable Rates to Fight the Housing Crisis
By Mary Meisenzahl, Business Insider, November 14, 2020
OBY is a housing company that says it can fight climate change and the lack of affordable housing in California at the same time, using tiny homes. The model is that OBY, or “Our Backyard,” rents a backyard in the East Bay for 99 years. On that space, it builds a tiny home, which is rented out at below market rate. The homeowners make $500 per month in income, while OBY agrees to take on any maintenance on the homes and finds tenants.
Los Guilicos Residents Move Back to East Santa Rosa Homeless Shelter Following Glass Fire
By Tyler Silvy, Press Democrat, November 9 2020
In the aftermath of the 67,000-acre Glass fire, which destroyed more than 1,500 structures, including four tiny homes at Los Guilicos, the residents had been displaced, scattered into a variety of living quarters during the past six weeks. Six found permanent housing. At least one relapsed into alcohol addiction. But more than 50 came home Monday as forecast of rain is on the horizon.
A “Common Ground” Strategy to Save Our Economy is written by Bill Barberg, President & Founder of Insight Formation, Inc. who has been responsible for organizing housing summits for solutions to the homeless Crisis all over the country. The next event he is organizing is the SOLUTION SUMMIT for the Housing Crisis on Nov 17-19.
This article explains his conviction that a “common ground” goal of good economic policy is to grow a solid, self-sufficient, and thriving middle class that generates economic value, lifting everyone in our nation. His goal is to reduce disparities, enhance quality of life in all types of neighborhoods, and help our nation grow stronger economically, offsetting the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, and investing in our future. [Read]
Sonoma County Supervisors Poised To Give Final Approval For Purchase of Hotels in Santa Rosa, Sebastopol to Shelter Homeless
By Tyler Silvy, Press Democrat, November 8, 2020
Sonoma County is poised to spend more than $18 million to acquire Hotel Azura in downtown Santa Rosa and the Sebastopol Inn. While the Board of Supervisors is set to authorize the acquisition of both hotels Tuesday, the Sebastopol Inn deal will remain on hold indefinitely until the county obtains state funding to complete the purchase.
Measure P: Voters Overshelmingly Approve More Power for Sheriff’s Watchdog
By Nashelly Chavez, Press Democrat, November 4, 2020
Sonoma County voters handed a landslide win to advocates of greater civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Office, expanding the powers and funding of the independent law enforcement auditor during a time of national reckoning over police accountability.
Homelessness: Who Is It Hurting the Most?
By ABC7, November 3, 2020
Depending on where you live in the United States, homelessness can seem like a never-ending problem or an issue that gets blown out of proportion. Geography does significantly affect homelessness, but race, gender, and what someone has done in their past life also play important roles.
2018 AHAR: Part 2 – PIT Estimates of Homelessness in the U.S.
Published by the U.S, Department of Housing and Urban Development, September 2020.
The 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR): Part 2 presents the most recent national estimates of homelessness, focusing on people who experience homelessness as individuals, as family members, and as members of specific subpopulations. For each of these populations, the estimates describe how homelessness has changed over time and provide a demographic profile of homelessness in America. [Read]
Highlights:
ALL POPULATIONS
- 1,446,000 utilized homeless housing facilities during in 2018
- 945,000 single adults and 501,000 persons in families (approximately 310,000 children)
- 84.8% involed one adult households compared to 32.5% of US population
- 98.8 of adult-only households were single adult households
- 70% of one adult households are male, 30% are female.
- 206,981 (18.2%) have a chronic pattern of homelessness
- 29.7% of single adults exited to PH including family/friends
- 62.3% of families exited to PH including family/friends
- 396,072 persons living in PSH (66% one-adult households, 34% families)
VETERAN HIGHLIGHTS
- 105,820 (9.5% of heads) were military veterans
- 22% report a history of chronic homelessness
- 60,092 veterans and 88,392 total persons served by VA SSVF program
This report is the second part of a two-part series. The first part is called 2018 AHAR: Part 1 – PIT Estimates of Homelessness in the U.S.
First-Grader Starts Foundation to Feed the Homeless
By Mike Bush, KSDK, November 2, 2020
At first glance, Paris Williams is just like any other first grader. “Paris is very outgoing, she’s very caring. She likes to be involved in different activities,” explains her mom Alicia Marshall. But how many 6 year olds do you know that have their own charitable foundation?
Helping The Homeless Along River Street
By Cory Lum Honolulu Civil Beat, November 1, 2020
The medical team from the Hawaii Health and Harm Reduction Center is well known among the people who congregate around River Street weekday mornings in Honolulu. Twice a week the nurses tend to wounds, administer flu shots, and order medical prescriptions for Honolulu’s homeless. Since April, the mobile H3RC Wound Clinic has assisted nearly 200 people 600 times.
Homelessness Continues to Significantly Increase in California According to January 2020 Homeless Counts
By Joe Colletti, PhD, Hub for Urban Initiatives, Homeless and Housing Strategies for California, October 2020
Newport Beach Developer Seeking to Buy Sonoma County’s Chanate Road Property Quiet About Development Plans
By Tyler Silvy, Press Democrat, October 26, 2020
As expected, Sonoma County sold this property to the highest bidder which has no plan for development while we desperately need affordable housing in Sonoma County.
A Walk To Remember
Today, under a cool and grey sky, some 30 people came together to remember those who died while living outside here in Sonoma County. Arranged on four tables around a tree in Olive Park were photos of 38 men and women, elegantly displayed with flowers and candles. “These are 
essential lives and essential memories,” said Natalie Hogan, a healthcare worker. “By honoring them, we are making a stand for change.” For more photos of the event, click HERE.
Olive Park Memorial Honors Sonoma County’s Unhoused Residents Who Have Died
By will Corruthers, Bohemian, October 27, 2020
The event, titled “A Walk to Remember for Those Gone But Not Forgotten,” was organized by members of Sonoma Acts of Kindness, the Squeaky Wheel Bicycle Coalition, Mask Sonoma, Homeless Action!, the North Bay Organizing Project (NBOP), and Health Professionals for Equality and Community Empowerment (H-PEACE) with input from people living on the streets throughout the process. [Read]
Kingwood Students Build Tiny Homes to Help Homeless Veterans
By Matt Dougherty, 12 News, October 26, 2020
High school students in Kingwood are using nails and hammers to help veterans. The teens unveiled their second tiny home Monday they have built for a homeless vet. “I’ve been working on this house for two years,” C.J. Schoettlin, a student at Kingwood Park High School, said. In only 209-square-feet, students were able to fit all the essentials: a bed, dining table and chairs and cabinets. [Read] [Watch video]
We’re Not Doing Enough to Help the Homeless
By Nic Cochran, The Intelligencer, October 24, 2020
What are the main issues keeping people from obtaining permanent housing? Mental health issues, especially substance use disorder (SUD) and developmental/learning disabilities. What is our community as a whole doing to create a lasting and stable solution for our neighbors on the street? Nothing. Increasing rents, lack of access to mental health facilities and treatment for SUD, and poor-paying jobs are all barriers. [Read]
Homeless Community Finds, Returns Boy’s Stolen Bike
By Jennifer Dowling, KOIN, October 23, 2020
A homeless man stole a bike from a boy. The family canvassed nearby homeless camps. The campers they talked to said stealing something from a child was crossing a line. They promised the family they would find Will’s bike and bring it back within 24 hours. And they kept that promise. [Read]
Sacramento Homeless Crisis Seeks Tiny Homes, Communities As Emergency Option
By Velena Jones, CBS13, October 23, 2020
Sacramento City leaders are deliberating an emergency ordinance that allow tiny home communities and tent cities in several neighborhoods. “We cannot build permanent housing fast enough to address the very real, dangerous, unsafe, unhealthy out on our streets. We must have real interim solutions,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg. [Read]
How COVID-19 Helps Us Reimagine the Future of Housing, and The Role Density Can Play In It
By Rachel Lonto, Generation Housing, October 21, 2020
COVID-19 has raised questions about density and overcrowding leaving many of us wondering what cities can do to help improve the public’s health and curb the spread of viruses in the context of housing. Density does not necessarily have a good or negative health impact, but overcrowding does. [Read]
HUD Discussion on Federal Government’s Response to Homelessness – The Federal Government Response to Homelessness hosted by HUD Secretary Ben Carson
Webinar recording, 60 minutes, recorded on 10/21/20
“In a Nation as prosperous as ours, we can work together to lift our neighbors up off the streets and eradicate the threat of homelessness,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “Evidence shows us that current federal programs and policies intended to address homelessness need some serious improvement. The changes presented in the new USICH strategic plan should be implemented quickly so that we can reverse the trends we are seeing in homelessness across some American cities today and lead people back to self-sufficiency.” This roundtable will feature a discussion with homelessness providers, medical experts, faith-based organization leaders, and government officials. [Watch webinar]
The St. Vincent de Paul Free Dining Room will close on November 1st
An announcement was just posted on their Facebook page on October 20, 2020.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friends & Community Members:
It is with great sadness that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has decided to discontinue operation of the St. Vincent de Paul Free Dining Room effective November 1st, 2020. The Board of Directors has been weighing this question for years, but finally decided to close the facility during their July Board meeting. The decision was based on declining volunteer and donor interest. When the Kitchen opened back in 1981, it was run almost entirely by dedicated volunteers and required little financial support from donors and net profits generated by the Thrift Store. Since then, as volunteer interest declined, SVDP has had to dramatically ramp up donor dollars to fund paid staff in the kitchen. For over 10 years, the Dining Room has run a loss of varying amounts between $100,000 and $200,000 per year. For the longest time, SVDP covered this difference by digging into its reserves to cover the shortfall. Looking back, SVDP has spent well over $1,000,000 in financial reserves. What’s more, we are now seeing new volunteer-driven grassroots organizations entering the food-provision space, such as Sonoma Applied Village Services (SAVS), Sonoma Acts of Kindness, Sonoma Food Runners, among many other organizations in the area. At some point, any nonprofit must assess its costs, realize its opportunity costs, and face facts when there are others out there who are doing the work more cost-efficiently. That said, there is a good ending to this long-running story. St. Vincent de Paul is in talks with a local all-volunteer food organization that is interested in using the space to continue meal service. Should this partnership materialize, SVDP will provide basic supports, such as the space, utilities, a refrigerated food truck, and cover maintenence costs. This cost-effective partnership will hopefully provide a seamless transition, enabling service to continue. This will be cost-effective and allow SVDP to continue to pursue housing and sheltering the homeless, but allow new organizations to step forward in the food space. Like SVDP aided in the incubation of the Redwood Empire Food Bank in the late 80’s by allowing use of our Rohnert Park warehouse, we hope that this move will help another emergent organization get a toehold and become an impactful force of change.
As for SVDP, we have opened a new home for transitional-age foster youth, and as that program grows, we hope to open more homes like it in the future. We also hope to introduce 54 units of permanent supportive housing this winter by completing construction on the Gold Coin Motel, which SVDP purchased in December of 2019. Finally, SVDP will continue to operate the Los Guilicos Shelter, Non-congregate Shelter at the Fairgrounds, among other programs, such as the Homeless Court, Vehicle Registration Program, and Disaster Services. We are deeply grateful to the innumerable volunteers, staff, and donors who have supported this Dining Room for the past 40 years.
SCV Homeless Experts Look Into Potential Overnight Parking Options
By Tammy Murga, The Signal Santa Clarita Valley, October 21, 2020
“This program would not only provide a safe place for people, but link them with case management services and meals,” said Edwards, adding that it would also need security guard services. “Safety is one of the primary concerns for people on the street.” [Read]
New National Homeless Plan Cracks Down On ‘Housing First,’ Puts More Emphasis On Rehab Programs
By Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle, October 19, 2020
A new national strategic plan on homelessness is mostly a get-tough document that is already rankling experts and program managers who favor giving hard-core street people housing with few conditions so they’ll stay inside. “The big picture is that the status quo is not working, and homelessness is increasing across the board,” interagency council Executive Director Robert Marbut, who led creation of the 29-page plan, said Monday. “We need change.” [Read]
What is ‘Housing First?” [Watch video]
Expanding the Toolbox: The Whole-of-Government Response to Homelessness
A new strategy plan was released by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USIH) on October 19, 2020. The strategic plan emphasizes addressing the root causes of homelessness and prioritizing trauma-informed care to support the success of each individual and family experiencing homelessness. The plan also focuses on the importance of promoting self-sufficiency across federal agencies as a way of ending the cycle of homelessness and dependency. “The status quo is not working, and homelessness is increasing across the board with many cities in crisis. Real change needs to occur to truly reduce homelessness,” Dr. Robert Marbut, Jr. Executive Director of USICH. [Read]
Marin Still Developing Plan to Shelter Homeless in Winter
By Richard Halstead, Marin Independent Journal, October 19, 2020
Marin County is on the brink of acquiring two commercial buildings to house the homeless, but its plan for winter sheltering remains a work in progress. No decision has been made yet about how the county will provide for emergency shelter for the homeless this winter if the weather turns especially cold or rainy. “Our goal is to get people into permanent housing,” Ashley Hart-McIntyre, the county’s homelessness policy coordinator said. “Too much focus on shelter can really impair our ability to do that, but we also need to make sure people are safe when it is cold and wet.” [Read]
Updated Framework for an Equitable COVID-19 Homelessness Response
The newly-updated Framework for an Equitable COVID-19 Homelessness Response contains the most comprehensive changes to this document to date. The Framework has now been restructured around five Action Areas: Unsheltered People, Shelters, Housing, Diversion and Prevention, and Strengthening Systems for the Future. The new version brings greater focus to the future vision we all need to strive for in our responses, and more clearly expresses the priorities for strengthening systems for the work that lays ahead. [Read]
Shipping Containers in Los Angeles Becoming Homes for the Homeless
By Paul Vercammen, CNN, October 18, 2020
Recycled shipping containers are a cheaper alternative and faster way to provide much-needed housing to homeless families and veterans, and others who may be experiencing hard times, including during the coronavirus pandemic. Builders say shipping containers can easily be moved and stacked, allowing the units to fit varying and odd sizes of land parcels. [Read]
Hard Lives Made Harder by COVID: Homeless Endure a ‘Slow-Moving Train Wreck’
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Angela Hart, California Healthline, October 7, 2020
This was supposed to be the year that California finally did something about its epidemic of homelessness. COVID-19 upended that promise. [Read]
Broad Street Ministry Helps Homeless Individuals Cast a Ballot in Upcoming Election
Capital-Star, October 17, 2020
At 60 years old, Weems, who is experiencing homelessness, said he intended to vote for the first time in the presidential election. “I feel like it’s crucial this time to vote because of all the things that are going on in life,” Weems said. “There certainly needs to be a change.” [Read]
Lawsuit and 101 Freeway Underpass Evictions Lead to Shelter For Some
Los Angeles Daily News, October 16, 2020
More than 335 people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles have left the streets and entered housing since June. Of the target homeless populations, shelter has been provided for 20 people previously located within 500 feet of a freeway, 36 indigent individuals aged 65 or older, and 282 otherwise vulnerable people. [Read]
Three Years Later, $38.5 Million for Post-Tubbs Fire Housing Available to Santa Rosa
By Will Schmitt, Press Democrat, October 13, 2020
More than three years after the October 2017 firestorm, Santa Rosa finally has a line on $38.5 million for affordable housing to help rebuild from the Tubbs fire’s destruction. [Read]
Los Guilicos Campus Suffers Bulk of County’s Glass Fire Damages
By Kevin Fixler, Press Democrat, October 13, 2020
Included among the saves were the vast majority of prefabricated metal-framed huts that make up the Los Guilicos Village homeless encampment just north of St. Francis Winery. Only four of the tiny homes, valued at $10,000 apiece, would end up burned to the ground, with two of the adjacent vinyl-sided units also scorched and rippled from the heat of the fire. [Read]
Be Careful of the Homeless
A video podcast by Nas Daily
… that even if they don’t have money, they are not homeless or hopeless or lawless! They are just houseless. [Watch]
COVID-19 Has Shelter Providers Scrambling To Protect Homeless People Against the Coming Winter Weather
By Scott Greenstone, Seattle Times, October 12, 2020
Like King County, Washington, cold and wet weather is just around the corner. In a typical year, their churches would be opening shelters for those who need to get out of the cold. But many churches are older and not well-ventilated to protect against the virus. [Read]
The County of Sonoma has developed a COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program for renters and landlords – announced on October 14, 2020
Who is eligible?
– Renter Households having trouble paying rent or utilities due to COVID-19 job loss or reduced hours; have a COVID-19 positive exposure or diagnosis. (Households must be at, or below, 80% of Sonoma County Area Median Income).
– Landlords who have tenants behind on rent due to COVID-19 job loss or reduced hours; or have a COVID-19 positive exposure or diagnosis.
Local Agencies include:
– Sonoma Valley FISH Sonoma La Luz Center
– West County West County Community Services
– Santa Rosa Catholic Charities Community Action Partnership
– Windsor & North Sonoma Co. Corazon Healdsburg
– Rohnert Park/Cotati/Petaluma Petaluma People Services
Download a printable flyer – click here – https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/CDC/PDFs/CARES-Flyer/
Researchers Gave Thousands of Dollars to Homeless People. The Results Defied Stereotypes
By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman, CNN, October 9, 2020
You’ve heard this refrain before — giving money to homeless people is not the best way to help them because it might be squandered, or spent on harmful habits. But a new Canadian study makes a powerful case to the contrary. [Read]
Solutions to Homelessness on Trails
By Taylor Goodrich, American Trails, October 2020
In August of 2020 American Trails held a webinar called “Balancing Recreational Area Use with Homelessness and Vagrancy.” This webinar discussed how the city of Modesto, California dealt with the challenge of homelessness and vagrancy in their parks and trails. These are some key takeaways from the webinar. [Read more] Watch the webinar here [Watch]
Tiny House Nation
This is a series of video documentaries which is into its 4th season with 26 episodes. In “Tiny House Nation,” renovation experts and hosts, John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin, travel across America to show off ingenious small spaces and the inventive people who live in them, as well as help new families design and construct their own mini-dream home in a space no larger than 500 square feet. From a micro-apartment in New York City to a caboose car turned home in Montana to a micro-sized mobile home for road tripping – this is a series that celebrates the exploding movement of tiny homes. From pricey to budget friendly, “Tiny House Nation” is not a typical design show, but one that proves size doesn’t always matter – it’s creativity that counts. [Read and watch full episodes here]
Angela Struckmann to be Appointed as Human Services Director
The Human Services Department is Sonoma County’s largest department with more than 900 staff members and an annual budget of more than $350 million. Struckmann, who joined the Department as Assistant Director in August 2018, has overseen the department’s Human Resources and Information Technology functions as well operations of the South County Center in Petaluma. succeeds Karen Fies, who is retiring after serving four years as director. [Read press release dated Sept 23, 2020]
New Documentary Explores Homeless Camping Issues in Spokane
By Brandon Jones, KREM2, September 30, 2020
A new documentary filmed in Spokane is focusing on the issues that homeless people face. Filmmaker Maurice Smith, “A documentary is not going to solve homelessness in Spokane,” he said. “Hopefully, our documentary will get people’s attention and will get them motivated and involved.” [Read]
In Conversation with Richard Rothstein, Author of The Color of Law
An event organized by Generation Housing and Los Cien, Thursday, November 12, 2020, 6 pm (PT). The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America is a New York Times Best Seller and also received numerous book awards. It is an explosive, alarming history that finally confronts how American governments in the twentieth century deliberately imposed residential racial segregation on metropolitan areas nationwide. Author Richard Rothstein argues with exacting precision and fascinating insight how segregation in America—the incessant kind that continues to dog our major cities and has contributed to so much recent social strife—is the byproduct of explicit government policies at the local, state, and federal level. [Register here]
Other sources of information about Rothstein and his book:
• Richard Rothstein’s lecture at Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, September 23, 2019. (1:10 hr)
• Interview at NPR, May 17, 2017
• Article in the New York Times, June 20, 2017
If We Realised the True Cost of Homelessness, We’d Fix It Overnight
The Conversation, September 21, 2020
It’s the story of two Nevada police officers who spent much of their day dealing with homeless people such as six-foot-tall ex-marine and chronic alcoholic Murray. They regularly picked up Murray and drove him to hospital, drying-out clinics, the police lock-up and mental health facilities. Those two Nevada policemen did something that is rarely done anywhere – they calculated (OK, roughly) the cost to the taxpayer of one man’s homelessness. And, in doing so, they showed, as Gladwell pointed out: The kind of money it would take to solve the homeless problem could well be less than the kind of money it took to ignore it. [Read]
She was Homeless and Living in a Store’s Parking Lot. Then the store hired her.
By Cathy Free, Washington Post, September 16, 2020
“We were all feeling empty from the uncertainty of the times,” he said. “All we really have are each other.” [Read]
Ending Homelessness One Step at a Time
By Tianna Kelly, National Alliance to End Homelessness, September 10, 2020
A homeless youth wants to see homelessness ended during his lifetime. He decided to do it one step at a time – walk 550 miles from Virginia to Boston College, document his journey on an Instagram page, and raise funds for the homeless on a GoFundMe page. “I hope people who see my story give the homeless a second thought, and hopefully find it in their heart to be kind to them. I want to see homelessness completely fade away in America, and I will keep finding ways to bring attention to it until the problem is extinguished.” [Read]
A Master Plan for Aging – Goal 2: Livable Communities & Purpose
Published in August 2020, The Master Plan for Aging provides the catalyst needed to prepare for the reality of an older population. To have truly livable communities, California must address the systemic disparities inherent in our built and social environments by intentionally advancing solutions that build toward equity. To be truly livable, communities must value people of all ages, races, and backgrounds and fully integrate them into the social world. [Read] Read the background to the creation of the Master Plan for Aging here.
Webinar Recording – Business Responses to Homelessness & COVID-19: The Good, Bad, and Ugly
An informative webinar organized by the National Homelessness Law Center, September 2020
It is extremely important that homeless advocates learn how to work with businesses. Both sides want to see no more homelessness on our streets even though we approach the end result in different ways. Private businesses can play a powerful role in addressing homelessness. Join us to hear about businesses around the country that have used their influence and resources to help house, feed, and serve America’s growing unhoused population, and business efforts to keep unhoused people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. You will also learn about the harmful ways that businesses and Business Improvement Districts have contributed to the rise and enforcement of policies criminalizing homelessness. (1:31 hr) [Watch webinar]
House Keys Not Sweeps – A Campaign for Dignity and Respect
By Western Regional Advocacy Project, Homeward Street Journal, September 2020
Over the course of their research into local ordinances and Constitutional protections, each of the interns remarked on how — while technically and theoretically unhoused people maintain rights the state must adhere to — basic civil rights are uniformly ignored, violated, and worked around. Court decisions that are supposed to protect the rights of unhoused people often lead to the opposite outcome: a whack-a-mole strategy in devising schemes to harras with them. People who are unwanted in public because they are homeless are stripped of the straight-forward claim to their right to exist in public spaces. [Read]
Sonoma Developmental Center Specific Plan
The first Community Virtual Workshop for the SDC Specific Plan, the first of five planned workshops, will be held on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. It will consist of a brief presentation about big takeaways from the Background Report and small group discussions responding to proposed guiding principles and brainstorming a vision for the SDC site. [REGISTER HERE]
Background: In 2015, the Sonoma Land Trust and other community members partnered to create Transform SDC, a group committed to identifying future uses of the site and preserving its important ecological functions. Transform SDC held a community visioning workshop in May, 2015. Communication conversations and surveys were conducted and reports published. All project documents can be accessed HERE.
Tent City? Tiny Homes? What’s the Solution to Salt Lake’s Homeless Camp Cleanups?
By Katie McKellar, Deseret News, September 10, 2020
Protesters call cleanups an inhumane ‘Band-Aid.’ County officials say they’re needed to address public health issues. [Read]
Countywide Food Emergency Is Growing
By Rollie Atkinson, Sonoma West, September 20, 2020
The lines at free food giveaways are the longest ever with wildfire victims, thousands of unemployed workers, the chronic homeless, fixed-income seniors and families with school-aged children cued up in drive-thru, no-touch vehicle distribution points. Grocery store prices are high and some food inventories are spotty. Many local community leaders are saying these food-related emergencies will be with us for many more months or years to come. [Read]
Panel Discussion on Report “Cited For Being in Plain Sight: How California Policies Being Black, brown and Unhoused in Public“
Wednesday, September 20, 2020 at 10 am (PT) [REGISTER HERE]
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area is excited to invite you to a panel discussing our new groundbreaking report, Cited for Being in Plain Sight: How California Polices Being Black, Brown and Unhoused in Public.
Police in California issued over 250,000 non-traffic infraction citations in 2019 for offenses that primarily criminalize everyday behaviors such as standing, sleeping, owning a dog, and crossing the street. The result is hundreds of dollars in fines and fees people cannot afford to pay, and, in some counties, warrants and arrests for people who do not either pay or appear in court. This ongoing form of police harassment of Black, Latinx, homeless and disabled people is the cause of ongoing trauma, and enforcement of minor infractions has led to significant police violence.
82 California Public Records Act (PRA) requests were sent to County Courts, Police Departments, and Sheriff’s Departments. Data were pulled data from 8 counties across the state.
Denver, Co. City Arrests and Takes Property Of Homeless People With No Notice
By Jonathan, Western Regional Advocacy Project, September 10, 2020
Today, September 10th 2020, the police arrested two black homeless men – one for being 6 minutes late to move his stuff, the other for supposed threats – after sweeping them from the block. [Read]
$492 Million in Prop. C Money Unlocks for SF’s Homeless
By Annika Hom, Mission Local, September 9, 2020
Some $492 million dollars held in escrow, pending a final legal decision on Proposition C, can now flow to city homeless and housing services after the California Supreme Court today declined a legal challenge to the 2018 ballot proposition. [Read]
Homeless Californians Face New Crisis: Living Outside In Smoke-filled Air
By Vivian Ho, The Guardian, September 7, 2020
“They’re saying people like me with vulnerabilities need to be in a safe place, but I don’t have a home,” Sant’Anna said. “Now I have two hazards to face.” [Read]
Denver District Judge Rules Against Denver County Judge On Survival Ban: The Fight For Survival Continues…
By Jonathan, Western Regional Advocacy Project, September 8, 2020
In December 2019, the Denver County Judge Barahas ruled that the Denver Camping Ban law was unconstitutional – cruel and unusual punishment. The City appealed it to the Denver District Court where Judge Eric Elliff just ruled the opposite – ruling the ban is constitutional. This Judge’s ruling is wrong. This fight will continue to a higher court. [Read]
He Ran Restaurants in Cotati and Petaluma and Now Cooks For Free, And Loves It
By Chris Smith, Press Democrat, September 5, 2020
“It’s my favorite time of the week typically,” Markey said of his regular volunteer shift in the kitchen at The Living Room. That’s the ambitious day center for women and children on Santa Rosa’s Cleveland Avenue. [Read]
Voting Is A Challenge For the Homeless. Advocates Are Trying To Make It Easier
By Justin Wm. Moyer, The Washington Post, September 10, 2020
“It’s really hard to find a politician to stand beside someone homeless and say, ‘This is our neighbor,’ ” she said. “If we still have in most parties an elitism . . . that excludes people who are homeless, that refuses to back their dignity, their humanity, their rights, why would someone who is homeless choose to participate in that process anyway?” [Read]
NEWS ARCHIVE
This is a collection of local, regional, national, and international news and media reports on homelessness in the form of an Excel spreadsheet which can view it on your browser, searchable, sortable, with clickable hyperlinks, and downloadable. It is being updated continuously. Please check back often. Click here.
