California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced $53 million in new housing grants intended to create more residential options for low-income older adults and those with disabilities, including people at risk of homelessness.
“California is making significant housing investments to support some of our most vulnerable residents ... to live with safety and dignity in their communities,” Newsom said in an Oct. 12 statement.
The California Department of Social Services will administer the grants that will fund 402 new beds or units through 14 projects across the state, including $10.4 million in Los Angeles County, $11.6 million in San Bernardino County, and $9.1 million in San Diego County.
Los Angeles County projects in Azusa and Whittier will add a total of 124 beds, while National City in the San Diego area will convert a motel to create 68 beds for social security and cash assistance participants. A project in Redlands, San Bernardino County, will rehabilitate an existing residential care facility, adding 52 beds.
A construction project proceeds next to homeless tents in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles on July 29, 2021. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)
In Northern California’s Alameda County, $5 million will fund a new building with 30 units in Oakland, and $1.2 million will be used to convert a Berkeley shelter into a licensed adult residential care facility, adding 15 beds. An additional grant will go towards developing plans for more one-bedroom supportive housing units in Oakland.
Organizations in El Dorado County near Sacramento will receive $4.5 million for two new residential facilities for San Joaquin Delta tribal members, adding 30 beds each.
Goshen in Tulare County near Fresno will receive $4.1 million to build mobile homes for homeless people, adding 36 units. Another project in Fresno will receive grants to add six beds at an existing facility and through a conversion project.
“This will help us complete the construction on Neighborhood Village for seniors and disabled adults in Tulare County,” said Adrianne Hillman, CEO and founder of Salt + Light Works, the non-profit serving homeless people in Tulare and Kings counties that’s developing the project. “We’re really grateful for the money that allows us to complete this. [The] purpose is to provide wraparound care for these individuals.”
Santa Barbara County will receive $1.2 million for a facility expansion adding two beds and a renovation project adding nine beds. The County of Santa Barbara Department of Behavioral Wellness will administer the grant.
California Governor Gavin Newsom discusses the state's plan for homelessness initiatives in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sept. 29, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
“A county building in Santa Barbara that has been vacant for quite some time is being renovated to house developmentally disabled people,” said Suzanne Grimmesey, Santa Barbara County’s spokesperson. “This allows us to complete the renovation and provided nine to 12 beds.”
A newly created Community Care Expansion Program awarded the project grants, and together with funds from the state budget, a total of $570 million will be provided to purchase, renovate, and build adult and senior care facilities along with other supportive housing sites, according to Newsom.
“Through this effort, we are breathing new life into old facilities and acquiring and building new facilities that will support some of our most vulnerable residents,” said Kim Johnson, director of the state social services department, in a statement.
The grants are part of a plan to provide more than 55,000 new housing units and treatment slots in the coming years, according to the governor’s office.
