Recent Press Releases

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Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-1-24, mandating state agencies to move with urgency and compassion to adopt clear policies for addressing homeless encampments on state property, and encouraging local governments to adopt policies that emulate the state’s approach. Under the Governor's leadership, the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency is striving for a California where homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.

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SACRAMENTO – Last Monday Central Sacramento Studios, which was funded by a nearly $24 million Homekey award, opened with 92 studio units serving Californians who are chronically homeless or experiencing homelessness. Of the 92 units, 25 units will be occupied by individuals experiencing chronic homelessness and 67 will be occupied by individuals currently experiencing homelessness.

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SACRAMENTO – Today, on California Native American Day, the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH) and the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) Governor Gavin Newsom announced $20 million in grants to 22 Native American Tribes in California to support projects aimed at addressing housing insecurity and preventing and ending homelessness in their communities.

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SACRAMENTO – Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez today announced that California is teaming up with the White House and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) to participate in ALL INside, a first-of-its kind initiative to address unsheltered homelessness. (Watch the event live at 11 a.m. PDT on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/f9KRmjJ_qCg)

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SACRAMENTO –The California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) today approved the annual update to its Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness, which includes the work of the state departments and agencies newly added to the Council at the beginning of 2022 when the Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council was renamed and expanded to form the revamped Cal ICH.

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SACRAMENTO – The Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) has released its standard agreement to apply for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program. In this agreement, applicants must indicate whether they intend to apply for HHAP-3 funding jointly with an overlapping jurisdiction or apply as an individual entity in order to receive an initial disbursement of funds. Eligible applicants that apply jointly will receive a larger initial disbursement.

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SACRAMENTO – The Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) has released its latest version of a funding guide aimed at helping leaders and planners within local governments and Continuums of Care in California understand and make strategic use of the many important resources made available to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to support economic recovery, as they continue their work to prevent and end homelessness for Californians.

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SACRAMENTO – California’s COVID-19 Rent Relief program has seen significant increases in almost all areas over the past month, with nearly 133,000 active applications, almost 21,000 households provided with help paying their rent and utilities, and a huge increase in the amount of rent and utility assistance paid – all of which and more can now be seen on a new interactive public dashboard.

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ANTIOCH – Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH) Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez and Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director Gustavo Velasquez held a news conference today to highlight the California COVID-19 Rent Relief program’s partnership with Contra Costa County, to announce significant improvements to the rent relief program, including enhancing the application experience, and bringing in more Community-Based Organizations to assist with education and outreach.

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SACRAMENTO – Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) has been chosen to bring together ground-level partnerships with California communities and tribes to assist the state as it implements the Emergency Rental Assistance Program created by the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act, the strongest-in-the nation eviction protections signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on January 29. In addition, Prosio Communications has been chosen to launch a robust public education awareness campaign to inform the hardest hit Californians about the program.

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SACRAMENTO – Plante Moran has been selected to build the Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS) which will allow the state to access and compile standardized data from California’s 44 Continuums of Care (CoCs) into the state’s first-ever unified homeless data warehouse. With consistent data, California will be able to enhance its understanding of the challenges impacting individuals experiencing homelessness and make data-driven policy decisions aimed at preventing and ending homelessness in California.

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SACRAMENTO – California’s second cohort of the 100-Day Challenge announced last December by Governor Gavin Newsom is underway, in San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Sonoma counties to address homelessness for specific targeted populations, such as veterans or youth. This cohort, which kicked off its challenge today, joins a national movement of communities who have participated in the 100-Day Challenge to accelerate efforts in California toward preventing and ending homelessness.

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SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the second round of awards for Homekey, California’s innovative, nation-leading $600 million program to purchase and rehabilitate housing – including hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings and other properties – and convert them into permanent, long-term housing for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

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SACRAMENTO – $500 million in block grants to address homelessness in California has been awarded to the 43 Continuums of Care (COCs) and 11 large cities eligible for Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) funding from the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council.

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Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today released a revised state budget proposal that boosts education funding to an all-time high, fills the Rainy Day Fund to the brim and directs billions of dollars in one-time surplus funding to combat homelessness, improve mental health services and rebuild crumbling infrastructure.

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