Policy & Legislation
Loss of State Emergency Shelter Funding Crippling California Communities
January 13, 2009
As a result of the governor's decision to eliminate $4 million for the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program (EHAP) in the 2008-09 budget, tens of thousands of Californians will be left on the street as more than 100 emergency shelters in every California county are forced to reduce services, lay off staff, and, in some cases, close their doors.
To fully ascertain the impact of the cut, Housing California surveyed EHAP grant recipients to see how the services they provide will be affected. With 64 responses to date, the results already show that the "bang for the buck" EHAP provides has been quite substantial.
Key findings include:
- Conservative estimates show that more than 25,000 fewer people will be able to access emergency shelter services. These numbers include hundreds of families and thousands of children.
- 58% of recipients report the necessity to lay off staff, resulting in further job losses and increased demand for unemployment benefits.
- California stands to lose millions more in federal funding, as EHAP money was used by many as a match for federal resources. In each instance, the loss of one $30,000 EHAP grant can result in the loss of hundreds of thousands in federal dollars for that organization.
- Rural areas are being particularly hard hit, as the EHAP grants received by rural counties generally account for larger portions of their emergency shelter budgets.
- Winter shelters are likely to be forced to close their doors early or not open at all.
- Nearly 20 percent of shelters will be forced to close a program and two shelters report they may have to close permanently.
- In attempts to fill operating-revenue gaps, emergency shelters are growing more dependent on less-reliable funding streams, such as private donations and local government funds (both of which are already tapped to the brink).
- All areas of the state are affected -- at least one shelter in every county lost funding.
Emergency shelters are a refuge of last resort. Without them, families are forced to sleep in their cars and on the streets. And with economic recession creating a drastic rise in the number of homeless families, the subsequent increased demand for these vital safety nets shows we must increase our resources, not eliminate them.
Contact: Zack Olmstead, (916) 447-0503 x 108 or .
