Mercury News: These Bay Area cities and counties getting $46 million to clear homeless camps, add shelters
As frustration mounts over sprawling homeless camps in nearly every corner of the Bay Area, the state is stepping in with millions in cash to help house people living on city sidewalks, parks and floodplains, and add more shelter beds across the region.
Much of the funding will go toward creating private-room shelters and supportive housing, which is a critical step toward putting a dent in the Bay Area’s homeless population of roughly 38,000 people, said Mari Castaldi, a legislative advocate with the affordable housing group Housing California. The shelter programs aim to connect residents with services such as mental health care and drug counseling, and eventually find them lasting homes.
“The only way to actually resolve homelessness for someone who’s experiencing it is for them to be housed,” Castaldi said.