ICYMI—Hundreds of New, Safe, Affordable Rental Homes Brought Housing Stability to Californians Up and Down the State in August

Sacramento, CA

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) joined community leaders and residents up and down the state in celebrating hundreds of safe, affordable new homes opening their doors to Californians in need of housing stability. Meanwhile, ground was broken on another innovative development, and several rounds of funding were announced to add 1,252 affordable homes to the state's development pipeline-adding momentum to California's focused efforts to address housing affordability and homelessness…

• HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez joined Los Angeles community leaders for the grand opening of Homekey Harbor City, a 50-home community with critical supportive services for low-income veterans, seniors, and families made possible with $7.9 million in funding from Governor Gavin Newsom's highly Homekey program-now the model for the new Homekey+ program made possible in large part by voter-approved Proposition 1.
• HCD also celebrated the grand opening of the 43-home Eaglepointe Apartments in Paradise, supported by $7.4 million from the Department's federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, which continues to help the community rebuild from the devastating Camp Fire.
• In Watsonville, Sparrow Terrace opened 72 new affordable homes, thanks to $11 million from HCD's Farmworker Housing Grant Program and No Place Like Home.
• Sacramento celebrated the grand opening of two new communities in August: Powell's Landing transformed a former hotel into 69 studio units with $20.3 million in Homekey funding, while the Oak Park community celebrated 43 new homes for seniors at Glendon, made possible by a $1.9 million Infill Infrastructure Grant Program investment.
• Santa Cruz broke ground on the Downtown Library Mixed-Use Project. Funded by $33.5 million from the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program jointly administered with the California Strategic Growth Council, the project will bring 124 affordable homes offering childcare, a library, and hosting a weekly farmer's market.
• HCD announced $144.5 million in awards from the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) to increase the supply of affordable single- and multi-family housing in California and support local housing assistance programs. These awards will fund the construction of 643 new homes and help 984 households in rural and small communities.
• HCD's federal team also announced two awards totaling $52.6 million in Disaster Recovery Housing Accelerator funds to create 91 affordable rental homes in San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties, which were affected by the winter storms of 2022-23.
• In August, HCD also announced three more Homekey+ awards totaling $75.5 million, building on the promise made through Proposition 1 to create safe, affordable housing coupled with critical supportive services for veterans and other Californians facing behavioral health challenges. The most recent announcement brings the total awarded so far through Homekey+ to $178.4 million, funding 518 permanent supportive homes, including 88 homes for our nation's deserving veterans.

From the very first moments of the Newsom administration, the national crisis of housing affordability and homelessness has been addressed with ingenuity, seriousness, and expertise. No other state has devoted as much time, attention, and resources to these twin problems. Governor Newsom is creating a structural and foundational model that will have positive impacts for generations to come:

✅ Addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness - Ending a long-standing 7,000 behavioral health bed shortfall in California by rapidly expanding community treatment centers and permanent supportive housing units. In 2024, voters approved Governor Newsom's Proposition 1 which is transforming California's mental health systems with a $6.4 billion Behavioral Health Bond for treatment settings and housing with services for veterans and people experiencing homelessness, and reforming the Behavioral Health Services Act to focus on people with the most serious illnesses, provide care to people with substance disorders, and support their housing needs. In May, Governor Newsom released $3.3 billion of this funding to create over 5,000 residential treatment beds and more than 21,800 outpatient treatment slots for behavioral health services.

✅ Creating new pathways for those who need the most help - Updating conservatorship laws for the first time in 50 years to include people who are unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care, in addition to food, clothing, or shelter, due to either severe substance use disorder or serious mental health illness. Creating a new CARE court system that creates court-ordered plans for up to 24 months for people struggling with untreated mental illness, and often substance use challenges.

✅ Streamlining and prioritizing building of new housing - Governor Newsom made creating more housing a top state priority for the first time in history. He has signed into law groundbreaking reforms to break down systemic barriers that have stood in the way of building the housing Californians need, including broad CEQA reforms.

✅ Creating shelter and support - Providingfunding and programs for local governments, coupled with strong accountability measures to ensure that each local government is doing its share to build housing, and create shelter and support, so that people rescued from encampments have a safe place to go.

✅ Removing dangerous encampments - Governor Newsom has set a strong expectation for all local governments to address encampments in their communities and help connect people with support. In 2024, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending communities' authority to clear encampments. After the Supreme Court affirmed local authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state entities and urging local governments to clear encampments and connect people with support, using a state-tested model to address encampments humanely and provide people adequate notice and support.