San Jose and Santa Clara County are set to receive tens of millions of dollars for homelessness prevention and housing.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the latest round of funding last week, totaling $827 million across more than 100 communities, from the Homeless, Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program. San Jose is getting $28.8 million and Santa Clara County will receive nearly $28 million in funding. The grants come with stronger measures of accountability and transparency.
“I want to thank the governor and Legislature for sharing our sense of urgency and preserving vital HHAP funding, which has helped San Jose move hundreds of homeless neighbors indoors,” Mayor Matt Mahan told San José Spotlight.
Grantees will be required to report on the money spent each month, and make it available on the HHAP dashboard. They will also need to upload program outcomes each quarter.
Newsom also announced new guidance in how localities should address homeless encampment sweeps. This includes giving at least a 48-hour notice beforehand and establishing a clear policy for handling and storing belongings that are unattended. Other guidance includes having government entities be aware of how many vacancies are available in shelters and temporary housing sites that can immediately serve people living in encampments before a sweep.
The grant announcement follows Newsom’s executive order three months ago directing agencies to urgently deal with encampments on state-owned property, followed by millions of dollars to help localities address homeless encampments — in which San Jose received nearly $5 million.
“The state has stepped up in ways the state has never before stepped up in the past,” Newsom said at a recent news conference. “California was not invested in the issue of homelessness until just a few years ago.”
The HHAP program was established five years ago by the state to give one-time grants toward efforts to reduce homelessness. HHAP funding can be used toward things such as homelessness prevention, rental assistance, housing both temporary and permanent, outreach, services and shelter improvements. Since then, San Jose has received nearly $120 million in grants in five rounds of funding. The city has allocated the largest chunk for interim housing, at $39 million, and new emergency shelters and navigation centers at $23 million.
“I look forward to reviewing staff proposals for the (latest) allocation of our $28 million HHAP award, and I anticipate that we’ll continue using these funds to support proven and cost-effective solutions — expanding our range of interim housing options and focusing on upstream prevention,” Mahan said.
Santa Clara County has received nearly $114 million from the HHAP program, with the largest amount of money being allocated toward operating subsidies, at nearly $32 million, and homelessness prevention and diversion at $16 million.
“(HHAP funding) has been vital to the success of the county’s Homelessness Prevention System, which provides critical assistance to households at risk of homelessness through temporary financial assistance, legal support and other services,” Aaron Kinney, spokesperson for the county Office of Supportive Housing, told San José Spotlight.
The Homelessness Prevention System provides financial assistance, legal support and case management to those facing an eviction. Since the program launched in 2017, it has helped more than 7,000 households. HHAP funding has allowed the system to expand to now serve nearly 2,500 households a year.
The sixth round of HHAP funding, approved in June, will make $1 billion available to localities, with applications expected to open next year.
“We’ve given our local partners the tools and resources they need. It’s time to end this crisis now,” Newsom said. “These new funds represent the hard work, accountability and strategic planning needed to address homelessness with real, long-lasting results.”
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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