A dramatic shift in Santa Cruz County’s homeless population, with more being counted in Watsonville this year than the city of Santa Cruz, has officials scrambling to provide more shelter beds and services in the southern part of the county. Watsonville will consider a tiny home village project at its city council meeting on Tuesday, and is convening a community meeting on the broader issue of action to confront homelessness on Oct. 5.
Point-in-time count
Coverage of efforts to count Santa Cruz County’s homeless population.
Posted inLatest News
Newsom’s homeless encampment order: What impact will it have in Santa Cruz County?
Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies to develop policies to clear homeless encampments. How that order will affect local jurisdictions across California remains unclear.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Santa Cruz stays course on homelessness approach, but Supreme Court decision casts shadow
The U.S. Supreme Court said local jurisdictions can criminalize people sleeping and camping on public land. But does that mean communities in Santa Cruz County will?
Posted inWatsonville / Pajaro
How Pastor Dan and Watsonville’s Westview Church became a center of homeless help
In the heart of Watsonville, a small church is playing an expanding role in the homeless crisis. What started as an effort to feed the unhoused population along the Pajaro River is expanding into a mini-village of 34 microhomes behind Westview Presbyterian Church that will also host social services. Construction is set to start next month with the goal of housing residents by December.
Posted inLatest News
2024 point-in-time count: Seniors and behavioral health still big concerns amid improvements among families and vets
This year’s point-in-time count showed similar levels of homelessness across Santa Cruz County compared to 2023. While the situation improved among families, youth and veterans, homelessness rose among older adults. Those currently unhoused reported more mental illness and substance use disorders as well.
Posted inHousing & Development
Santa Cruz County’s point-in-time count remains an imperfect measure of homelessness
The annual point-in-time count took place Thursday morning, with about 130 volunteers, local officials and homelessness service workers hitting the streets before sunrise in an attempt to get the most accurate picture of homelessness in Santa Cruz County possible.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Homelessness fell in Santa Cruz County, but advocates say too many still struggle with low wages, food insecurity
Local housing leaders say they are pleased to see Santa Cruz County’s homelessness levels falling, but highlighted the deep-rooted issues that pervade the county. Those include food security, not enough shelters, low wages and no effective way to identify and track the entire unhoused population.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Santa Cruz County 2023 point-in-time count shows lowest homelessness level in over a decade — but ‘still a lot of gaps’
Santa Cruz County’s homeless population decreased by more than 20% compared to last year, according to a February survey. But local officials point to ways the county can continue to improve, including better financial-assistance resources and tenants-rights education, paired with more support from federal and state governments. The one-day count has its limitations, and one advocate says “it doesn’t feel like there have been a lot of big wins” in the past year.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California homelessness: Where are the state’s billions going? Here’s the new, best answer
For the first time, a new state report offers a bird-eye view of how much the state has spent to halt homelessness — nearly $10 billion over three years. Of the half-million Californians who made use of those services, more than 40% ended up housed. Which also means the majority did not, or the state lost track of their whereabouts.
Posted inLatest News
California homeless population grew by 22,000 over pandemic
The latest point-in-time count of California’s homeless population shows that it increased at roughly the same pace as previous years, although it appears to have disproportionately affected Latinos. Experts say homelessness interventions are paying off but “the inflow is killing us.”
