A placard asking for help hangs on Donald James' cart as he speaks with people from Central Mississippi Continuum of Care staff during a Point-in-Time Count in Jackson, Miss., Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. PIT Count is a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness in January.
Sacraemento, California – California is about to add more than 2,000 homes across 16 counties, the state’s latest attempt to chip away at a housing and homelessness crisis that’s been decades in the making.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development announced more than $414 million in funding this month through a program designed to cut through red tape and get projects moving faster. Of the 2,099 homes funded, 2,068 are set aside for low- to extremely low-income residents.
Governor Gavin Newsom framed the announcement as part of a broader strategy to confront the twin challenges of homelessness and affordability. “We cannot solve either the homelessness or housing affordability crisis without creating new housing,” he said. “Today’s announcement will create thousands of new homes for California families.”
The awards build on a program Newsom pushed through in 2020, which simplified the state’s often tangled housing finance system by allowing developers to apply for multiple funding streams with a single application. Since then, the process has directed more than $1.6 billion toward nearly 13,000 affordable homes.
This round of funding will support a range of projects: apartment complexes for families, specialized housing for seniors and veterans, and permanent supportive units for people with mental health challenges. Nearly 800 homes will go to those earning up to 30 percent of their area’s median income — the population most at risk of homelessness.
Tomiquia Moss, who heads the state’s Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, said the money would not only speed up housing construction but also deliver ripple effects. “These awards will galvanize the collective public-private response to serve low-income households, including seniors, veterans, large families and residents with special needs,” she said.
The urgency is clear. California has long been ground zero for America’s housing crunch. Rents and home prices have outpaced incomes for years, leaving tens of thousands of people on the streets. Between 2014 and 2019, unsheltered homelessness in California rose by about 37,000 people. Newsom has made the issue a centerpiece of his governorship, investing heavily in housing supply and homeless services while also leaning on cities to do more.
The state has not reversed the crisis, but the numbers suggest the picture could be shifting. While homelessness nationwide increased by more than 18 percent in 2024, California limited its rise to 3 percent — a slower rate than 40 other states. The state also notched the nation’s largest drop in veteran homelessness.
The money announced this week won’t end the crisis on its own. Even with new funding streams and streamlined processes, California still faces sky-high construction costs, zoning battles, and fierce opposition from some communities. But officials are clear that building more housing is the foundation for any solution.
