“People are falling into homelessness faster than cities alone can connect them to the services and housing they need,” writes Cal Cities CEO Carolyn Coleman. “To keep Californians out of encampments and in housing permanently, cities need ongoing state funding at a level that matches the scale of the crisis.”

As congregations continue to dwindle, many churches and other houses of worship have found themselves with empty swaths of parking lots and land. Some are building affordable housing on the roughly 47,000 acres of potentially developable land. 

Even in a tight-knit city like Goleta, walking into a council meeting alone can be uncomfortable — much less getting up and speaking. If you’re a council member or city commissioner, you probably felt that same discomfort and uncertainty early on!