Homelessness

Article California Cities Helen Putnam Award for Excellence By Manuel Carrillo Jr.

Baldwin Park’s tiny home villages transformed a crisis into community

In five years, Baldwin Park reduced the number of residents experiencing homelessness by 80%. “Baldwin Park has proven that you don’t need to be a big city to create big change,” said Marisa Creter, executive director of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.

Article Features By Brian Lee-Mounger Hendershot

‘Who are our cities for,’ asks Brian Goldstone, ‘if millions of Americans are homeless?’

“The painful truth is that it’s less of a contradiction than just the system functioning the way it’s been designed. That sounds bleak, but in fact, it points to the possibility of different choices: If systems are designed, they can be redesigned.”

Article Local Works By Jackie Krentzman

Glendora is trying to house homeless residents. But it needs help to maintain momentum

Glendora plans to convert an assisted living facility into either permanent low-income housing or a mix of transitional and permanent housing. The city, which has spent $5 million thus far, needs to raise another $40-$50 million to make it a reality. 

Article Local Works By Jackie Krentzman

‘People here were worried for nothing.’ Culver City residents get behind transitional housing

Culver City’s annual operating budget for homeless services has sharply increased to nearly $16.1 million. The agency’s investment is paying off. The latest Point-in-Time Count found that the number of homeless people in the city decreased from 229 to 105. 

Article Local Works By Caleb Zimmerschied Valadez

Doctors in LA bring health care to the streets

What started as a radical fringe movement of medicine more than 30 years ago is now being incorporated into mainstream health care — with the city of Los Angeles at the forefront. Patients receive care wherever they are, whether that’s in an encampment, on the sidewalk, or under a bridge.

Article Local Works By Jackie Krentzman

The small city of Colusa is determined to overcome a history of prioritizing single-family homes

A semi-rural city in Sacramento Valley added its first affordable housing project in close to a decade earlier this year. Colusa City Manager Jesse Cain says projects like these are critical to the community’s future, in part because many homes never hit the open market. 

Article Legal Notes By Matthew R. Silver and Valerie D. Escalante Troesh

The Grants Pass case resolved some — but not all — public camping ordinance challenges

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved Eighth Amendment lawsuits against public camping ordinances. But the ruling did not close the door to other challenges — including state legislation attempting to preempt local control.

Article Features by Jackie Krentzman

Housing in God’s backyard picks up as cities seek new ways to close the affordable housing gap

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. 

Article Executive Director's Message By League of California Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman

Solving homelessness takes more than removing encampments

“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.”

Article Features By Brian Lee-Mounger Hendershot

Want to end homelessness, recover faster from a disaster, or upskill workers? Call your library

According to State Librarian Greg Lucas, no other government-paid-for entity is as nimble or flexible as libraries. That makes them pillars of their community and well-positioned to tackle some of our biggest challenges — if they have the funding.  

Article California Cities Helen Putnam Award for Excellence By Kara Davis

Modesto maintains momentum on reducing homelessness

A program in Modesto is helping reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness. In 2023, the team received nearly 5,000 calls, with 71% of individuals accepting services. The program saves the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in staff time annually.

Article Local Works By Anthony Valdez 

Bakersfield, known for moving quickly to address California’s homeless crisis, has a simple message: More must be done

For the past two years, Bakersfield has had more homeless people living in shelter than those without shelter. Yet as is the case across California, Bakersfield is staring down an inflow crisis. For every six people placed in permanent housing locally, another ten become newly homeless.