Housing

An unhoused person sits on top of an orange safety barrier surrounded by various posessions alongside a street.

Homelessness

‘We gotta be somewhere’: Homeless Californians react to Newsom’s crackdown

Homeless Californians and activists say authorities are cracking down harder on encampments, after getting the green light from the Supreme Court and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

By

Marisa Kendall

• August 12, 2024

Tents line up near a fence in the Chinatown neighborhood of Fresno on Feb. 10, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela for CalMatters

Homelessness

Audit: California risked millions in homelessness funds due to poor anti-fraud protections

A critical new federal audit calls out California for doing too little to prevent fraudulent spending of homelessness funds. Nearly $320 million was at risk.

By

Marisa Kendall

• August 6, 2024

A house is surrounded in a construction tarp.

California Divide

‘Affordable housing for another generation’: California trusts pull properties off the market

California community land trusts – which buy land and sell or rent the buildings on it to low-income residents— have tripled.

By

Felicia Mello

• August 2, 2024

Surrounded by workers in hazmat suits and bright orange waste bags, Gov. Gavin Newsom helps clear a homeless encampment in San Diego.

Homelessness

Gavin Newsom orders state agencies to move homeless people out of camps — but to where?

Lea esta historia en Español Gov. Gavin Newsom today ordered state agencies to remove homeless camps throughout California, his first major show of force since the Supreme Court granted state and local authorities more power to clear encampments. Newsom’s executive order mandates that state agencies and departments adopt policies to clear camps on state property. […]

By

Marisa Kendall

• July 25, 2024

Housing

Ballot battles, lawsuits and a ticked off millionaire: What’s behind Eureka’s parking lot war?

City officials in Eureka thought the plan to turn public parking lots into affordable housing would be easy. Now they’re facing a ballot measure campaign funded by one of the city’s richest men.

By

Ben Christopher

• July 25, 2024

A mostly empty parking lot on 3rd Street between G and H Streets in Eureka on June 17, 2024. The lot is the site of a proposed Humboldt Transit Authority Hub that would include housing. Photo by Mark McKenna for CalMatters

Housing

When California housing regulators beef with voters, who wins?

What happens when voters take to the ballot to thumb their nose at state housing law? Courts haven’t offered a clear answer.

By

Ben Christopher

• July 25, 2024

Homelessness

California passed a law to fix unsafe homeless shelters. Cities and counties are ignoring it

The Supreme Court’s decision on homelessness will test a shelter system that’s full of problems – and lacking accountability.

By

Lauren Hepler

• July 17, 2024

Construction workers building an apartment complex site for an affordable housing project in Bakersfield on May 29, 2024. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Homelessness

Can California’s health care providers help solve the state’s homelessness crisis?

Taking advantage of new state funds, some California healthcare providers are starting to offer what their homeless patients really need: housing.

By

Marisa Kendall

• July 11, 2024

Dullanni Waterman, 45, sweeps outside his encampment by the riverbed in San Diego on March 23, 2024. Photo by Kristian Carreon for CalMatters

Homelessness

7 myths about homelessness in California

There’s a lot of misinformation floating around out there about homelessness in California. We use data to dispel several common myths.

By

Marisa Kendall

• July 8, 2024

Tents outside the First Street U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles, where homeless advocates and supporters rallied as the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C. heard oral arguments in the Grants Pass case, on April 22, 2024. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters

Housing

Supreme Court gives cities in California and beyond more power to crack down on homeless camps

The ruling by the conservative court majority means cities no longer are prohibited from punishing homeless people for camping if they have nowhere else to go. It will have strong repercussions in California, where Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and many city leaders welcomed the new power to sweep encampments. Homeless people and their advocates say the decision criminalizes poor people who have no other options, for simply existing.

By

Marisa Kendall

• June 28, 2024