Despite efforts to move people into housing, the number of people living on the streets of California continues to climb. Experts say that’s because people are becoming newly homeless faster than local agencies can pull them off the streets. In Santa Clara County, for example, for every household that gets housing, another 1.7 become homeless. 

In response, states and local governments across the country (including California) are devoting a rising share of homelessness resources to prevention strategies. These include:

• Eviction protections and emergency rental assistance: A statewide eviction moratorium in response to the COVID pandemic banned landlords from kicking out tenants over missed rent payments. That was extended twice during 2021, in January and again in June, preventing an unknown number of displacements, while thousands still fell through the cracks or were evicted anyway. 
• Ongoing eviction counseling: Being evicted — forcibly removed from an apartment — can lead to devastating family housing instability. An eviction record also makes it exceedingly difficult to find rental housing. 
• Diversion and rapid re-housing: Quickly connecting individuals who just lost their home with a new one is one of the most cost effective ways of preventing long-term homelessness. In rapid re-housing programs, people teetering on the verge of homelessness or new to a shelter are often provided a security deposit, first month’s rent (or more), and connected to a landlord with an immediate vacancy.