California has a patchwork of government-provided housing for people experiencing homelessness. While the nomenclature varies from city to city, the two most prevalent and important categories of housing are emergency shelters and permanent supportive housing.

Emergency Shelters: These are facilities that provide temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness. At their most basic, they are a barracks-like arrangement of cots, and provide a bed and a meal. Typically they are operated by publicly funded nonprofit and religious organizations. Many shelters bar residents from staying with partners or pets, and are often viewed by homeless people as dangerous and dirty, even compared to sleeping on the streets. A KPCC investigation of Los Angeles area shelters found reports of rats, bedbugs, foul odors and harassment rampant at several shelters.

The COVID-19 pandemic popularized a new type of shelter: tiny homes. The small structures are generally less than 400 square feet and often lack a kitchen or bathroom – but they nevertheless allow for more privacy than traditional barracks-style shelters. They also often allow residents to bring their partners and pets. Tiny homes generally are meant to shelter people short-term while they wait for permanent housing. 

Overall the state has a major shortage of beds. Cities and counties across California reported in 2023 a little more than 71,131 beds in either an emergency shelter or transitional housing. The state would need more than twice that number to accommodate everyone.

Permanent Supportive Housing:

Homelessness experts agree that emergency shelters are mostly just a Band-Aid — permanent supportive housing is the long-term solution. Usually targeted at people who have been homeless for a long time and may have disabilities and other physical and mental health needs, this offers a highly subsidized apartment paired with support services including psychological counseling, substance abuse rehab and job training. 

Permanent supportive housing is a pillar of the “housing first” model of ending homelessness: Individuals don’t need to quit drugs or agree to participate in any program to get a permanent roof over their head. Studies show that once placed in permanent supportive housing, residents tend to stay off the streets and out of the hospital and jail, saving taxpayers considerable expense. 

One problem: Permanent supportive housing is really expensive to build. A recent project on Skid Row in Los Angeles cost nearly $600,000 per unit. The outrageous price tags aren’t just driven by land costs — a shortage of construction labor and prolonged city approval processes are also to blame. Some cities have recently begun buying and converting hotels to sidestep prohibitively high new construction costs, often paid for in part by state funding through Newsom’s Homekey program.