The city of San Diego received $2.45 million in state funds to serve 50 individuals living in encampments in the East Village area of downtown San Diego.
A total of eight communities received a total of $48 million in grants to fund comprehensive, compassionate, and innovative efforts to serve approximately 1,461 unsheltered people, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Thursday.
“Californians deserve clean and safe communities,” said Governor Newsom. “We have to take responsibility together to tackle the homelessness crisis and clean up our streets. I’m proud of my administration for rapidly clearing more than 1,000 encampments and putting individuals on a pathway to safe and stable housing with compassion and care.”
The eight grantees add to the 19 communities that received grants in February, which helped serve more than 1,400 individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness in encampments.
“We continue to collect the best practices from all of the communities that have received grants and share those best practices in future rounds of the Encampment Resolution Fund program to develop long-term solutions.”
According to Newsom’s office, the ERF program is a competitive grant available for Counties, CoCs, and cities of any size that aims to assist local jurisdictions in ensuring the safety and wellness of people experiencing homelessness in encampments; resolve critical encampment concerns and transition individuals into safe and stable housing; and encourage a data-informed, coordinated approach.
The program also provides funding for technical assistance provided by the California Interagency Council on Homelessness.
