Silicon Valley homeless housing gets $26 million federal boost

Silicon Valley programs will receive more than $26 million in federal funds to help house the area’s growing homeless population, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Friday.

The money includes recurring funds for several programs that provide aid to Santa Clara County’s most vulnerable residents, as well as new funds of $1 million to house and support domestic violence survivors.

“These awards provide critical funding for our supportive housing system,” Ky Le, Director of the County Office of Supportive Housing, wrote in a news release. “Local resources leverage federal funding, enabling us to assist more homeless individuals and families each year. As we continue to build affordable homes, these grants will help us provide services and rental assistance to support homeless families, youth, veterans, women and children escaping intimate partner violence, and adults with disabling conditions.”

Santa Clara County’s biennial homeless census counted 7,394 people sleeping outside in 2017 — up 13 percent from 2015.

The Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing will receive $21,320,837. The Bill Wilson Center, a Santa Clara-based organization that provides shelter and services to the homeless, will receive just under $2 million. Another $813,607 will go to Abode Services, $807,310 will go to St. Joseph’s Family Center, $737,323 will go to West Valley Community Services and $423,078 will go to YWCA of Silicon Valley.

Those programs are expected to help people in more than 1,250 households to find or stay in their homes, according to Santa Clara County. The federal money will help fund 17 existing permanent supportive housing projects, as well as two new projects. It also will go toward nine rapid re-housing or transitional housing projects, and three projects to help the homeless housing system run more smoothly, such as data management efforts.

“The County and our partnering organizations continue to receive this federal funding because our supportive housing system is so successful,” Supervisor Mike Wasserman wrote in the news release. “Since 2015, our collaboration has helped more than 6,000 people obtain permanent housing.”

HUD in January awarded $148 million to communities throughout the Bay Area, renewing support for 193 previously funded homeless assistance programs.

Share this: Print

View more on The Mercury News