Gov. Newsom Announces $156.4 Million Project Homekey Expansion

Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that Project Homekey will be expanding once again, sending a total of $156.4 million in grants to six counties across California.

According to Newsom and a parallel announcement by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the funding announced on Wednesday is the second batch of funding to be released from the round three of Project Homekey funding, which was allotted a total of $736 million in March. Los Angeles County received the most funding from the second batch, receiving a total of $74.7 million. Most notable amongst the LA projects are a $32 million project to buy a former Motel 6 and convert it to an interim homeless housing center with 111 rooms and a $20 million to create a permanent supportive housing center with 58 rooms converted from a former hotel.

Alameda County received the second most of funding, getting $34.5 million for three projects. These include a $15.5 million project to convert a hotel into a 48 room center for those experiencing homelessness, and both San Leandro and a joint Hayward and Union City project getting $10 million each for similar conversion programs.

The other four counties are only getting funding for one project each. San Francisco is to get $18.2 million for the conversion of the 67 room 685 Ellis hotel into a interim homeless housing site that will later convert to permanent. The other three will have more straight conversion projects for former hotels, with Fresno getting $16.5 million for a 58 unit site, Salinas getting $8 million for a 39 unit site, and Riverside is to get $4.5 million for a 25 unit site focusing on youth who are at-risk for homelessness.

While the $156.4 million allotted on Wednesday is less than other Project Roomkey and other similar homeless funding projects this year, such as a $200 million package announced in June, Newsom and others touted the new funding as critical.

“Homekey continues to demonstrate that we can build quickly, and at a fraction of the usual cost, to deliver much-needed affordable homes for Californians struggling to find a place to live,” said Newsom in a statement. “There’s still more work ahead, but the state is confronting this housing crisis head on.”

HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez added, “It has been greatly rewarding to see the growth and impact of Homekey on California’s most vulnerable residents. To me, those 14,000 homes—while exciting—represent more than just buildings. They represent real people, and the opportunity for housing stability to greatly improve their quality of life.”

$156.4 million in funding

However, many homelessness experts have found the Governor’s Homekey funding to be misplaced, with some of his goals, such as a 15% reduction in homelessness statewide by 2025, to be unrealistic.

“Newsom is mostly focused on homeless and chronic homeless housing and is ignoring the ways to get rid of this long-term,” said Los Angeles homeless advocate  and housing placer Logan Kramer to the Globe. “First off, homeless people don’t really trust these types of hotel housing sites. They need flexible hours for work, or need more accessible locations so commutes aren’t long and they can build lives again. But these sites have curfews and assignments not based on their needs. He’s kind of just saying ‘Here is your free housing. Be Grateful.’ But people need more than just a place to sleep to get over homelessness. All Newsom is doing is making the problem less visible.”

“Job placement, to wean people off the system, is critical, as is access to healthcare, even if it is just a nearby free clinic. Low-income housing is also a big need. Also, the rules in the housing areas are busted. I mentioned the curfews, but there are no rules against panhandling or other things that will bring negative attention. Like drinking and drugs. My God, those are the top complaints of people we are in the process of placing. We need to vouch for them, and it makes it a lot harder when they are an addict refusing help.

“He is thinking that he can solve the homeless issue by just converting some hotels. No, this is a multi-step process. It’s frustrating that he and other aren’t getting this. That’s why prior Roomkey and Homekey projects failed. He focused on one area instead of seeing the big picture.”

More Homekey funding is expected to be released in 2024.