Santa Cruz County getting extra funding from state to prevent youth homelessness
SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. (KION-TV)- Santa Cruz County is getting some state funding to handle a wide range of issues in the area.
One of them is the cost of living, according to Director of Housing for Health Robert Ratner.
“I think that it's becoming a much more talked about issue as more and more people are realizing family members and employers are struggling to just stay in the community,” Ratner said. “So more and more people are raising this up.”
Other issues in the county include extra resources for the homeless who don’t have access to transportation.
According to Probation Chief Officer Fernando Giraldo, the Santa Cruz County Probation Department will use its portion to make it easier for those struggling to make it to the probation office.
“Create better accessibility for our clients, particularly those that are unhoused and struggling to meet conditions of probation,” Giraldo said. “So we have a lot more success when we can meet clients where they're at.”
Despite the many ideas, what will be done with the funding isn't set in stone just yet.
Meanwhile, the probation department is also working with the sheriff's office to make sure there are enough resources for students to get an education, according to Assistant Probation Chief Officer Valerie Thompson.
“It's our opportunity to meet with them, meet with their families, find out what support they need to be in school to access education, to earn credit approval so that they're more ready to graduate and stay on track to graduate,” Thompson said.
Thompson also mentioned how some of the funding would be used to contribute to cannabis prevention. This is part of the programs they’ll use to help those students in need stay on track in school and provide them with essential needs.
