The Santa Cruz City Council approving a plan to combat the homeless crisis
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Santa Cruz City Council approving a plan to combat the homeless crisis. This, after the supreme court’s decision to allow cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside.
The council unanimously approved a program aimed at reducing housing insecurity and homelessness in the city.
The plan is to help increase the number of affordable housing units through July 2024 to June 2027. Many locals have seen an increase of housing already in Santa Cruz County.
"They are going up with their housing as we know because the government wisely said you have to allow for more lower income housing," Jeff Gullege from Boulder Creek said.
As reports come out naming Santa Cruz County the most expensive in the nation, this plan aims at decreasing homelessness by expanding the city’s supportive housing, serving more of those residents through eviction prevention programs while providing unhoused people with job training and opportunities.
“People don't have enough to live here and then you look at seniors who have limited income and they could be living in someplace for 20 years and then now that things are rising between the cost and rents, a lot of them are homeless or moving with family or children across the country," Elaine Johnson Executive Director Housing Santa Cruz County said.
There are a lot of people that are struggling or homeless who have legitimate rights because they can’t afford the housing," Gullege said. "They can’t afford the food because it is so expensive live here, Santa Cruz has to find some forward thinking solutions making more innovative steps with increase homeless shelters.
According to the the city of Santa Cruz, “while this decision certainly alters the legal landscape, the city remains committed to reducing homelessness by continuing to implement the strategies that have shown results."
The previous homelessness plan includes a 29% decrease in unhoused people in Santa Cruz from the years 2022 to 2023 there are still more issues the city need to address.
