Robert Ratner News Today

As the city has begun to take a hard look at the state of homelessness locally, the Watsonville City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday on plans to remove a private-property homeless encampment used by an estimated 20-40 people off Airport Boulevard.

With the March primary election result's technically not yet certified, authorities charged with addressing Santa Cruz County homelessness were before elected leaders Tuesday with a request to carve $1 million off Measure K's projected annual $10 million in sales taxes.

The facility will be built on county-owned land and is expected to be finished by the end of 2024. Two additional navigation centers are being planned in the county.

Santa Cruz County 2nd District Supervisor Zach Friend has been reappointed by the California State Association of Counties to serve another year-long stint as chair of its Health and Human Services Committee.

Santa Cruz county leaders unveiled their latest and largest affordable housing project of its kind in the county. The focus, offering permanent housing to some of the most vulnerable, unhoused people living in the community.

Dramatically bucking a national trend reflecting a 12% increase in homelessness, Santa Cruz County counted its smallest estimated unhoused population to date during its annual point-in-time count early this year.

A collaborative multi-jurisdictional agency is recruiting community members with "lived experience" in homelessness to have their say and get paid for it.

"When we see people experiencing homelessness as problems to be solved, not people to be loved, it's very hard to solve problems," Kevin Adler said.

The award, announced this week at the association's 129th Annual Meeting in Alameda County, recognizes county officials, employees, and other members whose service to the the county government community and the advancement of the state association's goals goes above and beyond the norm.

In the final stretch of a three-year homelessness strategic plan, Santa Cruz County officials took stock of areas of both progress and deficiency.